Tuesday 20 April 2010

'Dance of the Adders'



Our adders started 'dancing' today.  They have been out of hibernation for a few weeks now, have had a couple of feeds, shed their skin and now look in pretty good shape.


We have had our adders 'dancing' for the last few years now, and it is always something spectacular to watch. I have only seen 2 dance in the past, but today a third one got in on the action.


The 'dance of the adders' is where the males writhe over each other in a ritual to show strength. They entwine their bodies with often the from half of their body off the ground. They then try and push each other down and away from them.


In this photo you can see that one of the males has been completely turned over! He soon slithered off after this and left the other 2 to it. The winner is usually the one who ends up claiming the female.

I will try and get some video off this event to post up later in the week. It is quite a spectacle to see!

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