A second deadly sea snake has been found "alive and wriggling" at a Northland beach less than 10 days since the first discovery in three years made national headlines.
Gareth Fielder found a highly venomous yellow-bellied sea snake at Woolleys Bay, on the Tutukaka Coast, over the weekend.
More than a week ago, Kaitaia resident Samantha Cooper encountered the same type of snake – classed as a native - on Tokerau Beach in Doubtless Bay.
It was the first time a yellow-bellied sea snake had been found since April 2018 at Baylys Beach, near Dargaville.
Sightings of the snakes, believed to breed in the tropical waters of the northern Tasman Sea, are fairly rare in New Zealand - only six to 10 are found a year.