Published 19:17 IST, September 6th 2019
Indonesia: Two-headed snake spotted slithering in the wild by locals
Residents of Bali are in a state of shock as they recently captured a baby snake with two heads in the middle of the wild, small enough to fit in a human palm.
- World News
- 3 min read
Residents of Bali are in a state of shock as they recently captured a baby snake with two heads in the middle of the wild. The two-headed reptile was seen slithering in the middle of the central part of the Indonesian holiday island last week. A local resident, Gusti Bagus Eka Budaya said that on his way back home from work, he accidentally parked his bike next to the snake, where he noticed it.
Rare two-headed snake
As the resident looked more closely at the snake, he was shocked to discover that it had two heads instead of one, which was very rare. In a recent video released of the tiny serpent, several children are seen gathered around the little creature, small enough to fit in a human palm as it slides about a banana leaf decorated with a traditional Balinese Hindu offering.
However, it hasn’t been found out whether the snake is venomous or not. Experts have previously been quoted as saying that two-headed snakes rarely occur in the wild and are usually bred in captivity.
Turtle with two heads
Turtle conservationists in Sabah recently discovered a hatchling with two-heads. The conservationists on Sabah's Mabul Turtle Hatchery said the little turtle was from a nest of newly hatched 93 baby turtles on July 15. They also added by stating that in the history of around 13,000 hatchlings from the hatchery and have never seen anything like this before.
The Sabah Wildlife Department’s Honorary Wildlife Wardens (HWWs) were extremely intrigued and occupied as there was another turtle nesting soon after the first. This rare condition is known as dicephalism, it has been noticed in a wide variety of species. This eye-catching developmental abnormality, popularly known as bicephaly or dicephaly, is a phenomenon that has been evident for the last 150 years.
This phenomenon happens due to inbreeding in captivity. With no special care, such creatures usually die at a very young age because they have difficulty escaping predators and foraging for food. Also, sometimes in the case of two-headed animals, one head is uaully a little bit more dominant over the other one.
Updated 20:26 IST, September 6th 2019