Timber rattle snakes are an endangered species in New Jersey, and one that herpetological associates in Pemberton try to protect as they conduct environmental surveys for developers.
Last week as herpetologist Dave Schneider and his colleague Dave Burkett were looking for timber nests in the pine barrens, they made an extremely rare discovery.
A newborn rattlesnake with two heads!
"I was blown away, cause when he first told me, I was like, ‘Yeah right," Schneider said.
To their knowledge, it's the first two-headed timber rattle snake ever discovered in New Jersey.
"It's fascinating to watch," Schneider said.
So far it looks like both heads are fully formed, but until it's old enough eat in a couple more days, they won't know much about the rest of the baby snake's anatomy.
Bob Zappalorti is the owner of Herpetological Associates.
"It was probably supposed to be a twin and then during the development it ended up being a two-headed snake,” he said.
Unfortunately, two heads are not better than one for a snake's survival. Its irregular movements would make it easy prey. So rather than return it to the wild, they'll take care of it and use it for educational purposes.
"All us guys that like to go out in the woods and search for these animals, you might think of a neat pattern on a snake or different coloration but for a snake with two heads it's crazy so it's neat," Schneider said.
