Venomous Sea Snake Washes Up On Beach

The creature spends its whole life in the ocean, so if it had washed ashore a California beach, it was likely sick or injured to begin with, the Los Angeles Times added. However, El Nino years like this one that bring water to the Pacific give a much greater chance for the rare snake to surface.

Robert Forbes captured video of a highly venomous sea snake lying on silver strand beach in Ventura County.

Greg Pauly, Assistant Curator of Herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, told ABC News that he immediately could tell it was the yellow-bellied sea snake.

Yellow-bellied sea snakes are normally found in warm tropical waters closer to Baja California and Central America, and the discovery of the serpent is a record event for southern California.

“We were expecting this”.

Deadly sea snakes showed up this week on a California beach for the first time in over thirty years thanks to warm El Niño waters.

The black-and-yellow snake, which is common south of the border, may have been drawn north by warmer ocean temperatures attributed to the El Nino condition. The good news: They don’t typically pose a threat to humans.

Several sightings have been reported in a span of a few days. It ended up washing back into the water, but not before she snapped a photo of it. Another person reported seeing the snake along the shore Friday morning.