Iraqis around Nasiriyah are keeping a close eye on their cattle due to a massive snake invasion.
An unprecedented plague of snakes in Iraq’s southern province of Nasiriyah is prompting some residents to consider moving out of the fertile plains region if attacks on their livestock by the invaders continue.
Heat and dust have driven the snakes out of their habitat, bringing them in contact with humans and animals.
“They have attacked cows and buffalo, and farmers have come to us looking for vaccines but we don’t have any,” veterinary officer Wissam al-Assadi told Agence France Presse.
The reptiles have abandoned their usual homes along the Euphrates River as the waterway becomes depleted by diversion of water for agricultural use far upstream in Turkey.
That diversion also threatens to wither Iraqi crops, according to farmers in the region.
Photo: U.S. Army Corp of Engineers