Snake shuts down Oklahoma City power supply

OKLAHOMA CITY: A snake that crawled into an electrical substation knocked out power to nearly 14,000 homes on the northwest side of Oklahoma's state capital, utility officials said.

The power failure occurred at about 2 a.m. when the snake touched a component that caused a switch to trip, Oklahoma Gas and Electric spokeswoman Karen Kurtz said, adding that the snake was evidently seeking shelter after heavy rains.

At the scene of the crime, no one could determine exactly what kind of serpent caused all the trouble.

"Usually in those situations there's not a lot left," Kurtz explained.

Of the snake, that is. The electrical substation is purring along fine now. (Reuters)

Mutant two-headed snake wows visitors at Ukrainian zoo

A snake with two heads, each able to think and eat separately and even steal food from each other, has become a popular attraction at a Ukrainian zoo.The small albino California Kingsnake, now on show in the Black Sea resort of Yalta is quite a handful, zoo workers told.

The snake's two heads are fiercely independent, are not always in agreement and like to snatch food from each other, said keepers of the private zoo, called Skazka, or Fairy Tale.Zoo worker Ruslan Yakovenko added that he tries to feed the snake's two heads separately as they sometimes fight for food. They said they also need to separate the heads with a barrier.

The private zoo said kingsnakes hunt other reptiles, meaning one of the snake's head could instinctively try to attack and eat the other one.The three-year-old, two-foot-long (60 centimetre) reptile is on loan from Germany.Visitor numbers had nearly doubled since it went on display in early July, said zoo keeper Yakovenko.The snake, believed to be Europe's only two-headed snake, will be on show in Ukraine until September. (AFP)