Snakes in Britain?

[Steve]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "grannybat84112"
<grannybat at h...> wrote:
> 'ello.
> 
> ...edited..
> 
> What snakes are native to the British Isles?
> 
> ...edited...
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> Thomas Hardy uses an adder bite as a plot device in Return of the 
> Native, but I wouldn't think adders could survive an environment as 
> cold and wet as Egdon (sp?) Heath. 
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> Grannybat
> a clueless Yank


The Adder seems a sufficiently nasty snake. Here are some photos.

http://www.lincstrust.co.uk/species/amphibia/adder.html

These snake are found in Lincolnshire, where ever that is.

http://www.lincstrust.co.uk/species/amphibia/amphibia.html

Adder   (Vipera berus)

Adders can be identified by the dark zig-zag pattern running along the
back and the dark V-shape on the back of the head, with the point of
the V starting between the eyes. Adders, unlike grass snakes, prefer
dry open conditions. They are most commonly seen on heathlands and
acid grasslands, providing there are bare areas. 

***They are Britain's only poisonous snake,*** but bites are very rare
and fatalities have been fewer than 10 since 1960. When walking in
suitable adder habitat, it is a good idea to wear stout footware which
protects the ankles, the area where most bites occur. Adders can be
seen on the Trust's heathland nature reserves around Woodhall Spa and
Market Rasen.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn