THE BIBLE tells us that snakes are amoral, loathsome creatures associated with poison, deception and general craftiness.
So, when Parks and Wildlife rangers near Humpty Doo in the Northern Territories came across an unusual serpent, the God-fearing among them may have been perturbed to say the least.
For it was no ordinary snake that they found slithering on the roadside but rather one possessing three eyes.
Three-eyed snakes are rare, to say the least, prompting the rangers to take to Facebook to share images of their scaly discovery.
After taking the snake off for a closer examination, the rangers made a couple of surprising discoveries.
“The snake is peculiar as an X-ray revealed it was not two separate heads forged together, rather it appeared to be one skull with an additional eye socket and three functioning eyes,” they explained in a Facebook post.
The three-eyed snake warns The Dry is coming!
Our Rangers found a three-eyed snake on the Arnhem Highway near Humpty...
Posted by Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday, May 1, 2019
“It was generally agreed that the eye likely developed very early during the embryonic stage of development.
“It is extremely unlikely that this is from environmental factors and is almost certainly a natural occurrence as malformed reptiles are relatively common.”
This particular snake story has a sad ending though after local media sources confirmed that the snake, which is thought to be a carpet python, died in captivity.
Despite the best efforts of the Parks and Wildlife rangers, the snake’s misshaped skull meant it had trouble eating, leaving it malnourished in a situation that eventually proved fatal.
A strange discovery that could prove to be a portent of doom, for now its important to take the snake’s discovery at face value – all three eyes included.
** Originally Published on: May 3, 2019
