Europe – Reptiles and Amphibians, Short Stories
Photograph – Common Frog Tadpoles, Rana temporaria, Glen Convinth, Inverness-shire, Highland Scotland
Adder, European
European Adder, Viper berus, Kinloch Forest, Skye, Highland Scotland
The Berithir are the serpent dragons of The Highlands, of these the Nathair are the Adders. Serpent, lightning, thunderbolt are all meanings of Berithir. In Celtic tradition snakes are linked to entrances to the underworld and the power of the earth and healing as well as dangers. Adders treated with respect are a very, very small risk to people. People are a very big risk to adders. They have their own champion in Highland, Cllr Alasdair Christie, they are protected and they do matter in the natural world, in law and in the lore of the land.
Friends of Cùra
“I chose to be species champion for the Adder as it a greatly maligned reptile through being a snake. It plays a role in the hierarchy of our countryside. They are an important indicator species as they are very sensitive to disturbance of our ecosystem so if the adder disappears, we know that something is wrong, and the environment is changing. Adders are endangered through the loss of hibernation sites, destruction of its habitat and disturbance. If you are fortunate enough to see an adder in the wild remember it is more scared of you than you are of it! I am pleased to see the adder feature on the Cura Guardian Website.”
Cllr Alasdair Christie, Highland Council
Frog Common
Photograph – Common Frog, Rana temporaria, Glen Convinth, Inverness-shire, Highland Scotland
Common Frogs only spend part of the year in water and the rest in damp vegetation? They do need the water though and the UK has lost 75% of its wetlands in 300 years, the world 35% from 1970 to 2015. That’s a big problem for all of us.
https://global-wetland-outlook.ramsar.org
Toad, European
Photograph – European Toad, Bufo bufo, Lochan Dubh, Glen Urquhart, Inverness-shire, Highland Scotland
Few animals have been as maligned and associated with dark forces as Toads. They do secrete toxins and hallucinogens in their skin but that is for defence so they can be poisonous but the rest, including suggesting that they are bound up in witchcraft, is false. The suggestion in Scotland that they along with Yellowhammers are the ‘things of evil’ is prejudice against them and a rather attractive bird at the same time. It is also not true that they have magical gems in their heads, toadstones, which although produced as artefacts in historical times were in fact fossilised fish teeth from 150 million years ago and thank you to the National Museums of Scotland for being definite on that.
Recognition of toads did not get off to a good start. Regarded as the first natural history publication in the UK, Thomas Pennant in ‘British Zoology’ published in 1776 described them as ‘the most deformed and hideous of all animals’, after that it got worse. Now we think of them very differently and in Highland Scotland they have their own species champion, Cllr Jackie Hendry. So, can now have a celebration of their place and their value. Quite right too.
“The reason I chose to be species champion for the Common Toad was because it is not one of the ‘pretty’ species. Mainly brown coloured and covered in warts, I feared it would be left behind on the list. In fact, in the Middle Ages, the toad was associated with the devil. The toad is an important member of the Amphibia class, useful in keeping the numbers steady of woodlice, beetles, slugs, earthworms and caterpillars that it eats. It’s biggest threat is loss of habitat and the drainage of its breeding grounds. For example, due to the increasingly dry climate, numbers of toads have declined in Spain. I am pleased to see the toad feature on the Cura Guardian Website.”
Cllr Jackie Hendry, Highland Council
Photographs and text ©Nick Sidle, all rights reserved