When you hear the words “two-headed snake”, what comes to your mind first? A freaky, but exciting anomaly in nature? A nightmare? A myth? How about a co-worker?

Last week, news dropped that a two-headed snake was found by an electrical worker in Arkansas. Some embraced the discovery as a Syfy network movie come true, others viewed it as a sign of impending doom, and more just thought it was ridiculously cool. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s cool.

Rodney Kelso found the rare reptile as it was catching some warm rays outside. It was hanging out with a couple friends when he spotted it. Besides the fact that it has two heads, it’s also a venomous rattlesnake! He caught it, put it in a box, and later had it taken to a local nature center in Jonesboro, Arkansas. There it’s been examined and put on temporary display.

Named “Deuce”, it’s a timber rattlesnake that is thought to be fairly young. He is roughly a foot long (which is practically kid-size in the snake world) but experts say that these snakes can grow to over four feet. To better understand his lifestyle, movements, and eating habits, Deuce will be studied by local biologists from Arkansas State University and perhaps be relocated to the school.

As you can imagine, there are many questions to be answered. How does he eat? Which one is bossier? Is one head more conversational than the other? In all seriousness, Deuce does have two separate brains, so his (or their) instincts could be affected by his physical appearance.

The timber rattler is considered a threatened species in more than half of the states where it’s found, though Arkansas is not one of the places it’s protected. Part of the reason the nature center wanted the snake’s care to be handled by a university was to increase its chances of survival. In the wild, two-headed snakes are prone to short life spans.

Deuce’s unique composition is a fusion of two snakes, rather than one who’s sprouted an extra head. How did it happen? Like twins, it’s mostly likely that it came from one egg. This one egg didn’t split and develop into two separate embryos, but caused the mutation instead.

It’s been observed that snakes with two heads think independently of one another, have their own dispositions, and are not always on the same page. Because of this, they are easy prey in the wild. Snakes like Deuce that are kept in captivity may fare much better without the threat of predators looming about.

Click on the clip below from Wochit to get a look at Deuce. How about those four eyes! As far as two-headed snakes go, we can’t do anything about your nightmares or co-workers, but we can marvel at these rare occurrences in nature that can be seen up close.

What do you think about Deuce? Have you ever seen a two-headed snake or other mythical animal in the wild? What’s your take on how they might behave?

Sources:

KAIT  

Gizmodo