Omaha Beach walkers were greeted by an unexpected visitor on their lockdown walks this week.

At first glance, the creature appeared to be a snake, causing alarm and confusion among those who saw it. Hoping to get it off the beach and out of people's way, some locals tried to return it to the water, but the stubborn snake-like animal kept returning to the sand. 

After some debate on the Omaha Beach community Facebook page, the species of this strange visitor was narrowed down to two options: some form of sea snake, or a snake eel, although one local suggested it could be “the Labour Party’s way of trying to stall the rising house prices of Omaha”.

Although it was a fact unknown to many, yellow bellied sea snakes are actually relatively common in this part of New Zealand, and can be identified by these features:

• Upper half of the body, dark; lower half, yellowish.
• The two colours usually meet abruptly to form a straight line along each side.
• Long head.
• Belly scales similar in size to other body-scales.
• Tail compressed sideways to form a paddle; yellowish with large dark spots.
• Measures up to 1 m in total length.

Yellow bellied sea snakes are venomous, so if one is found it is best to leave it alone and contact the Department of Conservation. 

Snake eels can grow to at least two metres. Snake eels are found in warmer water in the north-eastern Atlantic, northern New Zealand, Japan and the Mediterranean. They are rarely seen by humans because they burrow into the sand with just their heads poking out until they pounce on passing fish to eat. After some closer inspection, the general consensus was that the animal found on Omaha Beach was a snake eel.