‘Sss-trange’: Two-headed SNAKE found in the Eastern Cape

Now here’s some ‘sss-trange’ news: A two-headed snake with two individual brains was found in Qonce in the Eastern Cape.

By: Virginia Keppler-Young

THE TWO-HEADED SNAKE HAD TWO BRAINS

During a call out in the Eastern Cape, Neville’s Snake and Reptile Rescue discovered the two-headed neonate Wolf Snake, or Lycophidion capense.

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According to Nevilles’ Snake and Reptile Rescue, the two-headed snake was dead in the Eastern Cape and probably a day or two old.

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“Two-headed snakes are a rare reptile deformity, similar to conjoined twins. Each head has its functional brain sharing a single body,” the Facebook post read.

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THE SNAKE WAS HARMLESS

The Cape Wolf Snake is a small snake that grows larger in the southern part of its range. It has a flattened head. Colouration is usually uniform dark brown to black, sometimes with each scale white-tipped and a white- or black-speckled belly, according to the Kruger National Park Siyabona Africa.

This type of snake can be found throughout most of the subcontinent, except the Namib Desert and most of the Cape. There are isolated records from the Southern Cape, the Southern Namib Desert, and elsewhere, from Eastern Africa to Egypt. However, a two-headed snake like the one in the Eastern Cape is a rarity.

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The female lays 3 – 9 eggs in early summer; they may hatch in only 51 days. Hatchlings measure about 120 mm. These snakes eat skinks and Lizards.

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Neville’s Snake and Reptile Rescue states the snake found in the Eastern Cape was harmless. They say two-headed snakes generally do not live long in the wild.

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