Dudley Duplex the two-headed California king snake had been found by a local property owner and donated to the Zoo in 1954. Dudley was about one foot in length and was estimated to have hatched earlier that year. The best available information at the time indicated such serpents didn’t live long, because there are significant challenges for the snake, deciding which direction to travel, which head decides to hunt for food, and which head will swallow the prey. At the Zoo, however, keepers could make sure conflict was minimal and feeding was effective. Dudley Duplex set a longevity record of 6.5 years and brought the Zoo a great deal of media attention—his “birthday” was cause for celebration each year.