Adder (or Common Viper) - an unusual variant female, Bowland
I HAVEN'T SEEN AN ADDER WITH A PATTERN LIKE THIS BEFORE, is what most people I have spoken to say about this beautiful creature, which is currently living wild on the Bowland Fells. A female with a much faded dark pattern along its spine and a generally more golden colour. Young adders show the usual distinctive bracken-mimic pattern from a very early stage so this is obviously a 'morph' rather than a 'phase'. Any comments would be welcome. This lovely snake was also fairly docile and allowed a little coaxing into position. I don't pick them up but am not averse to getting them to look in the right direction for a while before I leave them alone to get on with their business.
Adder (or Common Viper) - a more typically-marked female