Are you afraid of snakes? We have some bad news, because scientists have warned Brits about a new snake species living in the UK, and it’s invading our homes.
Researchers at Bournemouth University have discovered that 6.5-foot-long aesculapian snakes, which are native to warmer parts of Europe, have arrived in Britain and are surviving by living in attics, walls of houses and compost heaps.
‘The use of buildings for shelter and vegetation piles for egg laying appear to be important to their success in a temperate climate,’ the researcher’s wrote. ‘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.’
The non-venomous snakes are excellent climbers and feed on small animals such as rats, killing them by constricting, as boas do. It might be startling to find one in your home, but they pose no threat to humans.
The first of these snakes ‘accidentally’ arrived in Colwyn Bay in north Wales and London’s Regent’s Canal after escaping from the Welsh Mountain Zoo, and they are breeding.
As Europe’s largest snake, aesculapians can grow to as big as two metres long. In theory they shouldn’t be able to survive in Britain, but they have adapted thanks to discovering how to get into people’s houses. Fossils show they were present in Britain around 300,000 years ago, but they never recolonised it after being wiped out during a glacial period.
If you discover an aesculapian in your home experts recommend calling the RSPCA instead of trying to remove it yourself.
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