Two-headed turtle discovered in America

A woman found a two-headed turtle crossing the road in Hudson, Maine this week.

Kathleen Talbot told WLBZ2 that she was watching turtle hatchlings cross the road to make sure they arrived safely on the other side when she spotted one of the baby snapping turtles left behind.

She said: "I thought he had two feet in the front. I thought he was deformed. I didn't realise it was two heads until I got him home and washed him. Then he came to life - and was just starving."

Talbot named the turtle Frank and Stein.

She is keeping the two-headed turtle in a temporary enclosure, a casserole dish, and says she "bought him reptile pellets, which he's not sure if he likes yet, but he does like worms and flies and hamburger".

Speaking to Bangor Daily News, state wildlife biologist Derek Yorks, said: "Obviously it's a major deformity, to say the least. So with that can come a whole host of complications - or not. It all depends on the luck of the draw. Under natural conditions, they rarely survive into adulthood, but there are a fair number of cases where people have found these two-headed turtles and kept them in captivity, and they've lived a long time."

Last year, a turtle with two heads made its debut after hatching at a zoo in Texas, USA.

The rare female Texas cooter, named Thelma and Louise by her keepers at San Antonio Zoo, was one of several born at the zoo, but was the only one with two heads.

Zoo spokeswoman Debbie Rios-Vanskike said that the two-headed turtle appeared healthy and was able to swim and walk.

She added that experts at the zoo didn't foresee any health issues for the unusual reptile.

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