Adder - Beach along Suffolk Coast
Description: Adders are only 60-80 centimetres in length but have a more stocky body shape. A distinctive mark is the zig-zag pattern along their back. Males are usually more greyish while females tend to have a light brown colour. Colours may vary depending on whether they are about to shed their skin and also whether they are melanistic (having too many dark pigments).
Adders incubate their eggs internally and give so to speak birth to live between 3 and 20 youngsters.
Life Expectancy: Up to 15 years
Native/Introduced: Native
Habitat: Coastal areas, grass-, heath- and moorland as well as woodland
Distribution in the UK: widely spread in England and Wales. Absent in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Scilly and the channel Islands, except Jersey. Distribution is not continuously throughout England as according to my information the adder is probably also absent in Nottinghamshire for example.
Hibernation:Usually stays underground during the months from October until March/April (males emerge to soak up the sun 4-6 weeks before females do).
Status: Vulnerable in England and Near Threatened in Wales and Scotland (IUCN Red List), Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 plus being a Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework
Adders incubate their eggs internally and give so to speak birth to live between 3 and 20 youngsters.
Life Expectancy: Up to 15 years
Native/Introduced: Native
Habitat: Coastal areas, grass-, heath- and moorland as well as woodland
Distribution in the UK: widely spread in England and Wales. Absent in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Scilly and the channel Islands, except Jersey. Distribution is not continuously throughout England as according to my information the adder is probably also absent in Nottinghamshire for example.
Hibernation:Usually stays underground during the months from October until March/April (males emerge to soak up the sun 4-6 weeks before females do).
Status: Vulnerable in England and Near Threatened in Wales and Scotland (IUCN Red List), Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 plus being a Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework
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Also in: Suffolk - Reptiles
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