Rare Venomous Sea Snake Attributed to El Niño
Many are attributing a recent rare sighting of a yellow-bellied sea snake to a strong El Niño. “We’re rarely surprised anymore by the things we find during our beach clean-ups but this one was a shocker! Our Huntington Beach Surfrider Foundation chapter found this venomous sea snake in the sand.” Said the Surfrider Foundation in a Facebook post.
“It’s super rare – scientists are saying this is the first time in 30 years the snake has been sighted in the waters off California. Words of wisdom for those who like to play with snakes – don’t touch, it’s highly venomous.”
Huntington Beach Surfrider Foundation went on to say, “…After talking further with an expert herpetology curator, our information has been corrected. As it turns out only 3 of these Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes have ever been reported. The first sighting being in 1972, the second earlier this year and ours now as the third. Pretty remarkable!”