Most of the time when we report on zoo and nature preserve births, it’s for cute and cuddly animals that are popular with children, like pandas. We also tend to cover any weird or unique animals at the zoo, including the two-headed turtle that was recently put on display in San Antonio, Texas. Today, however, we are reporting on nine venomous snakes of the baby ocellate mountain viper variety, hatched at the St. Louis Zoo. The snakes were born a couple of weeks ago, on August 16, and their birth is notable because at one point in time, the scientific community would have procreating impossible. The snakes are actually native to Northern Turkey. The species was considered extinct for many years thanks to a labeling snafu. After 140 years of fraudulent extinction, in 1983, scientists rediscovered the ocellate mountain viper and the rest is history. Though scientists now know the snake exists, it’s still a rare breed. The Curator of Herpetology & Aquatics at the St. Louis Zoo, Jeff Ettling, recently told the local Fox station that the zoo is only one of handful in the United States that have holdings of the snakes. Read more http://www.cinemablend.com/pop/St-Louis-Zoo-Adds-9-More-Snakes-Once-Thought-Extinct-58837.html
