Watch: The two-headed snake that was seen in Raipur's Nandavan Zoo and other two-headed animals
It's a more common occurrence than one might think.
A 10cm-long, 45-day old, non-poisonous snake two-headed snake was discovered in Raipur, Chhatisgarh a few days ago. The maximum length it can achieve is around 20-25 cm. The snake is going to used by the authorities in a display to bring in more visitors.
Earlier in the year, in March, a flying snake was found in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The snake "flies" or jumps from tree to tree to catch its prey. The snake is rare in the area and is more common to Sri Lanka.
The phenomenon of having more that one head is called Polycephaly. The earliest known occurrence was as early as 120 million years ago, when a fossil of an ancient reptile was discovered having two heads.
Naturally, it's an unfortunate situation for the concerned animal. Each of the two heads is highly individual and has its own reasons for doing things. Such creatures often won't be able to survive in the wild for too long.
A simple internet search reveals many more examples of two-headed animals. Snakes seem to be the most common occurrence. Apparently, there is a million to one chance of a cat's being born with two heads.
Two-headed and three-headed animals are common to mythology and fiction. There's Cerberus, the multi-headed guard-dog of the gate to Hades, which was also an inspiration for JK Rowling's Fluffy from the first book in the Harry Potter series. There's obviously Raavan, who seems to have the most heads in mythology or fiction. In reality, more than two heads has not been seen.
Last year, a farmer in China claimed to have bred a two-headed turtle – his first in 30 million.
Here's a video from the San Antonio Zoo of a two-header cooter turtle from 2013 named Thelma and Louise.
In 2013, a kitten with two heads was known to have been born although it only mewed from one head. Most two-headed cats do not live long. The most famous example was of a cat named Frank and Louie and was profiled by Animal Planet. The two cats defied all expectations by living to the age of 14.
In 2007, the Chinese Year of the Pig saw the birth of a two-headed pig in a farm in China. Its well-timed birth was seen as a blessing from above. Here's a 2016 news report of a similar occurrence that also cites further examples.
And here's one for horror fans or to haunt your nightmares. In 2001, two-headed siamese crocodiles were born in Thailand that were joined at the hips. Imagine what kind of predator those two heads would make.