A brief hiss-tory of the adder

It seems that Craigie regular Thomas Brown has been treading not-so warily while out on rambles around his Perthshire patch.

He writes: “I received such a surprise while reading the recent edition of Living magazine published by DC Thomson, when I came across a lovely photo in a study of the adder, Britain’s only venomous snake.

“In my younger and more agile years I roamed the hills of home above Bankfoot and I was aware I was in adder country now and then – but always unexpectedly, as they tend to use the element of surprise!

“I would meet with just the kind of creature the magazine’s photo depicts, only they would make a hasty retreat. Once, however, I attempted to take a photo of one.

“I crept up slowly and was just about to press the shutter when my shadow scared it and it decided to seek the heather.”

Tam goes on: “It’s years since I last saw an adder on my home patch and clearly in most areas they are declining. You could walk the hills all day and never see one – only when least expecting it might one be sighted.

“On my home patch I have never known a person to be a victim of a bite, but I have heard of dogs being bitten and I also wonder about sheep, which share the same territory as the adders.

“People have a love/hate relationship with snakes, of course. Going back to the Book of Genesis, it does them no credit – or perhaps credibility – as is written of the serpent.

“For the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘You are cursed among all beasts of the earth’, for its part in the Garden of Eden. But we in Scotland are fortunate – in other countries there is good reason for the fear of snakes.

“According to World Health Organisation research findings – which one can find quite easily – snake bites are a major cause not only of death but also of amputations and permanent disabilities.

“Thousands fall victim each year in Africa, Asia, the USA, Latin America and Australia, yet snake venom is used to treat some diseases, so I’d like to think our native adder will survive – and that it is protected by law.

“And of course, the golden rule is look but don’t touch – let basking snakes lie.”