At first, people didn’t believe it.
Footage circulating online showed what appeared to be a yellow-bellied sea snake writhing on a Southern California beach. Skeptics quickly questioned whether it was legitimate, with plenty suggesting the clip had actually been filmed somewhere tropical — perhaps Mexico.
Turns out, it was real. And it was filmed at Crystal Cove State Beach in Orange County, just north of Laguna Beach.
Jackie Aguilar told CBS Los Angeles she spotted the snake while walking with her family last Friday evening. Seeing the sluggish animal struggling onshore, they attempted to help it back into the ocean — before learning what it was.
“What? A venomous sea snake on the beach! And I, like, I ran and I just kind of left and I was like, there’s a snake,” Aguilar said.
It wasn’t until later that the severity of the encounter set in. “They’re all telling me like it’s one of the most poisonous ones. And then I started researching it and I found out it was like the yellow belly one.”
Officials have yet to formally identify the animal, but certified marine naturalist Capt. Chad Steffen told CBS it strongly resembles a yellow-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis platurus).
Related: Shark Washes Up on Washington Beach—Then Its Head Disappears (Video)
“They are very venomous, this particular sea snake, but they’re also very clumsy and sluggish out of the water,” Stefen explained. “They’re not inclined to bite at all. They’re not aggressive.”
That first part shouldn’t be ignored. The tropical species carries potent neurotoxic and myotoxic venom capable of causing paralysis, severe muscle damage and, in rare cases, death. However, bites are extremely uncommon. Yellow-bellied sea snakes have small fangs, relatively low venom yields and are generally reluctant to bite unless handled.
Normally, the entirely aquatic snakes inhabit warm tropical waters across vast portions of the Pacific and Indian oceans. But El Niño has a history of bringing them north. According to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, five of the six documented yellow-bellied sea snakes found in California arrived during previous El Niño events.
And conditions are lining up again.
“We’re having a very warm water year,” Steffen said.
NOAA says El Niño is currently strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of becoming a very strong event this fall and winter. Southern and Central California are also experiencing unusually warm coastal water.
Warm-water visitors have already included hammerhead sharks and other subtropical species. And now, apparently, a venomous sea snake.
So no, the video wasn’t Mexico.
Which might actually make it stranger.
Related: Huge Rattlesnake Makes Unusual Appearance at Orange County Beach (Video)
Original Post from this site