adder
A major study on Britain’s only venomous snake, the adder, has revealed some behaviors not previously expected. The study in the Wyre Forest and part of the Grow with Wyre Landscape Partnership has been supported by the Forestry Commission. The study involved electronic tagging of adders in the forest.
One of the behaviors that has surprised researchers is the distance that some male adders will travel to find a mate after waking from hibernation. It was found that the small snakes will quickly explore up to a kilometer away from their hibernation location. This is surprising considering that the snakes would not have eaten since the previous summer. Understanding the behaviour and movement of the adder is essential in order to ensure it’s survival. The adder population of the Wye forest is believed to be no more than 100. By understanding their movements the Forestry Commission are able to manage their woodland to help conserve this species.
“Our results will be used to ensure Forest design and felling plans leave corridors for adders to travel through,” said Miss Sutherland, project officer with the Forestry Commission.
“If farmers and landowners work together to provide suitable habitats for them, we can reverse the decline in their numbers and protect these amazing snakes into the future.”
“This research provides hope for adder conservation,” said Miss Sutherland. “They are in decline nationally for a number of reasons, including habitat change and they are slow breeders.”
By using the maps produced from the radio tagging it is possible to design wildlife corridors so that the adders can move over distance and disburse without hitting barriers such as roads and intensive land-use. this is particularly important as those snakes that travel the furthest tend to be the youngest males which are essential for the continued survival of the species.
Sylvia Sheldon, a long time resident of Wyre Forest has been monitoring the snakes for more than 30 years after becoming interested in them through photography. She is involved in the project and said “It is normally impossible to track them for very long so using the tags has been amazing,” she said. “We have found that they don’t bask out in the open very much and we are finding them in bracken where we wouldn’t have seen them without the tags.
“Also we have found them in mature oak woodland and there is no way we would have even thought of looking for them there as we thought it would not be warm enough for them.”
The tagging survey has shown that adders are happy to move from forests and woodland into meadows where there is a plentiful supply of prey such as voles and mice.
photo credit: Tomorrow Never Knows
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