Two-metre invasive snakes 'living in British walls and attics'

25 October 2024, 06:25 | Updated: 25 October 2024, 06:27

A species of invasive European snake is surviving in Britain by living in warm spaces of people's houses, according to scientists.

The aesculapian snake, which can grow up to two metres long, making it one of the continent's largest snakes, is not native to Britain and is used to warmer climes.

But the snakes have adapted to the UK and those in this country have a "reliance on human habitats," researchers who study it have found.

Despite their size, the aesculapians are not thought to be dangerous to humans. They crush their prey, which includes rats and small rodents, and are not poisonous.

The snakes have been discovered in the walls of a care home and the roof of a church, among other locations. They have not been found inside rooms, or places where humans are likely to go.

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The aesculapians have established two main population centres around zoos: London Zoo in Regent's Park, and the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay.

The researchers, led by Professor Wolfgang Wüster of the University of Bangor, fitted trackers to the snakes and followed their movements for two years.

“We observed aesculapian snakes actively seeking and returning to use inhabited buildings and … climbing large structures to access the attics and wall cavities of houses,” the study said.

“We revealed a particular preference for buildings in male snakes, while females preferred woodland"

Mr Wüster said: “This predilection for human habitats is striking,” in comments reported by the Times.

“If you work in places like India, you quite often find snakes in houses. That’s just not something that happens in the UK.

"And yet, with these aesculapians, we’re finding them in people’s lofts. You find snake skins hanging off the drain pipes in an old folks home, things like that.

“It’s quite an unusual thing to be doing in Britain, this sort of suburban snake hunting.”

The aesculapians are thought to have established a wild population escaped from the Welsh zoo in the 1970s. There is no evidence they are doing any harm to the native ecosystem, researchers said.