Experts fear one head of a venomous snake will swallow the other if it sniffs out the scent of prey emanating from it.
Two heads of a cobra and butterfly.
The particular butterfly cobra was discovered outside a residential area in the western Indian state of Maharashtra last week and moved to a facility that specializes in handling venomous snakes. Despite being one of the world’s deadliest snakes, the two-headed cobra is very vulnerable in the wild due to a genetic abnormality. Each head about 2cm long has its own intention in catching and eating prey, easily leading to competition.
According to the University of Michigan in the US, cobras cause thousands of deaths each year. Bitten victims will experience many symptoms ranging from pain to vomiting, dizziness, kidney failure.
Two-headed snakes are rare and difficult to survive long in the wild, according to National Geographic. Genetic mutations can interfere with the snake’s ability to catch prey. They work on the sense of smell. If one head detects the scent of prey in the other, it will attack and try to swallow the other head. Two-headed snakes are born when the embryo does not completely separate into two individuals.
Previously, researchers had found two-headed snakes of other species, including two-headed wood snakes in the New Jersey state forest in August 2019 and two-headed western rat snakes in a family yard in New Jersey. Orléans in June 2018.
