'No, You Are Not Seeing Double': 2-Headed Turtle Hatches On Cape

BARNSTABLE, MA — "No, you are not seeing double!" That's what officials with the Cape Wildlife Center said when they shared a picture of a two-headed turtle that just hatched.

The diamondback terrapin hatchling was born with a rare condition called bicephaly. It occurs because of genetic and environmental factors influencing the embryo during development, according to wildlife officials. And along with two heads, the turtle also has six legs.

"Animals with this rare condition don't always survive very long or live a good quality of life, but these two have given us reason to be optimistic," a spokesperson from the center said in a statement. "'They' have been in our care for just over two weeks and continue to be bright and active. They are eating, swimming, and gaining weight each day. It is impossible to get inside the heads of these two, but it appears that they work together to navigate their environment."

The turtle hatched from a protected nesting site in Barnstable. Officials with the Barnstable Department of Natural Resources brought the turtle to the Cape Wildlife Center's animal hospital, after seeing it has two heads.

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Wildlife officials said they are taking the case day-by-day and are trying to learn as much as they can. So far, X-rays revealed the two turtles have their own spines, which fuse further down the body. Each turtle has control of three legs and work together to walk and swim.

Officials said the next step will be to get the two turtles a CT scan, when they are a little bigger, to find out more information on what internal organs they share.