March 31 (UPI) -- A Brazilian rainbow boa snake living at England's City of Portsmouth College gave birth to 12 babies without a mate -- and it isn't the first time.
The college's animal management center said the snake, named Ronaldo, unexpectedly gave birth to 14 snakes in 2024 without mating, and she has now birthed 12 more fatherless babies.
The process of reproducing without a mate, known as parthenogenesis, has only been documented in Brazilian rainbow boas on three occasions. Ronaldo is the first of her species known to have done it twice.
"I've done as much research as I can and I can't find any record of it happening twice," Pete Quinlan, animal care technician at COPC, said in a news release. "I had my suspicions for a couple of weeks and then suddenly she was showing all the signs."
Quinlan said the 14-year-old snake will soon be leaving the school.
