03 • 04 • 2020
A Photo Story: What to do, if a Viper Gets in Your Way?
With the arrival of the spring, nature is slowly waking up. And those walking are not the only ones, who are happy to enjoy a touch of warm sunbeams – reptiles are no less eager and impatient to do it. LVM Rietumvidzeme Region forester tells a story about an unpleasant meeting with a viper that bit her dog; in turn, a resident of Kuldīga region does not know what to do with the persistent vipers that keep on visiting his backyard and sometimes even cross the doorstep.
“This happened on Monday, around lunch time. It was a sunny day. A viper was sunbathing on a rock. My dog moved his muzzle too close. At first, I did not understand, if the snake had bitten him, but later the dog felt ill – his muzzle started to swell. I had never been in such a situation before. We contacted a vet and quickly went for help, where an injection was made and the dog was connected to a system. Now everything is OK. Those who go outside for a walk should be careful: this year I have also seen a grass snake, I think, there will be a lot of snakes,” says Liene Pušpura, Limbaži District Forester.
Kārlis, a resident of Ēdole, in turn does not know what to do with vipers that keep on coming to his backyard. It would not be a good idea to call the responsible departments each time to remove snakes; therefore, experienced nature explorer Ilmārs Tīrmanis will explain how to gently, safely and responsibly move vipers away from the “human territory” on one’s own.
“There are only three snake species to be spotted in Latvia. Of these, members of only one species are poisonous. This species is the common European viper. Upon meeting any snake in their appropriate environment in the wild, you should leave the animal alone. If you see that a reptile is endangered or has entered an unwanted territory, it is not worth shouting “go away, go away!”, because snakes are deaf. But you can cover the sunbeams that the snake is enjoying with your shadow. You can also shake the soil with your feet. You can gently poke the viper with a branch. Or you can manipulate with a branch, so that the snake gets on it, and then move the reptile where needed.
But what to do, if you suddenly see the poisonous reptile in your backyard or even in your room? If you are a grown-up, healthy, and self-confident individual, then you can act on your own. If you think that the viper, seen in the backyard or in your room might be only a random guest that has entered an unwanted territory on its way to some other destination, than you can try to change the reptile`s direction by using a thin, firm branch.
If the reptile does not want to submit, you must act – gently capture and move the viper. You will need a tool for safe capture and a container for the removal of the viper. You will rarely have a butterfly net somewhere near you, so it is best to use a thin, firm branch. As the trapping process starts, you must carefully, but strongly press down the viper`s forepart with a branch to the ground or the floor, then you must take the animal by its tail end and raise slightly the rear part of its body. Afterwards you should free its forepart and at the same time quickly lift its entire body. Hanging, seized by its weak-muscled tail, viper cannot bend to make a bite. Now you can put the captured animal in the container prepared for its transportation and carry it to a place, where it does not disturb anyone, and release the animal. It should be remembered that law prohibits to keep wild animals in captivity,” tells nature`s explorer Ilmārs Tīrmanis.
Moving a viper
Vipers stand out among other Latvian snakes with their poisonousness, but among all the snakes in the world – with their cold resistance, since they are the most cold-resistant snakes on Earth. Thanks to their cold resistance, vipers in Latvia are active from March until October. We urge you to be careful in forests and as far as possible not disturb or touch vipers and other reptiles! Remember that ticks are also active during this time of the year.
