Whether or not El Niño 2015 brings rain to California remains to be seen. However, it has brought a venomous snake species to the California beaches.
The yellow bellied venomous sea snake that was spotted after 30 years in California is usually found in the warmer areas of Indian and Pacific Oceans. El Niño 2015 which on and off disrupts the tropical Pacific's normal weather system shifts the warmer ocean waters alongside venomous snake as well as some other tropical species to north, according to Huffington Post.
The venomous snake was seen in California about 100 miles south of Oxnard back in 1972, according to Greg Pauly, curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Pauly said that the snake is "the northernmost sea snake ever documented" near the Pacific Coast of N. America." He added that he did not realize that a snake could be washed up to such a long distance.
"Because the water is so warm here now, these snakes can swim, hunt and reproduce just like they could in the northern part of their tropical range," Dr. Paul Barber, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA, told The Huffington Post. "Simply put, they are here because the warmer El Niño conditions have expanded the range of suitable environmental conditions for this snake. This has also happened with other marine species like hammerhead sharks," he added.
Barber noted that though the snake has dangerous and potent venom it is generally not that aggressive and will attack only if handled or when it feels defensive.
"This exotic, incredibly venomous sea snake has been spotted off Oxnard, likely due to a climate change and El Niño (2015) double-whammy. No need to panic, but do learn more about the strange times we're living in with Dana's latest blog: https://www.healthebay.org/.../climate-change-and-el-ni%C3%B1o..." noted the Heal The Bay In Twitter, reported The Weather Network.
