SNAKES ALIVE
sm,—Your Canadian correspondent, Mr, W. R. Hibbard, (Spectator, July 23) appears to be unaware of the fact that the snake he encountered in Quebec Province and calls a 'spotted adder' was more probably the harm- less Eastern Garter-Snake (Thamnophis s. sirtalis), one of the many ovoviviparous species that produce their young alive. Consequently, it is not surprising that when the boys • bashed' and ' mangled' a pregnant female the young emerged from her body. Similar occurrences with the British adder or viper have often been reported. The name ' Spotted Adder' is loosely applied to several egg- laying species such as the Eastern Milk-Snake (Lampropeltis doliata triangulum). Reports about snakes swallowing their young fre- quently begin with ' about sixty years ago' or ' when I was a boy,' and may be attributed to faulty observation, as for example a large snake seen dining off a small one, or to the tricks which the yeais play with our memories. —Yours faithfully,
A. LOVERIDOB
Previous page
