What height of an obstacle can a viper overcome. Viper snake. Viper lifestyle and habitat. The viper does not attack a person just like that

The viper is a rather peaceful snake that rarely attacks a person, and does so in case of danger. Usually she tries to avoid meeting a person. It can often be found in our forests. To provoke her to aggression, you need to either grab her with your hands or step on her with your foot. This is a poisonous snake, the bite of which, although not fatal, is quite painful. Very rarely, but complications can develop after a bite. Let us consider in more detail what the consequences of a viper bite can be.

chances of survival

The viper lives on a vast territory. You can meet her in thick grass, near water bodies, in the forest, that is, where there are rodents that the snake feeds on. Can you die from her bite? It is possible, but this happens very rarely, because their poison power is not designed for humans. It is adapted only for rodents.

The bite of a viper will be fatal to a person in the following cases:

• in the presence of a strong allergic reaction to proteins, it is viper venom;
• if the snake has bitten into the cervical artery, head or neck, and the person has developed an increased allergic reaction to the poison, but not as strong as in the first case;
• providing improper assistance with a bite.

The consequences of a bite

The effect of the venom released when bitten wears hemolytic character. Usually, swelling occurs at the site of the bite, which is accompanied by pain and multiple small hemorrhages. In addition, there is a possibility of developing vascular thrombosis, as well as hemorrhage of internal organs.

Appear in the damaged area two deep wounds left by viper's teeth. The blood in them is baked quite quickly, which eliminates the possibility of further bleeding. The tissues surrounding the wound become bluish and they begin to swell. In the case when the snake has bitten into the hand, after a while the patient's fingers begin to bend with difficulty due to edema that can even spread to the elbow.

In addition, the consequences of a viper bite include:

• chills;
• increase in body temperature;
• nausea.

Sometimes these symptoms are accompanied by a deterioration in the work of the heart muscle, dizziness or vomiting. All this is the result disorders of the entire circulatory system. The victim may have low blood pressure, develop internal bleeding, the person weakens, and sometimes loses consciousness. In more severe cases, convulsions appear, excitability increases. Unfortunately, a person can die from such complications. The lethal outcome occurs in 30 minutes, although there were cases when death occurred after a day.

In our country, you can only meet the common viper, the bite of which is almost never fatal. Most often, a person returns to his former life after a few weeks.

First aid for a bite

What to do if a person is bitten by a viper? In this case, it must be taken as soon as possible from the place where it happened, since there is a high probability that there may be several snakes. After this, the victim must be laid in such a way that he the head was located below the level of the pelvis, and the legs were raised. This ensures normal blood circulation and reduces the likelihood of complications in the brain.

It is necessary to carefully examine the bitten place. If the snake has bitten through the clothes, then it should be removed, as the fabric may contain a large amount of poison. In the event that droplets of poison are near the wound, they are carefully wiped off, otherwise they can get into the blood. It should be remembered that after a snake bite, it is necessary act very quickly because the patient's life depends on it.

Then you need to firmly grasp the wound with your hands and press on it so that the poison flows out. Then you should try to open the wound and start actively suck out poison, periodically spitting it out. If there is not enough saliva, you can take some water into your mouth and continue your actions. If everything is done correctly, then in 15 minutes it will be possible to remove half of the poison from the body of the victim. The helping person should not be afraid of the risk of infection, even if there are small abrasions or wounds in his oral cavity.

If there is no one to help the victim, then you will have to try to suck out the poison yourself.

If edema occurs, then the wound needs treat with antiseptic solutions. In this case, it is better not to use brilliant green, because it will not allow doctors to carefully examine the wound. The injured limb should be fixed. It is advisable to lay the victim on a stretcher and immobilize, since any movement helps to increase blood circulation and spread the poison more widely.

A sterile dressing impregnated with hydrogen peroxide is applied to the wound. The victim should be given plenty of water to drink because the liquid helps to reduce the concentration of the poison. Prior to the arrival of doctors, it is necessary to monitor the person's condition by measuring his body temperature and pressure.

Help from doctors

Doctors usually use for snakebite drug Antigadyuka, specially designed to neutralize the effect and completely remove snake venom from the body. Improvements after the introduction of serum come in a few hours. It is advisable to spend this time under the supervision of a doctor who will help you choose other effective remedies for treating the consequences of a viper bite.

Further treatment is carried out based on the symptoms present. The patient may be prescribed analgesic, antipyretic or anti-inflammatory drugs. Also, the doctor may prescribe medications that normalize heart rate and blood clotting.

What can not be done with a viper bite?

In order not to harm yourself and not cause complications, you should know what not to do after being bitten by a poisonous snake:

• It is forbidden to cut a wound, because it is easy to infect with such actions, damage muscles, and also provoke severe bleeding. In severe cases, the victim may even die, but not from the action of the poison, but from blood loss.
• You can’t cauterize the wound with anything, because this will not help burn out the poison, but you can burn your muscles.
• It is forbidden to water the wound with various acids (sulfuric acid, caustic potash, etc.), as this can lead to sad consequences.
• It is not recommended to wrap the affected limb too tightly, because after a bite it swells, and a tight bandage will only worsen blood circulation.
• Do not apply a bandage above the affected area, as this contributes to the development of gangrene and other complications in which tissue dies and blood stagnation occurs.
• It is forbidden to chip the injured area with painkillers and other drugs. In general, until the doctors arrive, you can not inject any medicine to a person.
• Alcoholic drinks should not be given to the victim, because they are not an antidote, but only increase the effect of the poison.

Bite prevention

Prevention of viper bites is to follow these recommendations:

Thus, if a person is bitten by a viper, then this practically does not lead to death, but the victim must definitely consult a doctor. If he neglects this and does not go to the clinic, then serious complications can develop, such as kidney failure, and sometimes this can lead to death.

common viper (Vipera berus) is a very widespread snake. It can be found throughout the northern part of Eurasia from Northern Portugal, Spain and England to the northeast of China, Sakhalin Island, and northern Korea. In the mountains, it rises to a height of 3 km above sea level. In Russia, the common viper is distributed throughout the Middle Stripe from the Arctic (in the west, east of Arkhangelsk, the border of the range runs south) to the steppe zone in the south. But vipers are distributed unevenly over the territory, they usually form "foci" in areas with the most favorable living conditions for them, with the presence of convenient wintering shelters. In such places, vipers can be seen on the outskirts and islets of moss swamps, in clearings, overgrown forest fires, near glades of mixed (less often coniferous) forests.

The viper, unlike the snake, does not tolerate the neighborhood of people and their economic activities. Occasionally, it can be found near buildings and gardens in forest areas, on reclamation canals, on little-visited islands in the neighborhood of the city - the viper swims well, successfully swims across rivers and lakes, and, when it gets to the islands, it can take root there. But a truly cultivated landscape - fields, gardens, parks, villages, etc. - these snakes clearly avoid and disappear from places intensively mastered by man. This is the reason for the decrease in their numbers. In Western Europe, a big problem is the numerous wide highways through which the reptiles cannot crawl. These roads break up the habitats of lizards and snakes into small isolated patches. Such fragmentation of populations leads to a gradual decrease in the number of reptiles, the extinction of individual populations that are isolated.

People directly destroy vipers, often striving to kill every snake they meet. At one time, vipers were caught in large numbers for poison, and recently they have been caught by terrarium lovers. Vipers also suffer from anxiety in places of mass appearance of people and domestic animals. For example, according to observations in Sweden, mass dog walking in the forests scares snakes in the spring, during the mating season, and frightened females do not breed this year. In the forest zone of the Volga region, where there are places of mass recreation near the Volga, the viper becomes rare. In the forests near Kyiv, the viper began to disappear since the clearings-roads were cut and a significant number of vacationers appeared. In addition, vipers were caught here every year by zoologists and students. As a result, by the end of the 20th century viper near Kyiv was on the verge of extinction.

But in vast inaccessible forests, in places not affected by human activities, the viper is still common. Most of all it is now in the north-west of the European part of Russia and in Western Siberia - at least 10 million snakes.

The common viper is an ovoviviparous species. In the north and in the center of the forest zone, female vipers, according to some observations, breed every year, in the south - annually. Young snakes are usually born at the end of August and in September. There are up to 8–12 of them in a brood. The female can give birth to babies gradually, every other day. For two or three days, young vipers stay in their birthplace, molt, and then spread out and begin to try to catch insects, although they can starve for several days and weeks, existing at the expense of the remnants of egg yolk. The female does not show concern for her offspring. Young vipers reach maturity at the 4-5th year of life.

In the second half of September and October, vipers go for wintering - they hide in underground and peat voids, under stumps, in deep holes, under haystacks. In suitable shelters, a lot of snakes can gather, for example, in Southern Finland there were up to 800 snakes in one place. Such convenient shelters have been used by snakes for many years.

The mass appearance of vipers in spring is noted from the end of March and in April. In the Carpathians, the emergence of vipers to the surface was observed even in February at an air temperature of +12 °C and a soil temperature of +4 °C. In spring, vipers can be seen more often during the day - they bask in the sun, hunt. The breeding season begins 2–4 weeks after leaving wintering grounds. Males can gather near the female and arrange tournaments: raising the front part of the body, they intertwine and move slowly, then approaching, then moving away and changing places, then unexpectedly attack each other, trying to press the opponent’s head to the ground (but without biting). This fight continues until the weaker male gives in and crawls away.

Later, the vipers spread over their territories, which can be 2–3 km away from the wintering place. In these areas, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bfor a pair of snakes is from 1.5 to 4 hectares, vipers stay all summer, usually not crawling further than 100 m from their shelters: cracks in stumps, burrows, voids under tree roots. Near such shelters they bask in the sun in the first half of the day, and hunt at dusk and at night. In the warm season, the largest number of vipers can be found at an air temperature of +19 ... +24 ° С. The optimum temperature for them is 25-28 ° C, and at a temperature of +37 ° C, these snakes receive heat shock and may die. In extreme heat, they can crawl over 200-300 m to more humid places or climb on the branches of bushes, to a height of up to 1 m.

The favorite food of the viper is small rodents, but, depending on the circumstances, these snakes can also feed on frogs, lizards, nestlings of birds nesting on the ground. Young vipers catch insects, less often slugs and earthworms. The viper usually hunts simply by lying in wait for its prey in ambush. But it can also slowly pursue the victim or actively search for it (for example, examining rodent burrows). Quickly inflicting a bite with poisonous teeth, the snake waits for the death of the victim and then begins to swallow it. A mouse from a viper bite dies in a few minutes.

In danger, the viper tends to crawl away and hide. She bites defensively only when she is grabbed or pressed down, preventing her from crawling away. Experiments in captivity have shown a slight aggressiveness of vipers: with careful handling, they remained calm and did not bite, even taken in hand. Worried, the snakes bit the hand in a thick glove only in one case out of nine, and in the remaining eight they limited themselves to a false lunge with their heads. So the danger of being bitten by a viper is not very great, unless it is specially caught or accidentally crushed. But in places with an abundance of snakes, you should walk in tight shoes and tight trousers and carefully look under your feet. If you have to part the grass, for example when picking berries, you should do it carefully. In order to frighten away the vipers from some place in advance, it is necessary to step on the ground with force - the snakes sensitively pick up the shaking of the soil and crawl away.

The venom of the common viper is not very strong. It causes pain, swelling at the site of the bite, a rise in temperature, but recovery usually occurs after a few days, especially with the use of modern drugs. For many years in Europe, single deaths from the bite of an ordinary viper, mainly children, have been known, mainly in the first half of the 20th century. Most of the time it was a bite to the face.

After a viper bite, you need to keep calm, drink plenty of water, coffee, tea (but not alcohol!). It is not recommended to incise or cauterize the bite site, to pull the limb with a tourniquet - this can cause complications, tissue necrosis. Sometimes it is recommended to suck out the poison if there are no damaged teeth or abrasions in the mouth. It is best to contact the medical center for help. You can use antiallergic drugs: diphenhydramine, suprastin, etc., sometimes novocaine blockade is used. In Stavropol, they now produce a special serum for viper bites. It is better to be careful and not provoke vipers with your behavior.

The enemies of vipers in nature are hedgehogs, ferrets, badgers, foxes, storks, owls, serpent eagles. Even their poisonousness does not save snakes from these predators.

From vipers get snake venom - the most valuable raw material for medicine. These snakes also bring benefits by exterminating mouse-like rodents. Therefore, vipers should be protected, especially since, perhaps, only in Russia they are still preserved in sufficient numbers - unlike other countries, where the number of these snakes is rapidly decreasing. Care should be taken to "snake pockets" - places where vipers accumulate in small areas, where there are many rodents and convenient holes for these reptiles. It is very easy to destroy these foci, and as a result, vipers can disappear in a large adjacent area.

Vipers have many color forms. In the European part of Russia there is a black viper - Nikolsky's viper. Some zoologists describe it as a separate species. Vipera nikolskii, others consider it a subspecies of the common viper. one

The Nikolsky viper is included in the Red Book of Russia, in biology it is similar to the common viper, but has not yet been studied enough. Recently, they began to distinguish as a separate species and the Far Eastern form of the common viper, found east of Lake Baikal - Sakhalin viper (Vipera sachalinensis).

In the steppe zone, tending to dry open areas, it is found steppe viper (Vipera ursini) - in the south of Central and Eastern Europe, in the Ciscaucasia and the Caucasus, in the south of the Volga region and Western Siberia, in Kazakhstan and in the north-west of Central Asia. The steppe viper is smaller and lighter than the common one. In its diet, insects, primarily locusts, make up a much larger proportion. The venom of the steppe viper is weaker than that of the common viper, and no deaths from its bite were observed. The steppe viper is also viviparous and at the end of summer gives birth from 3 to 16 already formed snakes.

The plowing of the steppes led to a sharp decrease in the number of the steppe viper in Central and Eastern Europe. Any other development of the territory also has a negative effect on it. The steppe viper is included as a species subject to protection in the Berne Convention for the Protection of the Fauna of Europe and in the Red Book of Ukraine. But, perhaps, this species is still quite prosperous in the east of its range, in semi-deserts, on mountain slopes and in mountain steppes.

From multiple bites of steppe vipers, sheep and horses can be very sick, and sometimes die. But the poison does not save this snake from predators - ferrets, hedgehogs, steppe and marsh harriers, herons. Also eats steppe vipers lizard snake (Malpolon monspessulanus) - she is insensitive to viper venom, and her own kills lizards and small snakes almost instantly. For humans and large animals, the venom of the lizard snake is probably of little toxicity, besides, its furrowed poisonous teeth are located deep in the mouth and cannot be used when biting a large animal. They take out only the victim that the snake has already swallowed. In captivity, it eats young steppe vipers and verdigris (coronella austriaca) - its saliva is probably also poisonous to lizards and small snakes (it paralyzes them), but it does not affect humans.

The Caucasian viper lives in the mountains of the Caucasus. At the beginning of the XX century. some zoologists considered it a subspecies of the common viper, then separated it into a separate species, and at the end of the 20th century, based on this species, several more species were described that are very similar to each other both externally and in biology. Within Russia, this caucasian viper (Vipera kaznakovi), alpine viper Dinnik (Vipera dinniki), a rare and little-studied viper Lotieva (Vipera lotievi). 2

Caucasian vipers are somewhat denser than the common viper, shorter than it, brighter. Among these snakes, red-brown, orange, with black sides predominate, on the back there are often a number of spots instead of a stripe. Sometimes almost black individuals are also found. Caucasian vipers feed mainly on mouse-like rodents, breed once every 2-3 years and are preserved mainly in alpine mountain meadows, where there are few people. Viper Dinnik and Caucasian (Kaznakov) are listed in the Red Book of Russia, because. have a limited habitat.

On the territory of Russia, in Dagestan, one more species is occasionally found, the largest of the vipers - gyurza (Vipera lebetina). Its length can exceed 1 m, and the thickness - with a hand. Males up to 1.6 m and females up to 1.3 m long are described.

The color of the gyurza is grayish or brownish with soft dark spots - the color of the soil and stones. Indeed, in nature, a motionless viper is not easy to notice. This snake feeds mainly on small animals, but it also successfully hunts small birds, climbing bushes and small trees. A large gyurza can even grab a hare, turtledove, turtle. Young snakes eat lizards and turtle eggs.

Gyurzes regularly make seasonal migrations: in the spring they spread from their wintering places in the crevices of the mountains, often concentrating near water bodies, where they hunt, drink water and swim willingly. In the fall, the gyurzes again creep to the wintering grounds. In spring and autumn, these snakes are more active during the day, and in the hot season of summer - at dusk and at night. In different parts of the range, the gyurza can give birth to live cubs or lay eggs (as happens, for example, in Central Asia).

Gyurza is a truly dangerous poisonous snake, more than 10% of the victims die from its bites. Even with treatment, complications often occur - tissue necrosis at the bite sites.

When bitten, the gyurza clings tightly to the victim and injects a lot of poison into it. The movements of the gyurza are fast, the body is strong, it can inflict a bite by lunging from a distance of the length of its body. It is especially difficult to notice the gyurza, lurking in anticipation of prey in the vineyard, on the branches of bushes and trees. In the spring, during the breeding season, males are quite aggressive, and there are known cases of gyurz attacking a person who was just passing by.

However, a person is no less dangerous for a gyurza. At the beginning of the XX century. in all places of its distribution - in North Africa, Asia Minor and Central Asia, in the Caucasus, on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea -
gyurza was common, but now its numbers have been greatly reduced everywhere. In the USSR, it was the most massive snake in serpentaria, where they took poison from it for the production of sera and medicines. As a result of the mass catch, the number of gyurza in a number of regions of Central Asia and the Transcaucasus was undermined and at the end of the 20th century. the question arose of limiting and temporarily stopping its capture. In Dagestan, the gyurza is under protection and is included in the Red Book of Russia.

Currently, vipers are breeding in some zoos and it is hoped that captive breeding of this viper will become more widespread and accessible. This is necessary to obtain its valuable poison.

Poisonous snakes have their value to humans. Unfortunately, we still observe a negative attitude towards them, attempts to kill them at a meeting, including by schoolchildren. It is advisable to inform children more about the significance of snakes in nature, about their benefits, in particular about the benefits of vipers, so that later they do not regret their disappearance ...

Literature

Botansky A.T. Biology, protection and rational use of the common and Caucasian viper: Abstract of the thesis. - M., 1986.

Garanin V.I. Amphibians and reptiles of the Volga-Kama region. – M.: Nauka, 1983.

Key to amphibians and reptiles of the fauna of the USSR. - M .: Education, 1977.

Orlova V.F., Semenov D.V. Life of animals. Amphibians and reptiles. (Nature of Russia) - M .: Ast-Astrel, 1999.

Pikulik M.M., Bakharev V.A., Kotov S.V. Reptiles of Belarus. - Minsk: Science and Technology, 1988.

Shcherbak N.N., Shcherban M.I. Amphibians and reptiles of the Ukrainian Carpathians. - Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, 1980.

Ecology and taxonomy of amphibians and reptiles / Ed. N.B. Ananiev and L.Ya. Borkin. - L .: ZIN "Science", 1979.

1 Nikolsky's Viper differs from the ordinary one not only in black (ordinary vipers are also black), but also in some other features. It is distributed in the southern, forest-steppe and steppe regions between the Dnieper and the Volga - in the eastern regions of Ukraine and in the Russian Black Earth region. - Note. ed.

Vipers - snakes, whose name is identified with evil, it has become a household name for all reptiles ("reptiles"). These reptiles are all the more interesting because they often turn out to be human neighbors, but how little the truth people know about them, underestimating and demonizing them at the same time. Meanwhile, vipers are some of the most advanced snakes on the planet. They constitute a separate family of vipers, numbering about 70 species. Their relatives include the same unsympathetic creatures as themselves - cobras and pit-headed snakes, among which there are many dangerous to humans.

Females of the Moldavian steppe viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica) - an endangered species. The poison of these snakes is so weak that it does not pose a threat to humans.

Despite their formidable name, vipers are small to medium sized snakes. The smallest of them - the pygmy viper - reaches only 30 cm in length, and the largest - the Gaboon viper (cassava) - can grow up to 2 m. The length of most species lies in the range of 50-75 cm. Flexibility and grace, which are famous for most snakes are not included in the virtues of vipers. Their body is short, but thick, the tail is curly, but the head is large. If you look at it from above, you can easily see the triangular silhouette common to all vipers, due to the fact that the interception of the neck under the head is narrow, the base of the skull is very wide, and the muzzle is blunt and quickly tapering towards the end. The body of vipers is covered with small scales, often rough to the touch. This is due to the fact that in many species of vipers the scales have a longitudinal keel. In addition, individual scales on the head can stand upright, forming a kind of paired or single horns.

Horned viper (Cerastes cerastes).

The coloration of these snakes is varied, but not catchy. A light zigzag or rhombic pattern can be considered a signature outfit, located on the back and sides along the main background, which depends on the habitat of a particular species. For desert and steppe vipers, the background color will be sand, light gray, for forest and swamp inhabitants it will be black, dark gray or brown.

The Gaboon viper, or cassava (Bitis gabonica) wears a contrasting outfit of light and dark spots, but this does not prevent it from remaining completely invisible under deadwood.

Tropical tree vipers are painted bright green to match the unfading southern vegetation. Some species, such as Nikolsky's viper, wear a gloomy monochromatic outfit.

Rough tree viper (Atheris squamigera) in most cases is bright green, but occasionally individual individuals can be painted in unusual colors for vipers: red, bright yellow, bluish-gray.

However, none of the described features reveals to an outside observer the main advantage of vipers - a perfect hunting apparatus. Like all snakes, vipers have a pair of poisonous teeth in the upper jaw, but due to the unique structure of the skull, these teeth, with their mouths closed, lie almost horizontally in the mouth, with their points back. This arrangement allows for disproportionately long venomous teeth, a luxury that other snakes can only dream of. In addition, these teeth fit in the mouth by no means automatically, but at the whim of their owner. So, a yawning viper is able to open its mouth without showing its weapon, and earthen vipers, on the contrary, can put their teeth vertically even with their mouth closed, while they place them on the sides of the lower jaw. Like sharks, vipers undergo a change of teeth, with poisonous teeth being replaced with new ones both in an emergency (for example, if an old tooth is broken during an unsuccessful attack) and in a planned manner. The halves of the upper jaw in vipers move independently of each other, which significantly increases the extensibility of the mouth. By the way, the oral mucosa of these snakes often has a bluish-violet hue.

Vipers are characterized by significant intraspecific variability. All four snakes in this photo are gray and brown color forms of the common viper (Vipera berus). In addition to them, this species has individuals of black color.

Very large poisonous glands, located at the base of the skull, and sometimes in the front of the body, are connected by ducts with poisonous teeth. The venom channel runs inside the tooth and opens outward on its front surface, almost at the very tip. Thus, the teeth of vipers act like syringes that literally inject poison into the body of the victim, but unlike other snakes, the toxin of vipers, due to the large length of the tooth, enters the depths of the tissues. This significantly increases the effectiveness of the bite, so vipers do not need to acquire any special poisons - the toxicity of these snakes can be described as average.

However, average toxicity does not mean harmlessness, because vipers know how to use the strong side of their weapons on the hunt. Unlike other snakes, vipers are phlegmatic and inactive. Crawling, they examine the thickets mainly at night, when they do not have to rely on vision, and during the day they prefer to sit in ambush. Their goal is by no means to catch up with the victim, but to wait until she herself almost steps on the viper. And it doesn’t matter what the size of the animal is - both the potential prey and the potential enemies of the vipers rush without delay, bite immediately and for real. Cobras, which alert large (i.e., potentially inedible) animals of their location with a characteristic stance and often make false throws without biting, appear to be noble knights by comparison.

Vipers are masters of camouflage. This male Greek steppe viper (Vipera ursinii graeca) is not immediately seen among the stones.

Viper venom has a hemolytic effect, that is, when it enters the bloodstream, it destroys red blood cells and releases the hemoglobin contained in them, which in its free form is extremely toxic itself. In addition, viper venom can disrupt blood clotting, and in two ways: when it decreases, the victim's body is affected by hemorrhages, and when it increases, vascular thrombosis occurs. All these charms are quite enough to kill a small animal or bird in a couple of minutes. As for man, few (mostly southern) species are deadly for him.

The favorite food of vipers are mouse-like rodents, lizards and small birds. In search of this prey, they slowly examine placers of stones, thickets of grass and shrubs, hoping to find a hole or a nest. As a rule, in such cases, death threatens not only adults, but also chicks and even eggs. However, vipers have a special relationship with birds. In the areas of seasonal migration or wintering, these snakes behave like real hunters, arranging "raids" for pichugs. But unlike hunters-beaters, vipers do not move, but sit in the bushes, choosing the most comfortable positions for themselves. Given the high density of birds in such places, they are provided with regular breakfasts, lunches and dinners. It happens that after such a seasonal hunt, a snake, having eaten, can starve without harming itself for several months. The rare spider-tailed viper, discovered only in 2006, is especially cunning. This snake has a spiked thickening at the end of the tail, similar to a spider; moving its tail, the predator attracts the attention of the bird, and as soon as it approaches, it grabs the victim. Desert species of vipers (pygmy, horned, disputed) are able to burrow into the sand, vibrating their body, such disguise significantly increases the likelihood of meeting prey.

The spider-tailed viper (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides) is both enticing and inconspicuous.

To some extent, a viper childhood can correct this unpleasant reputation. At an early age, all vipers (and the smallest species even as adults) feed exclusively on insects, among which a large proportion is harmful locusts. Toad vipers, as their name suggests, specialize in eating frogs and toads.

Rhombic toad viper (Causus rhombeatus) lies in the water waiting for the catch.

It is believed that the ancient homeland of vipers was Africa, from where they came to Europe and Asia, but Australia, which separated early from the African continent, is deprived of vipers. These snakes are not found in North and South America, and in the Old World their distribution is very uneven. Most of the vipers are in Africa, their abundance and species diversity are quite high in adjacent areas: in the Near and Middle East, but only a couple of species live in the Far East and Europe. The common viper penetrates north of all, which can be found even beyond the Arctic Circle. It is clear that such a geographical coverage makes the habitats of vipers very diverse. One or another species can be found in dense forests, on the banks of lakes and rivers, among swamps, in the steppes, jungles, in the mountains at an altitude of about 3000 m, in deserts among loose sands. According to the way of life, vipers can be divided into three groups: most species are terrestrial reptiles, crawling on a flat surface and avoiding woody vegetation (they can only crawl onto a low bush); the genus of tree vipers is distinguished by a more slender body, these snakes deftly climb trees and even frozen in ambush, imitate a dry twig with their posture; the genus of earthen vipers leads an underground burrowing lifestyle; on the surface they can only be seen by chance, for example, when digging up the soil. Both tree and earth vipers are found exclusively in Africa.

The southern earth viper (Atractaspis bibronii) lacks the characteristic neck interception and triangular head. Such a worm-like body shape is an adaptation to living underground.

In the tropics, these snakes are active all year round; in the subtropics and the temperate zone, they go into a stupor during the winter cold. Vipers winter in the soil at a depth of up to 2 m. As shelters, they choose burrows of moles and rodents, gullies and voids formed by rotten roots, deep rocky crevices, sometimes hiding under haystacks. Winter shelters are the main factor limiting the northward expansion of the common viper. Where there are few of them, snakes show unusual friendliness, sometimes hiding in one place with tens and even hundreds of individuals. Necessity forces them to get along peacefully even with potential victims: spindles, toads, newts. But even in the warm season, vipers do not quarrel with each other, which is explained by their sedentary nature. Usually, the snake's hunting area is limited to a radius of several hundred meters; in this zone, the same individual can be found for years. But with a lack of food, vipers sometimes make short migrations, moving a couple of kilometers, at such moments snakes can be seen crossing large rivers.

In search of shelters for wintering, lodging, ambushes, vipers are very inventive and can find them, like this controversial viper (Eristicophis macmahoni), literally out of the blue. In deserts, this digging of sand allows snakes to also wait out the heat of the day.

Mating in temperate species takes place in the spring. During this period, males are actively looking for females, and when they meet, they arrange mating tournaments. Applicants wrap their backs around each other, and raise their fronts, in this position they push each other with their necks and cheeks, but do not use poisonous teeth. After mating, the male leaves the mate. Pregnancy in different species lasts from 3 to 6 months.

Mating tournament of Nikolsky's vipers (Vipera nikolskii).

Most species of vipers are ovoviviparous. This means that the female bears eggs in her body, and immediately after laying, kites hatch from them. It happens that the cubs leave the egg while still in the genital tract of the female. Some primitive species of vipers lay eggs, but even in this case, their maturation period is rather short. It is noteworthy that in many species of vipers, the embryos in the mother's body form a primitive placenta; in this regard, vipers are closer to people than birds. The fertility of these snakes varies widely: the smallest species give birth to 2-15 kites, large ones can make the world happy with 40-70 offspring at once. Newborns are poisonous from the first hours of life, but due to their small size they can only use their weapons against spiders and insects. These snakes reach puberty by 2-5 years, small species live up to 7-8 years, and large ones - up to 14-15 (up to 22 in captivity).

The moment of childbirth in a noisy viper (Bitis arietans).

Despite the poisonousness of vipers, there are many animals in nature that can somehow avoid a deadly bite. Hedgehogs, which are immune to snake venom, love to hunt them. Other animals - foxes, badgers, ferrets, dune cats, mongooses, meerkats - take dexterity. It is difficult for vipers to resist danger from the air, when a feathered predator dives quickly and stuns a snake that has grown mad in the sun with one blow of its beak. Thus they often find themselves in the beaks of eagles, harriers, kites, storks, owls, ravens, secretary birds, and especially serpent-eaters. Steppe vipers have a personal enemy - a lizard snake. She preys on her own kind and can eat 2-3 vipers at a time.

Vipers do not have special means of protection. When caught, they wriggle desperately, make lightning-fast throws for the entire length of the body and try to bite the offender. The noisy viper uses a technique somewhat reminiscent of cobra self-defense: it inflates its body (although it does not have a hood) and hisses very loudly, for which it got its name. It is noteworthy that this sound does not come from the snake's throat at all - the vocal cords are replaced by scales. Wriggling, the viper rubs one side against the other, this friction generates hissing. The chain viper (daboia), Avicenna's viper, and horned viper have the same frightening "voice" born in the same way. But there are cowards among these snakes. The tailed, bushy-browed, Palestinian and pygmy vipers living in the deserts do not rely on their own strength and flee at the slightest danger. Interestingly, when escaping, they use a special way of movement - a side move. In this case, the snake rests on the surface with the front and rear ends of the body, and throws the middle part of the body to the side, then, leaning on it, moves the head and tail, and so on. At the critical moment of the chase, such a movement can develop into a series of virtuoso lateral jumps. The ability to burrow into the sand also helps desert vipers escape from persecution. But the largest Gaboon viper is peaceful. Once caught, she does not resist, and it takes a lot of effort to anger her.

Pygmy viper (Bitis peringueyi).

It must be said that the bad fame of these snakes is greatly exaggerated, because even the bites of the most dangerous Gaboon and chain vipers are fatal only in 15-20% of cases. When bitten by an ordinary viper - the most common representative of the family in the middle lane - increasing pain develops, severe swelling that does not subside for several days or even weeks, dizziness, but, as a rule, these unpleasant symptoms are limited. Death occurs in 1% of cases, and even then only under a combination of unfavorable circumstances (most often small children who are bitten in the face die). Knowing the habits of vipers, it is not difficult to prevent an unpleasant meeting: while staying in dense thickets, you need to carefully look under your feet; do not explore with bare hands the spaces under the stones, hollows, stumps; when meeting with a viper, do not try to crush it with your feet, it is better to throw it aside with a long stick or simply leave - a slow snake will never pursue you. When bitten, the victim must be taken to the hospital, a tonic drink (tea) should be given on the road, a cold compress can be applied to the bite site to reduce pain and swelling. It is unacceptable to drag the bitten limb, cauterization; due to the great depth of the viper bite, the suction (squeezing out) of the poison is also ineffective. With competent assistance, recovery occurs in 2-5 days, with self-medication, it can drag on for several weeks.

Extensive hematomas (hemorrhages) caused by the bite of a common viper.

Viper toxin also has a downside. Due to its ability to increase blood clotting, the poison of some species is used in diagnostic practice and for the manufacture of hemostatic drugs. The effectiveness of these drugs is so high that they are prescribed even to patients with hemophilia, who are not helped by conventional clotting agents. The role of vipers in agriculture is also twofold. On the one hand, the bites of these snakes lead to the death of small livestock (this happens in remote areas of transhumance), on the other hand, this harm is compensated by the benefits of the destruction of rodents and locusts. It should be noted that although the ranges of vipers are extensive, among them there are many small species listed in the international and national Red Books. These include the steppe, Caucasian, Asia Minor and nosy vipers. So, if you happen to meet one of these snakes, do not kill it - by doing this you will demonstrate not only environmental awareness, but also help preserve the biological diversity of our planet.

Nitsche's tree viper (Atheris nitschei).

A meeting with a snake in your own area can happen to any summer resident. For most people, especially women, such a neighborhood only causes panic, a desire to lock themselves at home, and in some cases even get rid of the dangerous area.However, a snake found in the grass is not a reason to leave your favorite place. Knowing the characteristics and habits of the animal, you can not only protect yourself from a bite, but also try to force the snakes to leave your territory.

common viper

In the middle lane, you can most often meet with an ordinary black or light gray viper with a zigzag stripe on its back. The length of the snake usually does not exceed 70-75 cm. Vipers are active at night and in the early morning. Animals usually sleep during the day.

According to statistics, about 0.5% of those bitten die from a viper bite. Basically, these are small children with an immature immune system.

habitats

Snakes are secretive and do not tolerate extreme heat. They live, as a rule, in mixed forests in tall grass or berry fields located in the vicinity of a swamp or other body of water. In the daytime, they hide in abandoned rodent burrows, under fallen tree trunks, stones or rotten stumps.

Sometimes vipers settle in sparsely inhabited overgrown summer cottages in tall grass, haystacks, debris heaps, construction waste or woodpile.

Prevention of the appearance of vipers on the site

Mow the grass regularly and put things in order on your site - throw out unnecessary trash, sort out logs and boards, clear the space under the barn and other buildings. It is desirable that this is done not only by you, but also by your neighbors.

Attract hedgehogs to the site. Vipers do not tolerate such a neighborhood.

Get rid of mice and voles. The snakes will have nothing to eat and they will crawl away in search of food.

Snakes feel the vibrations of the soil well. It is believed that they avoid places where ultrasonic mole repellers are installed.

It is believed that vipers do not like noise and knocking on the ground. To scare away on bushes and tree branches, you can hang pieces of plywood or tin that will tinkle in the wind.

Snakes do not tolerate saltpeter and herbicides. If necessary, to scare away animals, you can treat the perimeter of the site with them. Before doing this, it is important to make sure that there are no snakes on the site itself. Otherwise, processing is simply meaningless.

In extreme cases, you can always contact the specialists at the disinfection station.

How to detect

The fact that your site was visited by a snake can be recognized by the characteristic tape trail on a sandy path or garden bed. Sometimes you can find the remains of a snake skin or dead bodies of mice and frogs, which make up the main diet of the animal.

What to do in case of an unexpected meeting with a viper

Vipers generally do not attack first, except when they are guarding their egg clutches.

Before the attack, the snake begins to hiss and takes a threatening posture, giving the person the opportunity to leave.

Therefore, if you accidentally meet a snake, in no case tease or attack it, do not put your hand forward - the snake can take these gestures for an attack and respond.

The best thing you can do in case of an unexpected encounter with a viper is to calmly leave, or freeze, giving it the opportunity to crawl away on its own.

Remember, the animal has a fairly quick reaction and is able to make sudden throws for a third of its length.

If the viper has bitten

At the site of the bite left by the viper, two deep stab wounds are clearly visible. The first emergency aid for a bite consists in the immediate and intensive suction of the poison from the wound for 10-15 minutes. It is best if this is done by a person who has not been bitten. Before suction, the fold of skin at the site of the bite must be squeezed, slightly opening the wounds. Poison during suction should be regularly spit. Snake venom that has fallen on the oral mucosa and even in the stomach is not dangerous for humans. However, after suction, the mouth should be rinsed with water or a solution of potassium permanganate.

When the poison is sucked out in the first minutes after the bite, up to 50% of the poison is removed from the body, which greatly facilitates the process of intoxication.

After that, the wound is treated with alcohol, iodine or vodka (if none of the above is at hand, urine) and a loose bandage is applied, which is loosened as edema develops.

The bitten person must be provided with a stationary horizontal state, which maximally prevents the spread of poison in the body. In this case, it is desirable to fix the affected organ. After all of the above activities, you can contact emergency assistance.

What not to do when bitten by a viper

No need to try to catch and kill the snake that bit you, as well as immediately and independently try to get to the medical facility - you will lose precious time in providing emergency care.

You can not shake the bitten limb and move actively - in this way you contribute to the rapid spread of poison throughout the body.

You should not cauterize the bite site - the viper's teeth penetrate the skin to a depth of 1 cm, so it is unlikely that it will be possible to destroy the poison by heating.

It is also impossible to cut the wound - this can provoke bleeding and cause an additional infection.

In no case should a tourniquet be applied - this will provoke an increase in intoxication and, in extreme cases, may result in amputation of the limb.

How to protect yourself from a snake bite

Vipers most often bite on the legs when they are stepped on. Going for a walk in the forest, as well as in any other places where it is possible to meet a viper, wear loose trousers and rubber boots with thick soles. It is convenient to examine suspicious places with a long stick, thus protecting the hand from being bitten.

Always be alert and do not make sudden, thoughtless movements.

It is important to see the positive in any situation. If you find a viper in your area, you should know that you live in an ecologically clean place. Snakes are very picky, and choose only the cleanest places in terms of ecology for life.

Classification

View: Common viper - Pelias berus

Genus: Real vipers - Vipera

Family: Vipers

Squad: scaly

Class: reptiles

Type of: chordates

Subtype: Vertebrates

Dimensions: The length of the snake is about 60 cm; weight - from 50 to 180 grams

Lifespan: up to 15 years

A dislike for snakes has been cultivated in human society throughout its history.

Some peoples deified snakes, others considered them to be the fiends of hell, but all cultures are united in one thing - in fear of these legless creatures.

The northern countries are not very rich in representatives of the snake community, but the viper, unlike, for example, can be found almost everywhere, even on the Arctic Circle.

Habitat

Snakes are reptiles and therefore prefer warm climates. This does not apply to the viper.

Its distribution range extends from Great Britain and France in the west to Sakhalin and Korea in the east.

In Europe, the viper can be found both in the highland forests of Italy and southern France, and on the Scandinavian Peninsula.

In the taiga of Eastern Siberia, it lives up to the border of permafrost.

In order for a viper to get into the camera frame, a photo of a snake needs to be taken only in the forest. This species is adapted to life in the forest zone.

The southern border of its range in Russia and Ukraine coincides with the border of forest-steppes and steppes. To the south, the viper can only be seen in mountain forests.

The reason for this is the adaptation of the reptile to life in cool conditions.

Interesting! Of the many types of venomous snakes on Earth, the viper is the most common and numerous. The viper is the only venomous snake that lives in the northern latitudes of Eurasia.

Characteristic

It is noteworthy that 5 species of this genus are listed in the Red Book:

• Dinnik
• Kaznakov
• Nikolsky
• steppe
• Gyurza

The common viper that can be found in our forests belongs to a separate genus Pelias berus.

It differs from the rest of its relatives in that its triangular head with a rounded muzzle is covered with three shields: one frontal and two parietal.

Interesting! During the mating season, male vipers usually face off. By this they achieve the location of the female. Intertwining their bodies, the rivals rise and furiously hit each other with their heads until they fall from powerlessness. At the same time, they try to injure the opponent as little as possible. Sometimes such a duel lasts more than 30 minutes, but always ends with one of the males giving in to the other and crawling away.

Appearance

The common viper is a small, up to 60 centimeters long, snake.

Males have a shorter and thinner body, but their tail is longer. Females are found even up to 90 centimeters in length.

This is what a viper snake looks like in the photo in the vast majority of cases.

Ferocity is also imparted by large growths hanging over the eyes, resembling superciliary arches.

The belly of the snake has a gray tint, grayish-brown or black, sometimes there are white spots.

Key Features

A feature of all vipers is that they have poisonous glands located in the sinuses behind the upper jaw.

The poison from them enters the bite site along two empty teeth inside. These teeth are attached to the rotating maxillary bone.

Usually these fangs are not visible, as they are folded and covered with a special film.

At the moment of attack, the jaw of the reptile opens 180 degrees, and the fangs turn in the direction of impact.

To capture a snake bite, a photo of a viper must be taken at the time of the throw. This is beyond the power of a person, but with the help of slow motion on a video camera it is possible.

Due to the fact that the bite of this snake is very dangerous and can even lead to death, you need to know the following precautions:

1. Never touch a viper.
2. In the forest where these snakes live, you must wear high, durable boots and tight trousers.
3. Before entering thick grass or stepping into a hole, you need to make sure that there are no reptiles there.
4. When picking mushrooms or berries, you must first rummage around with a stick on the grass around you. The snake will crawl away or hiss.
5. Do not move if a viper is crawling nearby. Most likely she will crawl past.

Another feature is the ability of the pupil to respond to illumination by changing its size.

This property is very rare for reptiles and is associated with a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle.

Interesting! Not every bite is accompanied by the release of poison, 25% of attacks are "idle". It is believed that the Egyptian queen Cleopatra was killed by a horned African viper.

Food

Like all reptiles, the viper loves heat and light. During the day, she prefers to bask in the sun and remains relatively slow.

However, at night, all her energy is directed to the extraction of food.

At dusk, she sees perfectly not only in the visible range, but also using infrared (thermal) radiation from heated objects.

It preys on mammals and small birds. This is due to the ability to better see warm-blooded animals due to the peculiarities of vision.

Most of all, she prefers mice and other small rodents such as and. She catches them both on the ground and underground.

reproduction

In order to survive the winter, vipers make shelter under snags or in abandoned animal burrows.

Up to a dozen individuals can winter in such a nest. Reptiles hibernate.

At this time, their metabolism slows down so much that the body does not require food.

Snakes sleep restlessly and at the slightest danger they are able to wake up and move, albeit slowly.

Upon exiting hibernation, in April, their mating season begins. They mate when warm weather sets in.

It is at this time that males arrange their endurance tournaments. The birth of vipers occurs after a 3-month pregnancy.

The female brings from 5 to 12 cubs. Their length does not exceed 18 centimeters.

Interesting! An interesting feature in the reproduction of the viper is the presence of a combined nutrition of embryos. They feed not only on substances from the egg yolk, but also by obtaining nutrients from the mother's circulatory system.

Many zoos around the world have terrariums that contain vipers.

Similar conditions are created with the content, and even.

They prefer narrow and long compartments that are well lit by lamps. Light day for them should be from 9 to 12 hours.

For southern species of snakes, including, it is necessary to maintain the air temperature within 22 - 28 ° C, and the common viper does not need this feature.

In addition, conditions for hibernation should be created in winter. It is necessary to feed adults with laboratory mice.

Important!Please note - it is categorically not recommended to start and keep a viper at home. She can escape from the terrarium and harm people.

Photo of a viper snake: a poisonous forest dweller

Description and habits of the viper. Photographs and information about the appearance and character of the viper snake. Precautions when encountering a viper. Features of the viper.