Photos have emerged showing a python born with three eyes in the Northern Territory town of Humpty Doo on the Arnhem Highway of Australia.
The three-eyed python
A python with three eyes has left many people in shock after it was discovered by park rangers in the Northern Territory town of Humpty Doo on the Arnhem Highway of Australia several weeks ago.
According to
Dailymail, the strange looking reptile - a Territory long carpet python - was just three months old, 40cms long and had three functioning eyes when he was picked up by wildlife experts in late March.
Caring for Monty was difficult for the team at NT Parks and Wildlife as the young snake struggled to feed due to his deformities.
Ranger Ray Chatto confirmed the snake died last week.
'It’s remarkable it was able to survive so long in the wild with it’s deformity and he was struggling to feed before he died last week,' Mr Chatto told NT News.
After being found, Monty was sent for X rays, which revealed the origin of the extra eye.
'It was generally agreed that the eye likely developed very early during the embryonic stage of development,' Mr Chatto said.
'It is extremely unlikely that this is from environmental factors and is almost certainly a natural occurrence as malformed reptiles are relatively common.'
Monty's remains are now being kept at the CSIRO research centre in Darwin.
Carpet pythons are commonly found throughout Australia and can grow up to three metres in length.
The non-venomous species feast on frogs, lizards, birds and small mammals.
See more photos below: