Hoarseness is generally caused by irritation of, or injury to, the vocal cords. The larynx (also referred to as the voice box), is the portion of the respiratory (breathing) tract containing the vocal cords. The vocal cords are two bands of muscle that form a V inside the larynx.
In some species babies are born alive. Other species lay eggs. In a strange combination of the two, some snakes have eggs that stay in their bodies until the eggs hatch and then the babies are born. Snakes can have anywhere from one to 150 baby snakes at a time.
A copperhead snake, like the one pictured here, had a litter of four offspring in 2009. The problem was, the snake hadn't had any contact with a male in five years. Scientists confirmed recently the female copperhead was the first evidence of virgin birth in a pit viper snake.