A woman in Virginia found an extremely rare two-headed copperhead snake slithering around her neighbor's flowerbed.
Virginia Wildlife Management and Control posted images and a clip of the venomous viper on Facebook last week — and the state now hopes to display it in a zoo to the delight, or fear, of many.
The few two-headed around snakes typically don't survive for long in the while, because each brain often wants to do "two different things," the state herpetologist said. In this case, "The left head has the dominant esophagus and the right head has the more developed throat for eating," Kleopfer explained.
Still —both heads are capable of attacking and biting and both mouths can send potentially deadly venom to their victims.
While copperheads often grow to 18 to 36 inches and can attack humans, this young viper is mainly lashing out at insects, Kleopfer said, adding it was his goal to help the "little guy" stay alive.
Virginia Wildlife Management and Control posted images and a clip of the venomous viper on Facebook last week — and the state now hopes to display it in a zoo to the delight, or fear, of many.
The few two-headed around snakes typically don't survive for long in the while, because each brain often wants to do "two different things," the state herpetologist said. In this case, "The left head has the dominant esophagus and the right head has the more developed throat for eating," Kleopfer explained.
Still —both heads are capable of attacking and biting and both mouths can send potentially deadly venom to their victims.
While copperheads often grow to 18 to 36 inches and can attack humans, this young viper is mainly lashing out at insects, Kleopfer said, adding it was his goal to help the "little guy" stay alive.
