Rare two-headed Russell's Viper rescued in Maharashtra
Rare two-headed Russell's Viper rescued in Maharashtra
The wildlife rescuers at Kalyan's Gandhare road area on Mumbai's outskirts rescued a two headed Russel viper snake last Thursday, and the visuals of dangerous reptile are viral ever since. The snake reportedly measures 11 cm with both its heads out there with approximately 2 cm dimensions.

Found mostly in and around country's both Eastern and Western Ghats, the Russell's Viper snake is one of the most venomous snake species found in India, and reportedly also causes one of the most incidents of snake bites.

The snake was rescued by Mumbai-based War Rescue Foundation, after the wildlife conservation group received a call from a Kalyan resident Dimple Shah, following which two rescuers managed to to rescue the snake from the spot, Mumbai Live reported.


The video of the two-headed snake was shared by Indian Forest Service Officer Susanta Nanda on Twitter. "Double danger. Two headed Russell's Viper rescued in Maharashtra. Genetic abnormality and hence low survival rates in the wild.

The Russell's Viper is far more dangerous than most poisonous snakes because it harms you even if you survive the initial bite," he captioned the video.


One Twitter user asked about the Chemistry which makes the reptilian creature so dangerous. Another Tweeple in a different reply answered the query rather inadvertently. "The reason why it is more dangerous because the venom is haemotoxic that flows through the blood," wrote a tweeple. Another user said that venom is basically an enzyme used by the snake to digest its food, however, as the venom enters the human body it becomes the poison.


According to the reports by some Mumbai-based news portals, the double-headed snake rescued from Kalyan has been handed over to Haffkine Institute in Mumbai's Parel.