TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A rare two-headed snake was found on Monday (Sept. 13) at an elementary school in southwestern Taiwan.
While carrying out cleaning duties at 7 a.m. on Monday, students at Dayou Elementary School in Chiayi County's Zhongpu Township suddenly happened upon a snake with white and black bands curled up in the grass under the flag-raising platform. The school's principal Lin Chun-jung (林俊榮) then used a broom to sweep the snake into a bucket, and it was not until then that he realized that it had two heads, reported CNA.
Having worked for many years in the rural, mountainous region, Lin was cited by ETtoday as saying that he is not frightened by snakes. However, in order to ensure the safety of the students, he called the fire department to send a snake catcher to deal with the strange serpent.
(Hsu Shao-tang photo)
The bee and snake team of the Chiayi County Rescue Association was dispatched to the scene. When they examined the snake, they said it was only about 10 centimeters in length and identified it as a Formosa wolf snake (Lycodon ruhstrati, 梅花蛇), a non-venomous snake endemic to Taiwan.
Hsu Shao-tang (徐紹唐), chairman of the Chiayi County Rescue Association, told UDN that although the market value of the snake is over NT$1 million, he decided to donate it to the National Chiayi University College of Life Sciences for research. Hsu suggested that the snake's deformity could have been the result of pesticide pollution in the environment.
(Hsu Shao-tang photo)
The director-general of the association, Li Yu-ling (李雨玲), said that with two-headed snakes, both heads have their own thought processes and often conflict with each other. He said that it is difficult for such creatures to survive for long in the wild, often perishing within a week to a month.
However, when cared for in a research facility, Li said that the snake can live for a much longer period of time.
(Hsu Shao-tang photo)
