JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida zoo celebrated World Snake Day by announcing the hatching of two members of a threatened snake species.
The Florida Times-Union reports that the two Eastern indigo snakes emerged from 4-inch eggs on July 10 and 11, following a 100-day incubation at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. Currently 13 inches long, the pair are destined to grow as members of the longest native snake species in the country.
They were the first indigo snakes hatched at the zoo since 1997.
The species is native to the southeastern United States, where the population has decreased rapidly because of habitat loss. The zoo acquired a pair in 2012 to breed.
The zoo says those snakes recently reached sexual maturity, but were only briefly together as Eastern indigos can be territorial.
___
Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
