JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens recently welcomed two new members to its ever-growing family with the hatching of two Eastern indigo snakes, which are listed as a threatened species in its native range of the southeastern United States.
The snakes were hatched July 10 and 11 after a 100-day incubation, just days before the Jacksonville zoo celebrated World Snake Day on Monday.
“We are very proud and excited to welcome such significant new additions to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens family," Dan Maloney, the zoo’s deputy director for animal care and conservation, said in a news release. "Six years ago, we acquired young snakes in hopes that they would be future parents. To finally have healthy hatchlings is extremely satisfying and lays the foundation for a successful, sustainable breeding program.”
Zoo officials said this was the first time that they have hatched the vulnerable species since 1997.
The two hatchlings are currently 13 inches long and will grow to be into the longest native snake species in the United States.