MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama man who shot a rattlesnake got a surprise when the headless reptile tried to bite him long after he thought it should be dead.

Billy Forbus tells WSFA-TV he saw the snake when he was working in his garden and shot it. He later put it in the back of his pickup truck to go show his father and brother.

Forbus says the animal began moving again when he grabbed it with a tool about an hour later. Video posted to the television station’s social media feed shows the animal attempting to strike at Forbus even though it didn’t have a head.

Tyler Harris of the Alabama Wildlife Federation says the snake was operating on reflexes, even though it lacked a brain.