Yellow-bellied sea snakes are usually found in the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Ocean. But just recently, a 27-inch venomous yellow-bellied snake, Pelamis platura, was found dead on a shores of Huntington beach last December 12.
The chances of this species of sea snakes washed to California shores are very unlikely.
During a cleanup drive attended by 275 volunteers in the Bolsa Chica State Beach, one of the volunteers found the rare snake and took it home. The snake was placed in a zip lock and stored in a refrigerator. Tony Soriano from the Huntington Beach Surfrider Foundation confirmed that the volunteer was not aware that the snake was venomous.
Officials from the Museum of Natural History heard of the story and contacted the volunteer. The museum took custody of the dead snake.
Huntington Beach Surfrider Foundation posted a message on Facebook saying, "There is belief that the El Niño temperature change could have enticed the creature to swim north in search of small fish and eels, which they use their venom to paralyze."
This has been the 3rd time that this species of sea snake has been retrieved along the Southern California coast.
Herpetology curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County reassured the beach goers that this rare appearance will not affect the safety of the beaches.
"Unlike most snakes that we're afraid of, like rattlesnakes and cottonmouths, the yellow-bellied sea snake is not very good at biting. It's got a very small mouth and its jaws don't open wide like a rattlesnake. It's used to killing and eating very small fish. What they really want is a fish smaller than a couple of inches."
The rare sea snake is cannot cause fatal injuries to humans.
Pauly explains that the rare appearance of the snake in the Huntington beach was caused by El Nino which pushes warm currents to move farther north.
There has also been rare appearance of tropical birds, tuna and hammerhead sharks in the northern areas of the world. This are all caused by El Nino.
