Snake, Thought to Be Male, Births 14 Babies in 'Miracle'
Staff at England’s City of Portsmouth College were surprised to discover that a snake, believed to be male, had given birth to 14 babies, the college said in a press release on June 24.
Ronaldo, a 13-year-old Brazilian rainbow boa who had been declared male by a vet, hadn’t interacted with other snakes for at least nine years, the college said.
The six-foot-long snake gave birth “due to the extremely rare phenomenon of parthenogenesis, a natural form of asexual reproduction in which embryos develop without fertilization.”
The “miracle birth” was believed to be the third such birth in a captive Brazilian rainbow boa.
The baby snakes were discovered during a routine check by a student, the college said.
The college’s reptile specialist Pete Quinlan said,
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