A lucky walker stumbled across the large snake
Melanistic adder on Dartmoor(Image: Max Piper )
A rare melanistic adder, commonly known as a black adder, was spotted on Dartmoor last week, Friday, June 13.
Max Piper was on the moors when they spotted the snake, managing to take an incredible picture of it.
The large snake was coiled up on the grass on the moors when Max stumbled on it.
Posting the picture to social media, Max said: “A surreal moment to stumble upon a gorgeous melanistic (black) adder this afternoon.
“These are rare, and this is only the second one I’ve ever seen, but most people have probably not encountered an adder of this colour shade before… so I am lucky to have now seen two up to this date.”
People rushed to the comments to share their amazement at the animal.
Melanistic adder on Dartmoor(Image: Max Piper )
One person said: “I didn’t realise you can get snakes here that big, it is a beautiful snake but not something I want to meet during a walk.”
Another person said: “Saw one a few years ago on the coast path at Mortehoe, it wasn’t as big as this one though”.
A third said: “How beautiful is that!!”.
Someone else said: “These poor little animals are very timid and vulnerable. The last thing they want is to hurt anyone. They just want to be left alone, comfy in their little happenstance, that we unfortunately tend to disturb in our comings and goings.”
Others said: “How beautiful”, “wow what an incredible find. Stunning!” and “awesome”.
While spotting a rare snake like the melanistic adder is an incredible thing, people should always remain vigilant with dogs and children across the moors.
The adder is the only venomous snake that can be found living in the wild in the UK.
An adder will usually only attack if threatened or antagonised, a bite can be extremely painful and cause inflammation.
On very rare occasions, it may be fatal.
The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation advises: “The adder is Britain’s only venomous snake. While the likelihood of being bitten by an adder is extremely small, some people and pets are bitten each year.
“An adder bite is very rare but when it does happen medical help should be sought immediately.
“Adder bites are potentially very serious but effective treatment is readily available for people and pets.”