Invasive 2m-long snake found breeding inside walls and attics across UK (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 4 weeks ago by GreyShuck@feddit.uk to c/nature@feddit.uk

13 comments fedilink hide all child comments

One of Europe’s largest snake species is crawling up walls and into attics in the UK, seeking warmth for breeding, scientists say in a new study.

Aesculapian snakes, which grow up to 7ft long, are not native to the UK. They went locally extinct during the last Ice Age, and were not seen widely in the UK for 300,000 years.

But they have become an invasive species now, researchers say, surviving in warm corners in the UK. They were introduced during the 1970s to Colwyn Bay, North Wales, following an escape from the Welsh Mountain Zoo.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 18 points 4 weeks ago

They're non venomous, before anyone panics.

[-] 9point6@lemmy.world 12 points 4 weeks ago

I mean, a 7ft snake in my attic regardless of the venom situation would be pretty alarming

[-] Gnugit@aussie.zone 7 points 4 weeks ago

But can you eat them?

[-] 9point6@lemmy.world 9 points 4 weeks ago

I can eat a cow, it would also be alarming to find in my attic

[-] Gnugit@aussie.zone 3 points 4 weeks ago

But free beef!

[-] henfredemars@infosec.pub 7 points 4 weeks ago

Your instance feels especially appropriate for this question.

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 1 points 4 weeks ago

https://clip.cafe/the-road-warrior-1981/its-snake-i-trained-im-gonna-eat-it/

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 3 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Snake getting help over the codec from Para-Medic in MGS3

[-] Etterra@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

Probably.

[-] Enkrod@feddit.org 3 points 4 weeks ago

Meh, easy way to get rid of the mice

[-] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 5 points 4 weeks ago

In fact, the snake probably isn't going to stick around long if you dont have critters around for it to eat, so if it lingers for a few days its probably doing you a favour. Overall snakes are less destructive than rodents.

this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024

59 points (100.0% liked)

UK Nature and Environment

387 readers

33 users here now

General Instance Rules:

No racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia or xenophobia.
No incitement of violence or promotion of violent ideologies.
No harassment, dogpiling or doxxing of other users.
Do not share intentionally false or misleading information.
Do not spam or abuse network features.

Community Specific Rules:

Keep posts UK-specific. There are other places on Lemmy to post articles which relate to global environmental issues (e.g. slrpnk.net).
Keep comments in English so that they can be appropriately moderated.

Note: Our temporary logo is from The Wildlife Trusts. We are not officially associated with them.

Our autumn banner is a shot of maple leaves by Hossenfeffer.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

GreyShuck@feddit.uk

Kim@feddit.uk