This snake is giving birth without having sex and no-one quite knows why

Unique Snake Birth at Louisville Zoo

The Louisville Zoo and researchers from the University of Tulsa have discovered that the world’s largest snake is capable of virgin birth also known as parthenogenesis. The Louisville Zoo’s 11 year-old reticulate python affectionately called “Thelma” has given birth to six offspring without the benefit of a male snake. The 20 foot 200 lb. reticulate python has been housed at the Louisville Zoo for four years without a male. Shed skins from the mother and all six offspring as well as other biological material were sent to a molecular ecology laboratory in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Tulsa, in Oklahoma. Over the next several months, their molecular lab determined through genetic testing and analysis that all six offspring were produced by the mother alone - without sperm from a male snake. This has never been documented before in the world’s largest snake. The reticulate python is the world’s largest snake based on more than a century of documented physical evidence. Some physically assessed specimens have exceeded 25 feet and weighed more than 300 pounds. They reside throughout tropical Southeast Asia: India’s Andaman Islands, the Philippines, Indo-China and through Indonesia’s vast Malay Archipelago. You can see mom in the HerpAquarium daily where she is on exhibit with another reticulate python. These six offspring aren’t on exhibit just yet. Due to their size and exhibit space, the Zoo will likely share some of the offspring with other zoos within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.... watch the video below

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