Double Trouble: Two-headed snake back on display at Waco’s Cameron Park Zoo
WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Cameron Park Zoo on Tuesday announced Pancho and Lefty, a rare two-headed snake, are finally back on exhibit.
The zoo said a family outside of Waco found the unique western rat snake in their yard back in 2016 and they donated the snake to the zoo.
“This snake probably wouldn’t have survived long in the wild as he has two brains that are often giving conflicting commands to his one body, so his movements are more sporadic and uncoordinated than typical one-headed snakes,” the zoo wrote in a Facebook post.
“The other problem is that he can easily injure his neck by trying to go in different directions and getting stuck on branches, rocks, and other obstacles.”
Two-headed snake at Waco’s Cameron Park Zoo
The zoo said this is what happened back in February of 2021 when the snake suffered a wound on its left neck and the zoo was forced to it off an exhibit to heal.
“Our veterinary and reptile teams worked hard to keep the wound bandaged and clean. It took until June last year for the wound to fully heal. Now that he has been eating well and the wound has been fully closed for a year, we are excited to put him back out in the freshwater aquarium building,” the zoo said.
The snake’s new exhibit will not have many obstacles besides grass. The zoo hopes the design provides enough cover for the snake to feel secure while also being physically safe, so Pancho and Lefty do not injure their neck again.
“We love how invested our community is in the zoo and in this snake. Even though he has been off exhibit for over two years, we still regularly get questions about him, so we are excited that he is visible for everybody again.”
Pancho and Lefty are housed in the freshwater aquarium building along the Brazos River Country trail, not in the herpetarium, the zoo said.
Two-headed snake at Waco’s Cameron Park Zoo
