An "exotic, incredibly poisonous" yellow-bellied sea snake, scientifically identified as Pelamis platura, was discovered washed ashore in the coast of Southern California last week, according to KTLA 5.
This is the second yellow-bellied sea snake found in the Southern Californian shores, as another sea snake was also uncovered on a beach near the Oxnard area the same week. Environmental groups say that these snakes were washed onto dry land because of the El Niño.
Heal the Bay, a non-profit environmental advocacy group, also says that sea snakes are now heading to new areas due to the intensifying warmth of the ocean. The group adds that these kinds of snakes have not been seen since the El Niño period that took place back in 1980, according to Quartz.
After it was caught, the snake was delivered to a nearby office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where it died shortly afterwards, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Heal the Bay has since posted information about the sea snake on Facebook, which has since seen its comments section flooded with reports of sightings from people in their respective areas.
This exotic, incredibly venomous sea snake has been spotted off Oxnard, likely due to a climate change and El Niño...
Posted by Heal the Bay on Friday, October 16, 2015
The post says that people should not get close to the snake and interact with it, but they should take photos and videos of the snake as much as they can.
