Sunday, 22 July 2012

Adder Encounter

From Fraser Gilfillan:

We were taking our customary walk to the lighthouse for a strawberry tart and a cup of coffee. The weather was overcast but warm. On the way back I was walking ahead with our dog while my wife and daughter (age 1) and my brother and his daughter (age 2) laboured behind singing nursery rhymes. My brother rudely interupted 'Row, row, row your boat' mid chorus and called ahead "I can't believe you walked past that!" I turned around and saw him standing over a coiled reddish brown Adder at the side of the road and realised that I was probably inches from stepping on it. Luckily the dog was on the lead and walking in the middle of the road.

I only had a wide angle lens on my camera at the time which made photographing the snake a tad nerve racking. I wanted to get as close as possible but having never seen one before I have no idea how fast they can move or what their striking distance is. Anyway, I got as close as I could without stressing the snake (and myself) too much, snapped a shot and resumed our walk.

On the way back to our caravan I was crowned "Big Jessie" for not getting closer, but I like to think I gave the animal the respect it deserved. I wondered why the snake stood its ground in our presence and did not slither off into the undergrowth. Later, when analysing the image I'd taken, I realised that there was blood on the snake so its possible that its injury was quite severe. The only likely culprit I can think of is an attack by a Buzzard as there were a few active in the immediate area.

Many thanks, Fraser, for story and picture
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1 comment:

  1. Tony22 July 2012 at 15:27

    Adders tend to be ambush predators, relying on stealth and concealment. It is possible that a buzzard inflicted the injury, also a car may have clipped it.
    However a less likely culprit may be to blame, a large adult Hedgehog. There is anecdotal evidence that adult Hedgehogs often come off best when attacked by Adders.
    The Hedgehog has an incredible sense of smell and hearing, eyesight not so good. The Hedgehog would have been aware of the snake and would have been at "DEFCON 2", with its spines partially raised. If the Adder then tried to strike the Hedgehog would have instantly gone to "DEFCON 1" and become a prickly ball of crossed spines. Their reactions are so fast that it is difficult to take photos with old type cameras with noisy shutters, so they can beat a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second.
    Unfortunately the Adders fangs are shorter than the Hedgehog's spines, and would have got a mouthful of spine punctures. As it pulled back the hedgehog may have bitten the snake behind the head, once again the Hedgehog is very fast and can inflict a severe wound. I know as both Tonia and I have been bitten by the Hedgehogs that we are trying to help.
    Most times the snake will pull back and retreat before the initial strike, but it has been known for several strikes to take place until the snake is exhausted, then the Hedgehog will retalliate in defence, often killing the snake.
    This has given rise to the myth that Hedgehogs are immune to Adder venom.

    Tony

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