A pearl-banded rat snake at the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Aug 16, 2017. [Photo/VCG] Chinese scientists said they had successfully hatched some pearl-banded rat snakes, an endangered species peculiar to Sichuan province in Southwest China. The mother snake laid the eggs about two months ago and baby snakes came out of eggs recently, said Dingli, deputy researcher at the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, on Sept 2. The breeding marked an important step to understanding the species and the future protection, Ding said. Because its habitat is quite limited and its wild population is rather small, it is difficult to fully understand this type of snake, Ding said.
