An extremely rare snake with two heads has been found in the wild in South Africa.
Taking to Facebook, snake rescuer Nick Evans shared photos of the two-headed Southern Brown Egg-eater - a harmless species of snake. In the caption, Mr Evans informed that he came across the rare reptile when he was asked to collect the snake from a man who had found the slithering animal in his garden.
Take a look at the post below:
The man, who lives in Ndwedwe, a town north of Durban, didn't want anyone to harm the strange creature which is why he put it in a bottle and asked Mr Evans to take it away.
“It was such a strange sight, seeing this deformed snake,” Mr Evans wrote in the caption, adding, “It's a juvenile, around [a foot] in length. It was quite interesting to see how it moved. Sometimes, the heads would try to go in opposite directions from one another, other times, it would rest one head on the other. That seemed the most effective way of moving.”
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Further, the snake rescuer informed that the unique snake is now safely in professional care. Mr Evans was surprised that the reptile had even survived up to the point he found it. He said that there is “no point” releasing the snake now.
“As far as I am aware, they don't generally live long. This one wouldn't last long at all in the wild. It can barely move, and when it does, it does so incredibly slowly. Very easy pickings for a predator,” Mr Evans explained.
Since being shared, the post has gone viral on the internet. Commenters on Facebook were glad to hear that the reptile had been taken to safety. One user wrote, “Poor thing. So grateful that it's safe.” “What an amazing little creature! So wonderful that the man in Ndwedwe contacted you. Hope you're able to help the little guy eat,” added another. “Amazing photos. Very sad but also very interesting to see. Hope it gets to have a good enough quality of life,” wrote third.
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According to Newsweek, animals that are born with two or more heads have a condition called polycephaly, which is more common in reptiles than in mammals. Animals with this condition do not often survive for very long, depending on the degree to which the two heads are split.
