Warning to dog owners in the UK after a ranger finds three venomous snakes - via Herp Digest

By Western Daily Press  |  Posted: April 30, 2015

A wildlife ranger was stunned when she went on a country walk and discovered three venomous snakes - including a black adder.

Amanda McCormick stumbled across the snakes huddling under a tin sheet, and reminded dog owners to take care when out walking to help protect both dogs and the snakes.

The National Trust warden found a black and green male, a brown female and a completely black female adder - as well as a friendly grass snake - huddling under the metal sheet for warmth.

Amanda found the group as she was leading a walk through the North Downs near Dorking, Surrey, on April 16.

She said: "Over the years my volunteers and I have looked under many reptile tins, but we've never found such colour variation before.

"The black adder is an Edmond aberration."

Only a very small number of adders are melanistic - the opposite of albino - because their skin contains too much of the dark-coloured pigment melanin, meaning they area completely black.

Amanda added: "You don't see them very often so it's very unusual to see three together, especially of such different colours.

"I've been on this site for seven years and I've never seen anything like it.

"Adders aren't aggressive at all, and will try to escape if threatened.

"Only really stupid dogs are at risk, because they're more likely to approach an adder than a person is.

"If people suspect their dog has been bitten by one, we urge them to seek veterinary advice."

Adders need corridors through the woods

Wildlife routes through forests could help rare adder

June 2012. A new study is helping the Forestry Commission plan a brighter future for the increasingly rare adder in the North York Moors. The creature is one of the world's most studied snakes, but mysteries still remain, especially why it is found in some areas, but not others. Reptile expert James Stroud, 25, pulled on his walking boots and set out to shed light on the subject.

Adders are thought to be on the decline due to habitat loss, but the Forestry Commission's North Yorkshire woods are a stronghold. Working with forest rangers he delved into the creature's secret world in Dalby and Langdale Forests, near Pickering, and Harwood Dale, Wykeham and Broxa Forests, near Scarborough. 

Causes
As part of his Master's Degree at the University of Hull's Scarborough Campus, James probed why the snake preferred some areas over others. He looked at factors like the availability of food like small mammals and the age of trees. He also investigated the threat posed by predators like birds of prey and crows by deploying 250 plastercine adders - some of which showed signs of being attacked.

Food less important than predators
What he found was that young conifer plantations were adder hotspots and surprisingly the abundance of food seemed less important than the threat from potential foes in determining whether the creature frequented a forest haunt. But he also concluded that linking together adder breeding colonies with snake friendly corridors could give the species a big boost.

James Stroud, originally from Amersham, in Buckinghamshire, said: "Young forest plantations are an important refuge, offering a place to bask and with shelter from potential predators. My data suggests that linking together such areas could be a real help to adder populations. That would allow them to spread more easily and not become isolated by denser forestry, which is not such a good snake habitat. There is something intriguing and unknown about snakes. Very encouragingly, I found that there are quite a lot in local forests, but you need to know where to look." 

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/adder-corridors.html

'Stay away from adders', walkers urged

People out enjoying the countryside are being urged to keep away from adders, the only venomous snake native to Britain.

The Health Protection Agency says it has received nearly 200 calls in the last two years from people who say they have been bitten by an adder.

The BBC's Louise Hubball reports.

Explanatory video:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18260745