EUROPE’S biggest snake has made its way to Britain and could be living in your walls.
The aesculapian snake, which can grow up to 6ft long, can usually be found in the warmer parts of Europe, such as southern France and Italy.
It has even been discovered in Iran.
But now the reptiles have been found in parts of the UK and it’s due to a “reliance on human habitats,” new research has revealed.
The huge snakes have recently been found in a church roof and inside the walls of a care home.
There are two known populations of aesculapians in the UK – around London Zoo in Regent’s Park and around the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay, North Wales.
The snakes are not venomous or dangerous to humans.
They prey on rodents such as rats and mice, crushing them to death.
The new research, which was overseen by Wolfgang Wuster, professor of zoology at Bangor University, indicates how the snakes found in Wales have managed to adapt to the colder environment.
A total of 21 snakes were captured and fitted with radio trackers, to monitor and study their movements over a two year period.
The study said: “We observed aesculapian snakes actively seeking and returning to use inhabited buildings and… climbing large structures to access the attics and wall cavities of houses.
“We revealed a particular preference for buildings in male snakes, while females preferred woodland.”
Prof Wuster said that while aesculapian snakes are found reasonably close to humans across Europe, they appear to come much closer in the UK.
He said: “This predilection for human habitats is striking.
“If you work in places like India, you quite often find snakes in houses. That’s just not something that happens in the UK.
“And yet, with these aesculapians, we’re finding them in people’s lofts.
“You find snake skins hanging off the drain pipes in an old folks home, things like that.
“It’s quite an unusual thing to be doing in Britain, this sort of suburban snake hunting.”
Prof Wuster reassured Brits though, adding that it was unlikely they would stumble across one under the sofa as the snakes had not been found inside a room but they preferred to stay in spaces where humans rarely entered.
However, they differ from the UK’s native snakes by using buildings as their homes, whereas native varieties avoid urban areas.
The study added: “The adder and smooth snake are rarely found in human-dominated environments.”
Grass snakes often find use compost heaps and garden ponds for their habitat “but their use of anthropogenic features is significantly less extensive.”
Researchers estimate there are about 80 snakes in Wales, but added they were extremely difficult to find, as it took around eight hours of searching for each one.
Prof Wuster also confirmed there was no evidence the snakes are causing any harm or damage.
He said: “They’re not a species that’s taking over and changing its habitat and damaging other species, like American grey squirrels, or Japanese knotweed.
“At the end of the day, it’s a European species interacting with other European species.
“So we have a reasonable basis for saying it would probably co-exist fairly well with our existing fauna.”
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.
