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Hardened Little Sod ... Came accross this guy today out in the open. He was buzzard food at first where he was, he started to move on and got the right hump. New meaning to to getting a snake bike punture ;-). Got him safely back to the grass zone :-).
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He just wanted a go on your bike. 🙂
Well done for ushering him/her back to safety.
Growing up around Surrey and being an MTB’er, my bunny hop skills got pretty well honed thanks to the local snake population who enjoy sunning themselves on trails.
Well, it isn't a king cobra...so what kind of play thing are we looking at here? No legs so unable to pedal a bike and not a centipede! 😉
Here's someone who's confident at identifying snakes
Me? Hahaha, very clearly not...is it an adder? Aware we have those in the UK but never seen one in real life...
Not you Dick, the OP for getting that close.
Ha, cool...I did also think the same, but figured my 'witty' attempts at hiding my uncertainty was subtly being called into question. 😉
I should go educate myself anyway, as I very clearly have no idea what kind of snake it is...I'd have assumed it was a bad snake that would kill me with a bite!
In the UK it's not too hard to identify which is which, grass snakes are quick little buggers as well, although this time of year they're readying themselves for hibernation.
You can always tell an adder, they're quite common, and i dare say most of us into mountain biking have been within a few feet of them quite a bit over the years, you have to really upset them to get them to actually attack though, they're quite low down the food chain though and are prey for many other wildlife, so don't tend to stay out in the open too long, have seen some basking in the sun a couple of years ago, which i was oblivious to at the start, and probably got a little too close to 3 or 4 of them!
A fantastic animal. Great encounter, got him to a safer place. The nearby buzzard didn't seem to happy.
Don't forget to Like or Subscribe :-).
I only got 27 subscribers, aiming for 30 by the end of the year ;-).
I'm pretty sure I skirted a death adder once on a commute home.
Seen quite a few types of snake, jumped a few, and stopped for photos with a few over the years.
Here's a mate coaxing a carpet python off a track. And another of a carpet python just about to strike a Cotic headbadge!
Nice video. Probably a female, they tend to be larger than the males, a bit browner and have shorter tales. You can log the sighting here https://www.recordpool.org.uk/
saw a baby adder on one of my rides last summer. got the photo on my phone, where can I copy it to upload it?
saw a baby adder on one of my rides last summer
How could you tell, was it still using it's fingers?
I quite like snakes and I get that pythons aren't a big deal but **** me If I lived in Oz there would be a lot of walking out of the trails having abandoned another bike.
Five Red Bellied Black snakes inside Six Kilometers two days ago. Will try and upload some video later.
"Five Red Bellied Black snakes inside Six Kilometers two days ago. "
That's a lot! Saw one on my driveway recently heading away from a turkey nest at great pace.
Very apt user name 🙂 for this thread.
I wonder if there is a Natrix Helvetica out there as well 😉
Great pix and stories above.
More wanted 🙂
It was too many! It was in the morning and they were all less than enthusiastic to move out of their basking spots. One just point blank refused to move off and we had to sidle past less than a meter from him. Mrs was not happy but being so sluggish I thought it should be fine. It was.
I'm just glad I'm in the UK.
I'm ok with adders, grass snakes and slow worms, some of the tales and images on this thread make me shudder....
A few years ago I met my first black adder in the Cairngorms. I didn't know this was a thing, but the markings were clear and it was a big bugger for an adder.
If my experience is anything to go by, it's easier to approach snakes on a bike than by walking as they probably hear the thumps of your feet.
It was too many! It was in the morning and they were all less than enthusiastic to move out of their basking spots. One just point blank refused to move off and we had to sidle past less than a meter from him. Mrs was not happy but being so sluggish I thought it should be fine. It was.
They're supposed to be great snakes to have living near the house because they supposedly won't bother people unless startled, but they kill other snakes. I'd rather not find out!
I found a small black snake under a doormat (outside!) once. Didn't hang around to find out if it had a red belly. Nearly shat myself.
I’m just glad I’m in the UK.
I’m ok with adders, grass snakes and slow worms, some of the tales and images on this thread make me shudder….
I took this one year's ago on a walk in the Northern Territory. Python on the trail mid-snack.
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I got two extra subscribers and 3 likes 🙂
When do you get a YouTube plaque???
I used to have in-laws in california - I've bunny-hopped a rattlesnake (thought it was a stick - quite unusually I did a decent bunny hop and didn't "collect" it) and once met one bang in the middle of a xc trail at the BigBear trail centre. Took a vid of that one (can't find it now 🙁 ), lazily coming towards me for a metre or two before moving off the path
MrsPants was out running in the New Forest the other day - we're in full pannage season:
