Check Out These Bizarre Looking Babies Born at the Denver Zoo
Cute baby animals are born all the time at the Denver Zoo, but eight little ones that were recently welcomed into the world received a slightly different reaction than "aw." You know when you tell someone that their baby is cute, but in reality, it looks like a tiny alien? That's the case with these teensy tentacled snakes that were born at the zoo last month.
According to the zoo, the tentacled snakes were born underwater in the Tropical Discovery exhibit. These unique reptiles are part of the 30 percent of snake species that give birth to live young, instead of laying eggs. Tentacled snakes don't typically leave the water on a voluntary basis, but they do come up to the surface for air after a while of being submerged.
The fascinating newborn creatures have gotten all sorts of attention. People have compared them to the hair of Medusa while others find them oddly adorable in their own way.
Zoo staff explained that these snake babies will not be featured on exhibit in Denver. Once they are established and able to feed on their own, the aquatic snakes will be will offered to other AZA-accredited institutions around the world. Their parents, however, will remain in Tropical Discovery for visitors to see.
The Denver Zoo welcomed four baby tentacled snakes back in 2015 as well.
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Tentacled snakes are native to Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Their average size upon maturity is a little under 20 inches. Once grown, tentacled snakes can be identified by the two scaly appendages that extend from the front of their snouts.