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Copper
Adder
Scientific Name:
Vipera berus
Lifespan:
Average 2-3 years but up individuals living up to 10 years have been recorded in the wild.
Length:
Adults usually up to 65 cm in length. Exceptionally
Also Known As:
Common Viper Description:
An often thick-bodied viper with a flat snout, nearly always several large scales on the top of the head. Most adders have a clearly marked dark, zig-zag vertebral stripe. In rare cares the stipe can
Distribution:
Occurs over much of Europe and is widespread across England, Wales and Scotland but its precise distribution is rather patchy.
Habitat:
Occurs in a wide variety of habitats including moors, heaths and dunes, and in bogs, open woods, field edges, hedgerows, marshy meadows, and even salt marshes. Adders may travel 0.5-2km, from the areas where they hibernate (and often mate) to their feeding grounds and males may travel up to 200m in a day during the breeding season.
Reproduction:
Courtship and maing take place in spring. In the presence of a female, rival males sometimes engage in ritual combat where, with bodies entwined and the front halves often raised off the ground as they wrestle. The victor gains access to the female. A female Adder gives birth to around 12 young. At the moment of birth, the young are still constrained by a thin membrane that is soon ruptured. From the moment they are born the young are venomous and armed with hollow, needle-like fangs with which the venom is delivered.
Behaviour:
Adders seem to spend more time basking and sun-bathing than our other snakes and consequently are encountered on a regular basis. Hibernation takes place from October to March, although in northern parts of the region their appearance in spring may be delayed by up to a month.
In hunting, an adder will usually quickly bite a prey item and then release, the prey animal often wanders off a short way before it dies, and in due course the adder follows it, using its sensitive tongue to 'taste' the route of its prey.
Status:
Although the adder is by no means rare, it has disappeared from many haunts where it occurred as recently as 50 years ago. Its increasingly fragmented distribution can only have adverse long-term implications for the species' future in the region.
Did You Know?:
Although these snakes are venomous, they will only bite as a form of defence and only if provoked by being handled or otheriwse physically disturbed. Bites although painful are not fatal except in extremely rare cases.
Natterjack Toad
Scientific Name:
Bufo calamita
Lifespan:
10 - 15 years
Length:
60-70 mm Description:
It can be distinguished from other species of toads by the bright yellow line running the length of it's back. It is also smaller than the common toad and is olive green in colour with green/gold
Distribution:
The Natterjack Toad is now very rare in Britain found mainly in East Anglia, Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, the Cumbria and Lancashire coast and the Strathclyde region of Scotland. It has recently been reintroduced to Wales.
Habitat:
Natterjacks prefer sandy open locations around the coast, heathland and occasionally brackish water.
Reproduction:
Spawning is dependant on the weather as they will breed during wet conditions, laying their eggs in pools of water. They lay up to 2000 eggs, which take 7 - 10 days to hatch, longer if the weather is cold.
Behaviour:
They are mainly nocturnal, tending to sleep under logs, stones or in burrows during the day. They have short limbs and only hop if startled. They normally walk or run, a bit like a lizard. They are poor swimmers and may drown in deep water if they cannot get on shore. When threatened they will inflate their bodies and raise themselves up to appear larger. They hibernate when the temperature drops below 8 degrees centigrade, usually in late Autumn and will dig their own hibernation tunnels. Sometimes several toads, including the common toad will share these tunnels.
Status:
They are a protected species and their numbers have been adversely affected possibly due to the decline in their habitat.
Did You Know?:
Natterjack Toads have the ability to darken or lighten the colour of their skin in order to camouflage themselves.
