Are you walking in the meadows or in the forests? You can come across a venomous viper

The national herpetofauna may not be particularly rich, but quite interesting. Although she has recently been enriched with a new representative – a grasshead of Rybłów, who reached our areas independently from the Danube regions – this is still the only venomous snake in Poland remains a zigzag viper. In addition to them, in the country you can still find a grass snapper of an ordinary, macular anger and Aesculap snake.

Zigzag viper in meadows and forests. Watch out for a venomous snake

Zigzag viper is not just a Polish phenomenon. This is the only snake species in Europe that inhabits areas such as northern North Scandinavia. Recent observations confirmed her presence even further, behind the polar circle-on the Jamal Peninsula, in Taimy, Yakutia and around Chanty-Amansian in Russia.

Its expansion results from the natural adaptation to the cool climate.

As Dr. Mikołaj Kaczmarski, a herpetologist from the University of Life Sciences in Poznań, explains: “We can’t see it with us, because we only have one species of viper in Poland, but where there are more of them, an interesting phenomenon can be observed. In Mediterranean countries, lower and warmer areas live in its relatives, such as a nosoroga or Żmija Żmija, Zigzags are carried higher.

Small but extremely effective

The zigzag viper stands out from other Polish snakes not only with venomity, but also in size. It is smaller than the Eskulapa snake or adult grassheads. Dr. Kaczmarski notes: “Therefore, he can have higher metabolic efficiency.” This small construction therefore has its evolutionary justification.

The diet of this reptile is equally interesting – it is mainly based on rodents, snout and amphibians, which young individuals most often feed on. It is the need for quick access to food that makes zigzag vipers wake up earlier than other snakes.

Egg -worn – the secret of survival

Zigzag vipers are an egg -borne species, which means that the young are developing in the eggs inside the female body, and they are already hatched.

The etymology of their Latin name “Vipera” perfectly reflects it – comes from “Vivus” (alive) and “pario” (born). Dr. Kaczmarski explains: “And that’s why snakes are interested in having to get mating as soon as possible, so that the female has time to produce eggs in her body.”

Water, key to survival

Although zigzag vipers adapt well to the cold, they need moisture to function properly.
As Dr. Kaczmarski explains: “However, they still do not leave.” Lack of water and rainfall can cause serious problems in the life cycle of this species. Vipers have thin skin and are extremely sensitive to moisture deficits, which is confirmed by research carried out in Hungary.

These hoses inhabit areas with a specific mosaic of the environments – glades, meadows and forests near water reservoirs. Importantly, they prefer places away from people. “Where there are few people, because the viper avoids them,” adds the expert.

How and when to meet a viper?

A meeting of viper in nature is not that easy. In the summer, this snake is active primarily at dawn and late in the evening. “The reptile crawl to the sun around 6:00 in the morning, as soon as it gets up and we will not see it at 9:00,” says Dr. Mikołaj Kaczmarski. In the spring, the situation is a bit different – the activity of the viper then falls at 10:00 to 14: 00, and cloudy days with clarity, when the reptiles heat up, give a greater chance for their observation.

The zigzag viper occurs all over Poland, but its number is significantly different depending on the region.

Dr. Kaczmarski specifies: “Poland is such a large area that in principle it is difficult to say many species clearly whether they are numerous or rare. It depends where.”

The most numerous vipers occur in the east belt of the country – from Masuria, through Podkarpackie, to the Bory Dolnośląskie. In other parts of Poland, such as Wielkopolska, populations are few and island.

The problem of the decreasing genetic pool

The island nature of the distribution of viper has serious consequences for the future of the species. Lack of contact between populations leads to an inbreak, which reduces the genetic diversity.

Dr. Kaczmarski emphasizes: “That is why we want to mark vipers, e.g. in Greater Poland, to determine which individuals we are dealing with. If these are small populations consisting of a female and several males, they are doomed to extinction, although Swedish experience shows that in this case the transfer of individual males from other areas can improve the situation of such isolated population.”