Two heads are better than one for this little turtle as he scampers across the ground with lightning speed.
The adorable infant mutant turtle was born in August at the home of Nong Somjai, a reptile breeder in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
The three-month-old slider turtle – nicknamed Michelangelo – has now won hundreds of fans with his rare features and cute behaviour filmed earlier this month.
The adorable infant mutant turtle was born in August at the home of a reptile breeder Nong Somjai in Nonthaburi, Thailand
Ms Somjai said she had been breeding turtles to sell for several years but had never seen one with two heads.
She said: ‘I have had a lot of turtles but this is the first time I’ve had one like this. I knew about them but had never seen them.’
Two-headed turtles have been born before but they are considered rare and a number of them are kept in museums.
‘I breed turtles to sell and a lot of people have been interested in this but I think we might keep him as he is very special’, said Ms Somjai.
‘People think that turtles are slow but no, just look at the video of how fast he goes.’
In August a similar two-headed turtle was found in a beach in Florida by researchers.
The three-month-old slider turtle – nicknamed Michaelangelo – has now won hundreds of fans with his rare features and cute behaviour filmed earlier this month
While checking empty nests left by recently hatched loggerhead turtles, scientists spotted the reptile struggling to keep up with its fellow hatchlings.
Scientists noticed the animal had two heads, and took photos that were later posted online.
‘It’s not rare to find a turtle born with developmental abnormalities,’ Dr Kate Mansfield, who manages the university’s Marine Turtle Research Group, told National Geographic.
Ms Somjai said she had been breeding turtles to sell for several years but had never seen one with two heads
The three-month old turtle was born in Nonthaburi. ‘I breed turtles to sell and a lot of people have been interested in this but I think we might keep him as he is very special’, said Ms Somjai
‘But it is rare to find one alive – in my career I’ve only seen one other turtle with two heads.’
Dr Mansfield posted photos of the mutant loggerhead to Twitter after university interns found the creature.
Dr Mansfield’s team later released the turtle, which quickly crawled down the beach toward the sea.
In August a similar two-headed turtle was found in a beach in Florida by researchers. While checking empty nests left by recently hatched loggerhead turtles, scientists spotted the reptile struggling to keep up with its fellow hatchlings
‘It’s possible it could survive, but the chances are pretty low,’ Dr Mansfield said, adding that a genetic mutation likely caused the two heads.
The chances of any single hatchling surviving are extremely low, with anywhere from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000 infant turtles making it adulthood, according to statistics from the US Sea Turtle Conservancy.
Young turtles must survive fishing nets, abnormal weather patterns caused by climate change, and human developments along the Florida coastline on the reptiles’ long migration routes.
Scientists noticed the animal had two heads, and took photos that were later posted online. Dr Mansfield’s team later released the turtle, which quickly crawled down the beach toward the sea
Dr Mansfield said that adult sea turtles with severe abnormalities are not common, with the occasional misshapen shell spotted by her team, but rarely anything more serious.
A bizarre video that surfaced online in April showed a baby turtle with two heads and six legs found in north China’s Shanxi Province.
Footage showed the baby red-eared slider as it moved around normally, with each flipper moving and all eyes blinking.
Researchers from Shanxi Medicine and Life Science Academy told Chinese media that it was ’caused by genetic mutation, just like a human.’