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Audubon Zoo's beloved two headed snake donated by Nicholas Cage dies

harvey the snake
harvey the snake
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Audubon Zoo's beloved two headed snake donated by Nicholas Cage dies
Audubon Institute is mourning the loss of a very special snake. Harvey, a two-headed gopher snake donated to Audubon in 2008 by actor Nicholas Cage, passed away. The zoo said Harvey passed away due to health issues related to its old age. He was believed to be around 14 years old, according to the zoo. Audubon issued the following statement on its Instagram will the announcement:"Harvey was named after Batman villain Harvey Dent (also known as “Two-Face”). Both heads were fully functional, although one was clearly more dominant than the other. Although Harvey had two separate brains, both heads shared a single pair of every other organ."It is rare for snakes to be born with two heads, and is the result of the incomplete division of twins during their embryological development. In most cases, embryos with this abnormality fail to develop and die before hatching. For those that manage to successfully hatch, it is even rarer for two-headed snakes to survive to adulthood, as many have underlying physical conditions and internal anatomical deformities that cause problems."Harvey will be missed dearly. Please keep our Herpetology team and the many others who loved Harvey in your thoughts."

Audubon Institute is mourning the loss of a very special snake.

Harvey, a two-headed gopher snake donated to Audubon in 2008 by actor Nicholas Cage, passed away.

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The zoo said Harvey passed away due to health issues related to its old age. He was believed to be around 14 years old, according to the zoo.

Audubon issued the following statement on its Instagram will the announcement:

"Harvey was named after Batman villain Harvey Dent (also known as “Two-Face”). Both heads were fully functional, although one was clearly more dominant than the other. Although Harvey had two separate brains, both heads shared a single pair of every other organ.

"It is rare for snakes to be born with two heads, and is the result of the incomplete division of twins during their embryological development. In most cases, embryos with this abnormality fail to develop and die before hatching. For those that manage to successfully hatch, it is even rarer for two-headed snakes to survive to adulthood, as many have underlying physical conditions and internal anatomical deformities that cause problems.

"Harvey will be missed dearly. Please keep our Herpetology team and the many others who loved Harvey in your thoughts."