Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 23, 2019

'Mystery Dinner Snake' Found in Belly of Another Snake Finally Identified

However, the animal's long wait in species limbo is finally over. Researchers recently revealed that not only is the snake a new species; it also represents a new genus. And the name they gave it, Cenaspis aenigma, is a whimsical nod to where the snake was found, translating from Latin...

Mar 28, 2019

Ninja Rat Drop-Kicks Deadly Rattlesnake in Epic Slow-Motion Video

The duel is over faster than you can blink. The snake lashes out; the rat leaps into the air, kicks the snake in the head and bounces frantically away. Neither combatant gets the meal they were hoping for. Quick-draw encounters like this happen every night in the desert and go...

Apr 8, 2019

Captured 17-Foot-Long Python Was About to Have 73 Babies

Wildlife officials have captured a 17-foot-long (5.1 meters) Burmese python and a mother-to-be in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve — the longest python ever found in the preserve, which neighbors the Everglades. But even though her size and her weight of 140 lbs. (63 kilograms) likely puts her in the...

May 2, 2019

3-Eyed Snake Found in Australia Surprises Rangers

Rangers in Australia could hardly believe their eyes when they came across a wild snake with three functioning peepers on its head. The snake, a carpet python (Morelia spilota), had a third eye on its forehead. This condition is extremely rare, said David Penning, an assistant professor of biology at...

May 23, 2019

Enormous Python Swallows, Vomits Up Even Bigger Python

A gigantic python was recently captured in photos vomiting up another, bigger python. This snake regurgitation happened in East Kimberley, Western Australia, according to local news site The New Daily. Kurt Jongedyk, the manager at Parry Creek Farm Tourist Resort and Caravan Park in the area, reportedly came across a...

Jun 2, 2019

What Should You Do If You're Bitten by a Venomous Snake?

Getting bitten by a venomous snake can be very scary, and can lead people to react in exactly the wrong way: Maybe they panic, try to catch or kill the snake, or apply ice or a tourniquet to the wound, which can be disastrous in certain situations. So, how should...

Jun 4, 2019

Anaconda Mom Gives Birth to Baby Clones, No Male Required

When it comes to making babies, it usually takes two to tango. But Anna, a 10-foot-long (3 meters) anaconda at Boston's New England Aquarium, did it solo. Earlier this year, Anna gave birth to 18 snake babies all by herself, no male snakes required. Aquarium staff had no idea Anna...

Sep 23, 2019

Photos: How to Identify a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Diverse ecosystem The American West is a kaleidoscope of varied landscapes and ecological environments. From vast sand-covered deserts to sweeping valleys covered with the sparse vegetation of a variety of bur sage or a sea of aromatic creosote bush, Larrea tridentata, to high mountain peaks of rugged, metamorphic schist and...

Oct 12, 2019

What's The Biggest Animal That a Snake Can Swallow?

The top suggested searches on YouTube for snake eats offer some insight into our fascination with the scary and disgusting. Some of the suggestions are gross (snake eats frog live) or hard to imagine (snake eats porcupine). Others seem symbolic (snake eats itself). But the largest group of suggestions emphasize...

Nov 6, 2019

This Fungus Makes Snakes Look Like Mummies. It Just Turned Up in California.

A newly emerging disease infects snakes and causes their skin to crust, eyes to cloud and faces to swell — and now, a stricken serpent has been spotted in California. This is the first case of snake fungal disease seen in the state, according to a statement from the California...

Nov 20, 2019

Beautifully Preserved Skull of 'Biblical Snake' with Hind Legs Discovered

On very rare occasions, an exceptional fossil is unearthed that provides an extraordinary glimpse into the evolution of a group of organisms. This time, it is the beautifully preserved skull of an ancient snake with rear limbs, Najash rionegrina. Our study of this fossil has been published in the journal...

Dec 9, 2019

Hunters Set to Round Up Giant Burmese Pythons in Florida Challenge

The state of Florida is preparing to host the Super Bowl in January … and to wipe out as many invasive pythons as possible. On Dec. 5, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the date for Python Bowl 2020. The annual Python Challenge recruits hunters in Florida and trains them to...

Feb 18, 2020

Florida officials cordon off park for annual snake orgy

Valentine's Day is behind us, and Cupid has trained his bow on the lakes, rivers and swamps of Florida. That's right: It's snake orgy season. Every spring, the water snakes of Florida (genus Nerodia) slither out of their waterside trees to look for love around the state's countless freshwater coasts....

Jun 8, 2020

Why these rattlesnakes are declining at an alarming rate

Just like the hordes of mountain bikers, hikers and trail runners that migrate from their comfortable couches to more open spaces in spring, western rattlesnakes are also on the move, emerging from deep winter dens to their summer foraging grounds. For years, our research group at Thompson Rivers University has...

Oct 26, 2020

Rare, 2-headed snake discovered by Florida house cat

What has two brains, no legs and the best profile pic on Facebook? That would be this rare, two-headed racer snake recently discovered by a house cat in Palm Harbor, Florida. The cat's family was rudely introduced to the supernatural serpent about a month ago when their cat, Olive, dropped...