Skip to content

Snake sculptures urge walkers to mind the adders

Bea Swallow
BBC News, Somerset
Somerset Outdoor - National Trust A large wooden snake painted in various bright colours and patterns. It is nailed to a wooden stick with an information sign and a QR code beneath it. In the background you can see the Mendip Hills on a sunny day.Somerset Outdoor - National Trust
The UK adder population has seen widespread decline in recent years due to habitat loss and fragmentation

A new art campaign is urging walkers not to disturb endangered European adders during their breeding season.

The Arty Adders project sees snake sculptures placed across more than 10 National Trust nature reserves in Somerset.

While adders are found across the UK, their population has experienced a dramatic decline in recent years due to habitat loss.

Lilly Dawson from the National Trust advised visitors to keep dogs on leads and stay on designated walking paths throughout spring when adders are more visible.

Volunteers from the Mendip Hills Nature Connections wellbeing programme and the National Trust have created the sculptures.

Each one features a QR code to learn more about how to protect these vulnerable reptiles.

Tina Hale A close up image showing a dark and light brown patterned snake with red eyes coiled up in the grass. Tina Hale
Adders are the only wild venomous snakes found in the UK

Adders are an ectothermic species, meaning they cannot generate body heat.

They emerge from hibernation in spring and bask in sunlight to raise their temperature and generate enough energy to find a mate.

Ms Dawson said disturbance during this period can impact their ability to breed, especially males who must undergo physiological changes.

"Adders do tend to be quiet shy creatures, and they are sensitive to vibrations," Ms Dawson said.

"More often than not, if they feel you approaching, they will get out of your way.

"But this time of year they're really lethargic, and sometimes they won't have the energy to do that."

Mendip Hills National Landscape Five volunteers wearing tracksuit bottoms, jumpers, hats and coats. They are leaning over a round wooden picnic table and painting large wooden snakes. On the table there are various paints, a mixing palette and a Tupperware used to wash paintbrushes. They are outside on a cold but sunny day, and in the background there is a large green wooden shed. Mendip Hills National Landscape
The snakes were individually painted by participants from the Mendip Nature Connections wellbeing project and National Trust volunteers

The largest populations in Somerset can be found on Exmoor and the Mendip Hills, with smaller populations on the Quantock Hills.

However, 90% of known sites have populations of 10 or fewer adults.

Somerset Outdoor - National Trust A blue wooden snake with colourful diamond pattern down its back. It is nailed to two wooden posts and positioned beside a granite wall in the countryside. There is an information board with a QR code secured beneath it. In the middle of the wall there is a wooden ladder to climb over it, and on the other side there are lots of trees stripped of their leaves.Somerset Outdoor - National Trust
The sculptures can be found at National Trust sites across Somerset

Ms Dawson added: "Our advice would be to keep an eye out if you're walking through some underbrush, maybe ferns or bracken, and give them a wide berth if you see them.

"They are just as scared of you, as you are of them."

The individually painted sculptures can be found at National Trust sites across Somerset, including Crook Peak, Dolebury Warren, Hellenge Hill, Deer Leap, Blackmoor and Draycott Sleights.

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

More on this story
Related Internet Links