Discover the Life of a Two-Headed Turtle Who Has Been Named Mary-Kate and Ashley!
Can they survive in the wild?
Like doting parents, the staff members at the Cape Wildlife Center are worrying if the two-headed turtle in their care would live long when “they” are returned to their natural habitat.
The two-headed turtle Mary-Kate and Ashley, named after the famous Olsen twins, was rescued by the Barnstable Department of Natural Resources. It was discovered in a protected nesting site for Diamondback terrapins.
Diamondback terrapins are a rare type of turtle, characterized by diamond-shaped bony plates with concentric rings. They are the only turtles that survive in brackish water, which is saltier than freshwater but not as salty as seawater. They are found in the northeastern United States, inhabiting salt marshes, mangrove swamps, wetlands, and tidal creeks.
These turtles need freshwater to drink, and they brumate in winter. Brumation in reptiles and amphibians is similar to hibernation, but brumation is more about limited movement in cold-blooded animals. In the case of turtles, which brumate underwater or in mud, they breathe through their blood vessels, which are highly-concentrated in their cloaca, the orifice where their digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts come together.
Can Mary-Kate and Ashley live like normal terrapins?
Zak Mertz, executive director of the wildlife center, explained that two-headed turtles are usually born with only four legs. But Mary-Kate and Ashley have six legs and two heads with full motor function, and they are cooperating with each other. They also have separate spines, which join at the pelvis, and it is possible that they have separate hearts and lungs.
To live a normal life in the wild will be a real challenge for Mary-Kate and Ashley, especially since their species is already listed as vulnerable. Terrapins are often hunted for trade and consumption; many also die from commercial blue crab traps, habitat destruction through coastal development, and pollution.
Bicephaly, or having two heads, can be caused by genetic or environmental factors. The condition occurs in reptiles more often than in mammals.
Interestingly, a case of bicephaly has been traced back to the Cretaceous period about 150 million years ago. A team of French and Chinese paleontologists found a fossil reptile with two heads and two necks.
In the 21st century, meanwhile, a two-headed boa was featured in Nat Geo Wild.
Then there was the two-headed prawn that was discovered in the Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium.
More cases of abnormalities have been also observed in sharks, which may be due to pollution, metabolic disorders, viral infections, or decreasing gene pool, according to National Geographic.
Although bicephaly occurs infrequently in mammals, it’s well noted when it does. There was a cat which the world loved and adored back in 2017. Bettie Bee was born with 2 faces and lived for only 17 days. But she was loved with such tenderness that it made living worthwhile.
Written by Doris De Luna
