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VIRGINIA — Nature is scary and cool, and here is a video to prove that.
If you can't tell what you're seeing there, that's a two-headed copperhead snake that was found recently in northern Virginia. Yes, a two-headed snake. Which I believe is the definition of nature being scary and cool.
If you're like me, you probably watched this video and wondered how common two-headed snakes are. Well, fortunately, J.D. Kleopfer, the herpetologist who posted the video, has the answer.
Yesterday's Have You Seen This?
Have You Seen This? Dune buggy makes impossible climb
Some humans like to do insane things, and this dune buggy climbing up a sandy cliff is no exception."Wild bicephalic snakes are exceptionally rare because they just don't live that long. Too many challenges living day to day with two heads," Kleopfer wrote. "Thanks to the Wildlife Center of Virginia we were able to determine that the left head has the dominant esophagus and the right head has the more developed throat for eating. With a little luck and care, we hope to eventually donate it to a zoological facility for exhibit. It's currently being cared for by a private reptile keeper with lots of experience in breeding and rearing vipers."
Caring for this unusual snake does seem like it would be particularly hard. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries posted that the snake has a long way to go before they can be sure of its survival. Luckily, it has lots of people rooting for it, as people all over the world have been "wowed" by the two-headed copperhead.
