Rare double headed snake in Nepal

This story by Sanjib Chaudhary originally appeared on Global Voices on 5 May, 2020.

Dicephaly, the condition that causes a snake to be born with two heads, is already very rare. But when villagers from the Nawalpur captured a two-headed banded kukri snake (Oligodon arnenis) they did not have the faintest idea that it was the first of its species.

A recent report in the April 2020 edition of IRCF Journal confirms the discovery. It was the first record of dicephalism of a krait in Nepal, and was studied by Kamal Devkota of the Nepal Toxinology Association and his team at Save the Snakes.

“In my decade-long career, I have found other interesting cases of snakes but you always don’t get what you want,” says Devkota. “Dicephalic snakes are found opportunistically while surveying snakes rather than following any specific methods.”

Police officers rescued the snake from the villagers while they were taking it to Kathmandu, and transferred it to park rangers from the Chitwan National Park who released it into the natural habitat. The banded kukri snakes are named after their sharp, flattened, curved teeth which resemble the Gurkha khukri knife, and are found in the subcontinent.

Dicephaly happens when an embryo in the early stages of development divides possibly induced by sudden temperature changes, environmental pollution, or inbreeding. Because the snakes have two heads, they have two brains and two distinct personalities but in most cases, one head dominates the other. Dicephalic snakes have very little chance of surviving in the wild as the heads might fight with each other for food. Also, the two heads make them less agile when catching prey and more susceptible to predators.

While images and sculptures of snakes or serpents are often found adorning the temples and water spouts in the Kathmandu Valley, two-headed snakes are an incredibly rare occurrence. The two-headed banded kukri is only the third twin-headed snake documented in Nepal.

The first dicephalic snake – a juvenile checkered keelback (Fowlea piscator) – was documented by Mishra and Shah in 1983. The second case – a common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) – was found in May 2018 in Nawalpur and studied by Devkota and his team.

There are up to 90 snake species recorded in Nepal, among which 18 are considered venomous. While many people, especially in the lowlands of Nepal, die of snakebites every year, a snake has its own role in the ecosystem, added Devkota who has been working on human-snake conflict mitigation.

Says Devkota: “Snakes play a vital role to maintain the food web in nature. It also helps to increase the farmer’s productivity in the field by eating mice, frogs and other harmful insects. From snake venom, we can produce many different types of medicine, including anti-venom.”