Ronaldo the 6ft 'Male' Snake Gives Birth to 14 Babies in Rare 'Virgin Birth'

In a shocking discovery, Ronaldo, a 6ft (1.8m) Brazilian rainbow boa snake that was declared male nine years ago, has given birth to 14 baby snakes. This rare phenomenon, known as parthenogenesis, involves the development of embryos without fertilization.

Ronaldo, the 6ft Brazilian rainbow boa. Pic: PA

Ronaldo, who had been residing at the City of Portsmouth College for the last two years, had not had any contact with other snakes during this time. However, during a routine check, a student discovered that Ronaldo had given birth.

"We couldn't believe our eyes," said animal care technician Amanda McLeod. "One of the students discovered them during a routine vivarium check. At first, we thought she must have been mistaken."

Peter Quinlan, a reptile specialist at the college, explained that parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction observed in some plants and animals. He stated that Ronaldo's pregnancy was only the third documented case of this rare phenomenon in a captive snake of its species.

Two of the baby snakes at the City of Portsmouth College. Pic: PA

"I've been breeding snakes for 50 years and I've never known this happen before," Quinlan said. "Effectively, the babies are clones of their mother although their markings are all slightly different."

Ronaldo had been appearing slightly larger than usual, but the staff never suspected that the "male" snake was actually pregnant. Quinlan is now tasked with determining the sex of the baby snakes and finding them new homes.

This remarkable case of parthenogenesis in a "male" snake has left the handlers at the City of Portsmouth College in a state of shock and wonder.

羅拿度 - 這隻6尺「雄性」蛇誕下14隻小蛇,這是罕見的「處女生育」

在一個令人震驚的發現中,被確定為9年前雄性的6尺(1.8米)巴西彩虹boa蛇羅拿度,竟然誕下了14隻小蛇。這種罕見的現象被稱為無性生殖,即胚胎在沒有受精的情況下發育。

過去2年,羅拿度一直居住在朴茨茅斯城市學院,期間完全沒有與其他蛇接觸。然而,在一次例行檢查中,一名學生發現羅拿度已經生產。

動物護理技術員Amanda McLeod說:「我們簡直不敢相信自己的眼睛。一名學生在例行活體箱檢查時發現了牠們,起初我們還以為學生弄錯了。」

學院的爬行動物專家Peter Quinlan解釋說,無性生殖是一種自然發生的無性繁衍形式,在某些植物和動物中都有觀察到。他表示,羅拿度的懷孕僅是這種罕見現象在同類圈養蛇中的第三次記錄。

Quinlan說:「我育種蛇類已有50年經驗,從未見過這種情況發生。實際上,小蛇們都是母蛇的克隆,雖然花紋略有不同。」

羅拿度看起來比平時略微肥胖,但工作人員從未懷疑這隻「雄性」蛇竟然懷孕了。Quinlan現在面臨的任務是確定小蛇的性別,並為牠們找到新的家園。

這起罕見的無性生殖案例,讓朴茨茅斯城市學院的工作人員感到震驚和讚嘆。