Features
4 MIN READ
Two-headed snakes are born due to many reasons
Dicephaly, the condition that causes a snake to be born with two heads, is already very rare. But when villagers from the Nawalpur District of central Nepal captured a two-headed banded kukri snake (Oligodon arnenis) in October 2018, they hadn't the faintest idea that it was the first of its species. A recent report published in the April 2020 edition of IRCF Journal confirms the discovery.
Two-headed banded kukri. Photo provided by Kasara, Chitwan National Park, Nepal via Kamal Devkota. Used with permission.
Police officers rescued the snake from the villagers while they were taking it to the capital city Kathmandu and transferred it to park rangers from the Chitwan National Park who released it into natural habitat.
The banded kukri snakes are named after their sharp, flattened, curved teeth which they use for slicing reptile eggs. They are found in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal.
Two-headed snakes are born due to many reasons like incomplete division of embryo, a fusion of two embryos, temperature, environmental factors and many others. The disorder occurs in just one out of every 100,000 snakes in the wild, and in one out of 10,000 snakes born in captivity.
Because the snakes have two heads, they have two brains and two distinct personalities but in most cases, one head dominates the other. Dicephalic snakes have very little chance of surviving in the wild as the heads might fight with each other for food. Also, the two heads make them less agile when catching prey and more susceptible to predators.
https://twitter.com/Einstein2020/status/1199407158913318912
While images and sculptures of snakes or serpents are often found adorning the temples and water spouts in the Kathmandu Valley, two-headed snakes are an incredibly rare occurrence. The two-headed banded kukri is only the third twin-headed snake documented in Nepal. The first dicephalic snake – a juvenile checkered keelback (Fowlea piscator) – was documented by Mishra and Shah in 1983, while the second case – a common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) – was found in May 2018 in the Kawasoti Municipality of Nawalpur District in central Nepal. It was the first record of dicephalism of a krait in Nepal, and it was studied by Board Member of Nepal Toxinology Association and Save the Snakes Project Manager Kamal Devkota and his team.
Two-headed common krait. Photo provided by Kaligandaki Hospital and Kamal Devkota. Used with permission.
Devkota spoke with Global Voices about how rare it is to find a two-headed snake:
According to Devkota, up to 90 snake species have been recorded by various authors in Nepal, among which 18 are considered venomous. While many people, especially in the lowlands of Nepal, die of snakebites every year, a snake has its own role in the ecosystem added Devkota who has been working on human-snake conflict mitigation.
:::::::::
This story was originally published in Global Voices, an international and multilingual community of bloggers, journalists, translators, academics, and human rights activists.
COVID19
5 min read
The coronavirus pandemic highlights longstanding class differences and their unequal repercussions on our society
COVID19
Explainers
5 min read
Already marginalised by the state, the Dolpo people are more vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic
Perspectives
Film
8 min read
This feature documentary highlights the direct and indirect costs of climate change through three unique stories across Nepal, linked by its central theme: water.
COVID19
Features
4 min read
With 202,329 cases, the country has reached a new milestone in the coronavirus pandemic
The Wire
News
6 min read
International aid agencies accuse the government of hampering their work by requiring fees, stipends, and bribes
Explainers
4 min read
The nation is unprepared for the mass return of migrant workers from destinations across the world
Features
Explainers
Longreads
16 min read
What does peace mean to the Nepali people, especially the country’s many minority groups? The Record explores, and answers.
COVID19
News
5 min read
The Kathmandu Valley recorded its single highest daily cases with 301 new infections