Гадюка, единственная ядовитая рептилия Британии, исчезла из Уорикшира

Sadly, it's now official – the adder, Britain's sole truly venomous reptile, is effectively history in Warwickshire. Its disappearance from a county once regarded as a stronghold has been reluctantly confirmed by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. And the adder may well have vanished for quite some time: there have been no verified sightings since the 1990s. Read more: What going to school in Coventry was like in the 1950s People continue to claim they've spotted them, some even ringing newsdesks insisting they've come across one, but are mistaken – more likely a grass snake has crossed their path. There had been hope that some adders remained in remote corners of the county, but that hope has now been formally extinguished. The loss of the heathland habitat that adders depend upon has ultimately sealed their fate. Confirming the extinction, a spokesperson for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust said: "It's a real shame and it is primarily because of habitat loss. Their habitat has been fragmented so much that what is left is too far apart to sustain a viable population." This means reintroduction is simply not an option, as the necessary land no longer exists. The adder – a creature that, according to folklore, triggered King Arthur's final and fatal battle – has played a notable role throughout Warwickshire's history. Shakespeare himself referenced it: in The Tempest, "adders...with cloven tongues"; and in Macbeth, "eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog, adder's fork and blind-worm's sting.." For those spreading the word of God, it was considered a powerful symbol. The adder's capacity to shed its skin, emerging in vibrant new form, served as a compelling illustration of how mankind could undergo spiritual rebirth through the Almighty. We, too, could become brighter and better. Some may believe our region is better off without the reptile. They're misguided – the potency of its venom has long been exaggerated. Yes, an adder bite is painful, very painful, but – unless an allergic reaction occurs – it's not fatal. It's been 54 years since anyone in the UK was killed by an adder. Only 14 people have died in the last 145 years. In Britain there are, on average, 10 reported deaths from wasp and bee stings each year. And the snake is not aggressive, fleeing confrontations with humans. The majority of bites occur when they're accidentally trodden on. Some years ago, Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team (WART) cautioned that the adder – if it had them – was on its last legs. Following a survey of known hotspots, it reported: "Half the sites had gone due to urban development and unsympathetic agricultural practices." "On the remaining 12 sites we placed arrays of refugia - tins, Onduline, roofing felt - which were checked yearly for three years. "Six of these sites turned up grass snakes. After three years we narrowed the search down to five sites which seemed to have habitats suitable for adders and had records from the 1990s." At that time, it was possible adders still slithered across Kenilworth Common, though none were found. The last sighting at Sutton Park was reported by rangers in 1998, while an alleged sighting at MoD Kineton was subsequently filed under "misidentification". Grendon Common, a location once so closely associated with the snake that the nearby hockey team Atherstone Adders adopted its name, proved the backdrop for yet another fruitless hunt. Specialists, though, determined it was "highly likely" adders had existed on Packington Estate, situated just beyond Coventry. It has now been confirmed they have disappeared permanently. What's occurred in Warwickshire is being replicated across the nation. The adder, recognisable by its distinctive zig-zag pattern, faces a severe threat, with the magnitude of the emergency genuinely staggering. An 11-year investigation by the ARG (Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK), released in 2019, showed 90 per cent of populations studied were declining. By 2032, the species could vanish entirely. The main causes are depressingly predictable – persecution, habitat destruction and climate change, though additional elements are at play. Buzzards hunt adders and Britain's buzzard numbers have grown substantially. Pheasants, introduced in vast quantities throughout the shooting season, likewise attack adders fatally. Springwatch host Iolo Williams stated: "Ignorance is a massive issue - we should look on the adder as an important part of our ecology. "Adders aren't going to gang up on you, attack you - they'll avoid you whenever they possibly could. If a big giant stood on me, I'd bite him - that's the only time they will, to defend themselves. "We need to change the image and see it as what it is - a beautiful animal. ". That beauty has now vanished from Warwickshire's landscape.