Reptiles of the South Downs
Types of reptile
In the South Downs National Park, there are multiple animals and reptiles including the sand lizard, common lizard, adder, grass snake, and slow worm. The grass snake is also called the white ringed, or water snake. They can grow up to 180cm long. Another snake, the adder, is the only venomous snake in the UK. Did you know that the male sand lizard hibernates and is the rarest animal in the UK? Also slow worms aren’t ‘SLOW ‘worms they’re actually lizards. They’re also called Slaw Worms (from the Old English) which means ‘striking worm’..
How they kill
The way the adder kills is it bites, paralysing its victim and killing their prey quickly. Unlike most snakes, the grass snake doesn’t constrict its prey and suffocate them but eats it ALIVE! The sand and common lizard kill the same way, they simply bite!
What they eat
Adders, also known as Vipera berus, feast on small birds, their chicks, frogs, voles, mice, newts and lizards. Grass snakes’ prey includes frogs, toads, newts, fish and small birds including chicks. The sand and common lizards eat living things like slugs, spiders, insects and plants.
Where they hunt
Did you know that grass snakes don’t only hunt in grassland, but hunt in rivers, ponds, lakes and streams? The common lizard, the sand lizard and adder all hunt in heathland. The adder can be found stalking rodents in the woods.
Where they live
Most reptiles in the South Downs live in heathland like the adder, sand lizard and the common lizard, but not all. For example the grass snake. I bet you can guess where that species of snake lives!