Following the rescue of a rare Red Coral Kukri snake in Uttarakhand, another strange-looking reptile has been rescued from outside a local's house in Maharashtra.
The 11 cm-long, rare two-headed Russell's Viper was found in Kalyan's Gandhare Road area on the outskirts of Mumbai. The heads measure 2 cm each and it belongs to one of the most venomous snake species found in India.
Kalyan resident Dimple Shah found the baby snake in front of Ritu Rivers Building and immediately contacted the War Rescue Foundation, reported Mumbai Live.
The snake will be reportedly handed over to the Haffkine Institute in Parel.
The video of the snake was shared on Twitter by IFS officer Susanta Nanda, who said, "Two headed Russell’s Viper rescued in Maharashtra. Genetic abnormality and hence low survival rates in the wild (sic)."
He further added, "The Russell’s Viper is far more dangerous than most poisonous snakes because it harms you even if you survive the initial bite."
Double danger😳😳Two headed Russell’s Viper rescued in Maharashtra. Genetic abnormality and hence low survival rates in the wild.The Russell’s Viper is far more dangerous than most poisonous snakes because it harms you even if you survive the initial bite. pic.twitter.com/ATwEFFjaGy
— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) August 8, 2020
The cause for the growth of two heads has been cited to a genetic abnormality and hence the survival rate of these snakes are very low.
In September 2019, another similar one was rescued from the Kalyan area. However, research on it had to be stopped due to the snake's untimely demise.
"There are four documentations of the two-headed Russell’s viper from India, of which two were from Kalyan," said Yogesh Kamble, War Rescue Foundation to reporters.
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