Reptiles action plan

Aims
1. To protect and conserve the native reptile populations of Greater London.
2. To save the adder from its imminent extinction in Greater London.
3. To promote wider awareness of reptile conservation in Greater London.



The common lizard Lacerta vivipara, slow-worm Anguis fragilis (a legless lizard) and two snakes, the grass snake Natrix natrix and adder Vipera berus, all occur in Greater London. Whilst the lizards and grass snake are still fairly widespread, adders are exceedingly rare in London, and are found at only a handful of sites.

Being cold-blooded, reptiles need warm sites for basking to raise their body temperature. The open, dry nature of heathlands, and chalk and acid grasslands often provide these basking areas, as well as plenty of cover and food, and are the habitats with which most reptiles are commonly associated. The exception is the grass snake, which has more affinity with wetland habitats.

British reptiles are inactive between mid-October and March, hibernating below ground in disused mammal burrows, inside buried stonework, deep within grass tussocks or among tree roots. On emergence from hibernation in the spring, they can often be seen basking in the open. Slow-worms and common lizards live mostly on invertebrates ¹ insects, spiders and small slugs and snails. The two snakes hunt by stealth, preying on amphibians, small mammals and even their smaller reptilian cousins.

People sometimes see adders as a threat, as they are the only venomous snake in Britain. However, bites to humans are extremely uncommon. Our use and abuse of the places where adders occur presents a far greater threat to them than they pose to us.

Contact
The Lead for this species is the English Nature
Rachel Cook
English Nature
Devon House
12 - 15 Dartmouth Street
Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1 9BL

Tel: 020 7340 4870
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.english-nature.org.uk

Photo of adder © John Archer



This is only a summary - download the full audit in pdf or text format

Related documents:
• Advice for developers on protected species issues in Greater London
• Advice for local planning authorities on protected species issues in Greater London
• Conservation Status of the Adder vipera berus in Greater London

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