Missouri-department-of-conservation-may-2024.jpg?w=400″ class=”attachment-large size-large wp-post-image” alt=”A photo of Tiger-Lily, a two-headed western rat snake, owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation.” decoding=”async” sizes=”(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px”>
Meet MDC’s famous western two-headed snake, Tiger-Lily, this summer at the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs, Missouri. Tiger-Lily will be on display from June 1 to July 31.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announced that its famous two-headed snake will be in the metro all summer starting June 1.
Tiger-Lily, the identical conjoined Western rat snakes, will be at the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs, Missouri, on Saturday and will remain there for visitors to view through July 31.
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According to the MDC, western rat snakes are native to Missouri and are nonvenomous. Tiger-Lily, specifically, is quite rare because it is a set of identical conjoined twins who were never completely separated, giving them a low survival rate.
MDC said the name Tiger-Lily comes from the family who found her in Stone County, near Branson, about seven years ago. It was then donated to the Shepherd of the Hills Conservation Center so the public could view it.
However, Tiger-Lily is not just an anatomical anomaly due to its joint condition. He is almost five feet long and loves to eat, MDC representatives said. And while it’s a sight to behold, keepers have made it clear that it’s not easy to handle.
“Both heads want to eat, but they share one esophagus,” said Alison Bleich, director of the MDC Interpretive Center. “The staff will place a small cup on one head while the other eats and then they will switch. Otherwise, both heads would try to grab the same mouse.”
Eating is simply one of the struggles faced by a two-headed (polycephalous) animal. According to the MDC, a big challenge, specifically for a two-headed snake, is that they cannot escape from predators into normal holes and crevices like other snakes do in the wild.
However, now that Tiger-Lily is in a safe and monitored environment, the chances of survival are much greater.
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“We encourage visitors to come to Burr Oak Woods Nature Center this summer to see Tiger-Lily, as well as our other snakes, fish and turtles,” said Burr Oak Woods Assistant Manager Stephanie Kemp.
If you are interested in meeting Tiger-Lily, go to the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center at 1401 Northwest Park Road in Blue Springs. For more information, go to Burr Oak Woods Website.
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