New Forest Adders Wild

The New Forest - Britain's newest national park -

the protected refuge of heath land

and woodland.

A sanctuary for an elusive and fascinating group of animals,

the New Forest Six -

three species of snake

and three different lizards.

This is one of the only places in Britain

where all of them live together.

And of these six,

perhaps the most famous -

or infamous -

is the adder.

BIRDSONG

It's early March, and already there's plenty of signs

that spring is arriving

in the New Forest.

The woodland canopy is echoing with birdsong.

VARIETY OF BIRDSONG

The warm weather is enough to tempt our only venomous reptile

out of hibernation.

Having made it through the harsh winter months,

the adder males are the first to emerge.

The females will appear later in the season.

In early spring, the best time of the day for adders

is midday, when the sun is at its warmest.

Being cold-blooded, they need to absorb heat to get going.

So they flatten out their bodies,

to take in as much warmth as they can.

That zigzag pattern makes them almost invisible

against the backdrop of old bracken leaves.

But spring showers are never far away,

and this cools the snakes down to a dangerous level.

You see, being solar-powered does have its drawbacks.

As the season progresses into April,

a key moment in this male's life

is about to occur.

He's about to cast off his rather dull winter coat

and reveal his smart spring colours.

He wriggles through tight stems

and brushes up against brambles.

He's just trying to snag the old skin and pull it back over his body.

It's a bit like trying to pull off a pair of knee socks...

not using your hands.

But eventually, after five minutes of very hard work,

the skin is free.

He's looking his best

and he's ready to go...

looking for a mate.

Adders aren't the only reptiles that have emerged

with mating in mind.

Another of the New Forest Six

is also out and about -

sand lizards.

They too are enjoying the warm spring sunshine.

Its open heath with sandy soil

is their idea of an ideal home.

The males have absolutely dazzling courting colours.

And...oh, he's spotted a female.

Foreplay can be a little bit on the rough side.

The phrase "be gentle with me"

really doesn't seem to mean much to a sand lizard.

It's basically grab, grip

and here we go.

A third member of the six has also ventured out into the spring warmth.

This is the common lizard.

It's, um...

considerably less sparkly than sand lizard,

but it does live up to its name -

it's pretty common round here.

Like the sand lizards,

the adder males are also starting to get a bit frisky.

They're beginning to establish a hierarchy

with the larger, dominant males

most likely to mate with the females.

But at the moment, the females are still underground, hibernating.

But, as it gets a little warmer,

they're beginning to stir.

Elsewhere in the forest,

another snake species

and the fourth of the New Forest Six

has made an appearance.

The smooth snake is often confused with the adder.

There's one big difference, though -

the smooth snake is not venomous.

It's nearly May now,

and at last the adder females

are emerging from their underground burrows.

Not surprisingly, their appearance drives the waiting males

absolutely frantic.

And it leads to one of the most spectacular and rarely seen wildlife spectacles -

the adder dance.

Males fight males

to mate with newly emerged females.

Bodies entwined, they rear up in a serpentine wrestling match.

And the winner is...

unfortunately not the one who dances most elegantly,

but the one who has the most brute force.

The victorious males woo the females

by almost flirtatiously tapping them with their bodies

and then gently licking them.

At which, the females go all calm

and receptive, and allow the males to get close enough to mate.

Once the couple are joined,

no other male stands a chance of mating with this female.

After mating,

the males disperse,

but the females remain rather more visible,

basking in the sun to incubate their young

as they grow inside their bodies.

Summer has arrived in the forest, and with the ever-warmer days,

the final members of the New Forest Six might be seen.

The third snake species in Britain is...

the grass snake,

which, as you can see,

is by no means confined to grass.

Then finally,

there's the slowworm,

which isn't a worm or indeed a snake -

it's a legless lizard.

As all the reptiles bask in the warm sun,

most of the females will now be carrying the next generation.

Sand lizards are already digging burrows in which to lay their eggs.

In the forest, summer is nearly over.

There's now a feeling of autumn in the air.

For all reptiles,

these cooler days mean their year is nearing its end.

But for the female adder,

the most important stage of her year

is still to come.

She'll soon return to where she hibernated,

and there she'll give birth to the next generation of New Forest adders.

And shortly after that,

they'll all go into hibernation.

It really is very nice to know

that the New Forest Six

are safe and secure

in these fabulous woodlands.

Subtitles by Anne Walker Red Bee Media Ltd - 2005

E-mail [email protected]