Your perception of wildlife can often relate back to when you were a child and comments made by your parents, grandparents and others.  If it’s got too many legs and scurries fast or perhaps slithers across the ground; kill it and ask questions later.  I’m glad to say that that attitude is almost gone, I say almost as there are still some of the old school despite protection from the Wildlife and Countryside act of 1981. It’s the fear and mystery of many of these types of creatures that we humans can’t cope with.

As I was making notes for this article it was rather ironic that my issue of BBC Wildlife arrived containing an article on my intended subject matter the ‘Adder’.  See the mere mention of the only poisonous snake in Britain, and Galloway being a stronghold has already struck fear on many of you.  If you chose to read on hopefully these fears will be much less by the end and you will treat it as just another interesting wildlife subject.  It may not be cute and cuddly like a squirrel, but that’s just in your head and something you need to get over.

Most people will never see an Adder in their lifetime but if you did come across one what harm is it really going to do to you. You may find a shedded skin, something they do as they grow. It has a rather papery feel to it and you should be able to see the full markings of the snake.  They are very shy retiring creatures and will usually move away long before you see them, have felt your vibrations of scented you on its flicking tongue.  Failing that and you do come across one in the middle of the path its highly unlikely mount a full-scale attack.  In all honesty I’ve never heard of anyone being attacked, in nearly all instances of bites people have been handling them, even if they don’t admit it at the time.  Apparently on one occasion it was reported in a newspaper that a man was attacked, however subsequently it turn out he was posing for a picture with the adder in his hand, and yes it bit him.  How big are they? Well some people would have you believe 180cm (6ft) when in reality the larger brown/black females may reach 70-75cm ( around 2ft 6”) and the black/grey males around 60cm (2ft)

Adders will be emerging now from their south-facing winter hibernaculum (hibernation den) these can be old piles of stones, drystone walls even rabbit burrows.  They can go as much as one metre underground to find a stable temperature to spend the winter months.  On first emerging they will be very lethargic and normally only on the warmest of days until spring fully sets in. Once active the process of mating will start, a mature Adder will need to be 7 or 8 years old before it can breed successfully.  Some will breed as young as 5, but these often died that winter due to the expended energy they use being not fully mature. Young males will just go through the ritual mating dance of entwining their bodies with a rival as they move around trying to assert their dominance and win a female. The lucky ones will go on to breed and hopefully survive for another year.  There are records of Adders reaching 30 years old although with luck 25 would be more realistic.  It was often thought that adders bred biennially but it’s now known that every 3-4 years is more likely.

The female will seek out a seclude spot to have her 8-12 live young which will be born in August/September.  These will stay close to the female for the rest of that summer before going into hibernation.  Surprising as it may seem they don’t need a lot of food. An adult only needs 8-10 voles (or equivalent) during the year to survive. Other prey might be Frogs, Spiders, Lizards etc.  Adders themselves have predators, mainly Hedgehogs and large birds of prey like Buzzards.

The best advice I can give is if for some reason someone is bitten or even suspected of being bitten you should always seek medical attention.  Just follow basic first aid, the old cowboy trick of sucking the venom out is a non starter.  The advice would be similar for dogs, but obviously take it to the vet.  Adders will ‘dry bite’ especially dogs, that is they will strike the dog, usually about the face as if to bit but no venom will be injected.  This is a warning the dog should heed, next time it might not be so lucky.

Thanks for looking.

Keith