New life emerging

Fine natural history image, the face-on angle has impact.

A great event photographed very well.

Wow- amazing photo- a rare sight, I would imagine. How did you ever find this? Excellent and unique.

Snakes lay their eggs in warm, damp places, often underground, so the chances of coming across them in the wild, never mind finding them actually hatching, would be extremely low. This clutch was laid by a Red Spitter which is part of my collection, so I was able to anticipate a hatch date and document the event. A baby will first make a slit in the leathery egg, then it will stick its head out. It will then not emerge fully until it has absorbed all the remaining yolk in the egg, which can take up to 24 hours. It's interesting to note that even at this small size (17cm average for this clutch) the snake can deliver a bite which could kill an adult person. They are also capable of "spitting" their venom, which is what this little one is about to do. This clutch produced 15 healthy little spitters.

High impact image, razor sharp and great contact !!! Congrats !!!

Fascinating view of this baby emerging, Gavin! A fine image.

Carol.

WOW wat a picture.. that a first timer for me..