A two-headed snake in the East Bay, which was later named Angel and Zeke — recognizing the animal’s sentient plurality — died the night before its first birthday.
Singular animals born with two fully independent and functioning heads are scarce. For some perspective: You’re more likely to get struck by lightning 200 times over than be present at the time a two-headed animal is born — or hatched, for that matter.
Since skyrocketing to local and national fame in April, the two-headed California kingsnake at Berkeley’s East Bay Vivarium (EBV) has enjoyed social media superstardom; Instagram and Facebook posts about the snake commonly see likes and shares numbering in the thousands; by contrast, most social media posts by EBV enjoy dozens or potentially hundreds of public engagements.
The snake(s) was (were) later named Angel and Zeke after months of public speculation (and questioning) on what to call the creature(s). It was settled that the two-headed snake was, indeed, two separate entities … that just so happen to share a singular body. And since hatching on September 4th, 2024, Angle and Zeke remained in exceptionally good health, sawing a whole baby mouse once a week.
Things were looking fantastic for their collective survival. The pair was, truly, thriving against all odds. But sadly, Angel and Zeke have reportedly passed away the night before their first birthdays.
“Zeke and Angel did unfortunately pass away last week,” reads an Instagram post by EBV. Earlier last week, EBV shared on social media that the pair had recently celebrated their first birthday — a quick video showing how big they’ve gotten in just a year. However, the birthday post was apparently scheduled in advance, and an individual named “Katie,’ who manages EBV’s social accounts, was unaware that the birthday post was published, despite Angel and Zeke’s passing.
“I only work one day a week while I’m in school, so I pre-plan my posts weeks in advance, and I wasn’t alerted until the day after,” Katie continued on the post, apologizing for any confusion it may have caused. “I had their birthday post planned a couple of weeks in advance, and they happened to pass away the night before.”
In most circumstances, animals with two heads are born as stillbirths; the few that do survive birth rarely make it past a few days, oftentimes succumbing to birth defects associated with their complicated anatomy. Two-headed animals that celebrate their first birthday are almost unheard of; only a handful of verifiable accounts of two-headed snakes reaching sexual maturity exist.
Despite Angel and Zeke’s premature death, the pair were incredible spokesnakes for EBV — “they became the biggest ambassadors we’ve ever had” — and introduced an uncountable number of people into herpetoculture, the hobby of keeping and breeding reptiles and amphibians, and the importance of protecting snakes in the wild.
“Thank you to everyone who came to meet them and sorry for the confusion,” Katie concludes.
Slither in peace, Angel and Zeke, y’all were truly one of a kind.
