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(dramatic violin tones, drumbeat)
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- [Narrator] No animals
fascinate like snakes.
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(dramatic up tempo drumbeat)
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Terrifying to some,
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exquisite to others.
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Elegant
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and in danger.
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Born to hunt
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yet so vulnerable.
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(dramatic violin tones, chanting)
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(relaxed violin music)
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Late winter.
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The snow has grown damp and heavy.
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Most of the animals have
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survived the cold months quite well.
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Soon the white ermine will
change its color to brown.
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South-facing slopes are
already nearly bare.
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Those who succumbed to the cold and snow
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slowly appear, insects for example.
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The snow also reveals other fragile forms.
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A snakeskin discarded last autumn.
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But where is the snake itself?
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Where did it disappear to when
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snow and ice covered the earth?
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(relaxed violin, guitar tones)
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Snakes spend the winter in
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frost-free cavities in the ground.
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Their body energy is reduced to a minimum.
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In this brumation, they
can just keep alive.
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(bird cawing)
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The power of the spring
sun changes everything
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until the snakes drowsily
abandon their refuge.
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(relaxed violin, electronic tones)
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Its first winter over, a
young Aesculapian snake
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directs its attention to
the spring butterflies.
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They don't count as prey but they're
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the first lifeforms
it's seen in six months.
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And soon there's much more to see.
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(light chimes)
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More and more snakes also appear
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with the rising temperatures to sunbathe.
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The harmless grass snake is the
most common snake in Europe.
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It's recognized by the two yellow
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markings on the back of its head.
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After its winter rest, it's
not just looking for warmth.
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Sometimes spring sees the phenomenon
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of mass mating when 50 or more gather.
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They'll spend the rest of the year alone.
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Spring is also the time to
encounter the slow worm.
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It looks like a snake
but only at first glance.
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It has eyelids
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and that makes it a lizard.
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(relaxed piano tones, light drumbeat)
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Snakes eyes by contrast are lidless
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and covered by a transparent scale.
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That's what gives them
the snake-like stare.
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So if it blinks, it's not a snake.
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A subtle but important difference.
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Even today there's a great
deal of ignorance about snakes.
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Their permanently darting tongues are not
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a sign of aggression, it's
their way of smelling.
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(relaxed guitar tones)
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Older molecules are drawn from the air
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and evaluated by a special
organ in the roof of the mouth.
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Their darting tongues
lead them to their prey.
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It even works underwater.
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The growing intensity of the spring sun
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quickly warms the upper
levels of the lake.
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The swimming season has
started for the grass snake.
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(birds chirping)
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A grass snake can grow
to nearly two meters,
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moving with extreme elegance
in the liquid element.
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The search for amphibian prey
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may mean swimming hundreds of meters.
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No shortage of frogs and toads
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in the tangled vegetation along the shore.
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Toads are perfect-sized prey
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but this one has a bright signal cover.
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Toads and grass snakes don't
exactly live in harmony
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but the snake is indecisive.
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It may look like the toad is giving up
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but in fact it's displaying
its warning colors.
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To the grass snake that
means I'm inedible, move on.
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And when the snake is out of
range, the toad takes off too.
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Another predator is in and out
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of the water, a European otter.
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It eats fish, crabs, mussels, amphibians
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and snakes.
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Otters are superb divers.
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(anxious violin music)
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A gently gliding grass
snake has no chance.
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(ominous piano tone)
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The snake has no defense.
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The scent gland meant
to frighten off smaller
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attackers only seems to make
the otter's meal more tasty.
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It devours it whole,
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every little piece.
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(relaxed guitar, piano music)
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Snakes have conquered nearly
every habitat in Europe.
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One climbs to great heights.
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Spotted in treetops at 20 meters or more,
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the Aesculapian snake.
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It's not poisonous and a
true survival specialist.
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(birds chirping, cawing)
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Its greatest skill
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is climbing trees.
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(relaxed piano music)
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As if gravity didn't exist,
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it glides higher and
higher in a vertical line
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by jamming the edge of its
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belly scales into any irregularity
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and snaking its way
continuously up the trunk.
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At dizzying heights it seeks out
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an undisturbed place in the sun.
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The northernmost habitat
of the Aesculapian snake
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takes in southern Germany,
the Czech Republic,
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Slovakia and Austria.
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At over two meters,
it's one of the largest
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snakes in Europe and
it's harmless to humans.
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About 2,000 years ago,
the species was given
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a boost by the Roman city
of Carnuntum near Vienna
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when more Aesculapian
snakes were brought from
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the Mediterranean and
released in Carnuntum.
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(dramatic trumpet music)
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The snake was welcome
for religious reasons.
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It was dedicated to the
Roman God Aesculapius
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and was itself considered divine.
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Even today it symbolizes
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the healing arts by
physicians and pharmacists.
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But the Romans didn't just bring
the Aesculapian to Austria,
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they also brought domestic rats
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that hadn't been known here until then.
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Proximity to humans gave them refuge
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and plenty of food and
they multiplied rapidly.
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(anxious violin music)
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Aesculapian snakes almost
became domesticated
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thanks to the permanent offering of rats.
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(anxious violin tones, drumbeat)
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In Roman times the Aesculapian was
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highly appreciated as a pest controller.
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Some things change over time.
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2,000 years later, Aesculapian snakes are
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still seen in gardens in
Vienna and lower Austria.
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These gardens are rarely
full of mice or rats.
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But another potential prey,
birds and their young are often
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found in larger numbers here
than in forests or meadows.
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(birds chirping)
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The goldfinch is possible
prey for an Aesculapian snake.
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(relaxed guitar, violin tones)
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But this climbing snake is
drawn by a different odor trail,
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a tit box.
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If its occupied, that's
the end of the brood.
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If not, it'll be a good overnight shelter.
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(relaxed guitar, violin music)
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Where there are no
nestings, an Aesculapian
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snake will also be satisfied
with a clutch of eggs.
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(ominous violin tones)
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Its lower jaw is so flexible
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that it can swallow the eggs whole.
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Some species of snake can
be found in large numbers
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at the end of the spring in
piles of leaves and vegetation.
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In such exposed areas they're not seeking
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food but suitable locations
for their offspring.
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Three central European snake
species don't give birth
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to live young, they lay eggs
in decomposing vegetation.
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Snake eggs don't have hard
shells like bird's eggs.
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Their surfaces appear leathery
and have indentations.
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Female grass snakes lay 10 to 50 eggs.
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Snakes don't brood the eggs themselves,
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the heat of rotting
vegetation does it for them.
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(relaxed violin music)
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Central European landscapes reach
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from the lowlands to the highlands.
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One species of snake has
adapted to the higher climates.
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It's found in the foothills of
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the Alps between 1,000 and 2,000 meters.
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It loves the harsh mountain climate.
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A snake wreathed in myth and legend,
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the adder
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or common viper,
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a contemporary of the mammoth
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that has survived to the present day.
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The vertical pupil of the
viper family is its most
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distinctive feature and
vipers are poisonous.
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On the back of the head,
there's often a V or X shape
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and a dark zig-zag ribbon along its back.
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The females are mostly brown to copper
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colored while the males
are more of a gray color.
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But even among hundreds of animals,
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no two share exactly the same coloring.
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Their tail always ends in a short tip.
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In the cool alpine climate,
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mating often first takes place in May.
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(relaxed violin, guitar music)
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The smaller males besiege
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the females and perform mating dances.
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The whole process can take several hours.
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For centuries there have
been stubborn rumors
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that a highly dangerous poisonous snake
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lives in remote mountain regions.
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Immediately recognizable for everyone,
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it's black as midnight,
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the black common viper.
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They exist but they're neither
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a separate species nor
especially dangerous.
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They are completely black common vipers
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that every now and then appear.
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In effect the opposite of an albino
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and like every common viper,
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they have an appetite for mice.
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(rustling)
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(anxious electronic tones)
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Two hollow teeth like injecting
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needles are located in the upper jaw.
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They're supplied by
poison glands in the head.
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(anxious violin, piano music)
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The poison targets the vascular system.
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The mouse dies within minutes.
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Only then will the snake claim its prey.
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(relaxed piano, flute music)
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Common vipers rarely grow longer
than 60 to 70 centimeters.
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They can become angry if they're
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approached too closely
and feel threatened.
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Deer leave the mountain forests
to graze in green pastures,
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the preferred sunbathing
area of the common viper.
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(anxious light chimes)
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Snakes have neither an outer ear
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nor an eardrum and therefore hear poorly.
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Their inner ear is sensitive to
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the vibrations caused by larger mammals.
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(anxious drumbeat)
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A snake's first instinct is to flee.
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But when a common viper feels crowded
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and the unsuspecting deer
continues to advance,
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a step too far can lead to doom.
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A defensive bite injects less poison
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than a hunting attack
but this is a young deer.
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After just an hour, it loses its balance
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and it crashes to the ground.
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(somber violin music)
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The poison has caused internal
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bleeding and damaged critical organs.
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In some cases, a viper's
bite can result in death.
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But no human has died from the bite
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of a common viper since the 1960s.
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Hedgehogs make their
home in many different
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habitats including those
shared with common vipers.
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As well as alpine uplands,
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common vipers also like hilly moorland.
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00:22:06,824 --> 00:22:10,991
They've adapted to the damper
climate over millennia.
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(low anxious violin, electronic tones)
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When a common viper encounters a hedgehog,
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the snake doesn't stand a chance.
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00:22:32,170 --> 00:22:35,368
Hedgehogs are passionate insectivores
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but they won't slink at a poisonous snake.
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Their spines are perfect protection.
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(snake hissing)
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(dramatic violin music, drumbeat)
259
00:23:05,448 --> 00:23:08,964
It's only a matter of
time before the exhausted
260
00:23:08,964 --> 00:23:12,797
common viper loses the
life-or-death struggle.
261
00:23:25,199 --> 00:23:28,309
The bobby cotton-grass
meadows hide a doppelganger
262
00:23:28,309 --> 00:23:32,618
of the common viper, the
harmless smooth snake.
263
00:23:32,618 --> 00:23:35,868
(relaxed guitar music)
264
00:23:41,786 --> 00:23:45,099
A closer look reveals the difference.
265
00:23:45,099 --> 00:23:47,999
While common vipers have vertical pupils,
266
00:23:47,999 --> 00:23:51,416
a smooth snake's pupils are always round.
267
00:23:54,804 --> 00:23:58,304
It may not be poisonous but it is unusual.
268
00:24:01,437 --> 00:24:05,104
Smooth snakes hunt
lizards and other snakes.
269
00:24:10,711 --> 00:24:14,878
If it meets a common viper,
the viper's life is in danger.
270
00:24:19,149 --> 00:24:21,066
But this one's too big.
271
00:24:27,766 --> 00:24:30,433
(wings buzzing)
272
00:24:34,188 --> 00:24:36,105
The smooth snake stops.
273
00:24:39,138 --> 00:24:42,388
(anxious violin tones)
274
00:24:56,008 --> 00:24:59,508
It coils 'round its victim to strangle it.
275
00:25:04,814 --> 00:25:07,284
The mini-anaconda only lets go
276
00:25:07,284 --> 00:25:09,867
when it's suffocated the lizard
277
00:25:15,565 --> 00:25:17,565
and it can drag it away.
278
00:25:29,925 --> 00:25:33,758
(relaxed piano, violin music)
279
00:25:35,905 --> 00:25:39,921
A summer dawn over the
warmest alpine lake,
280
00:25:39,921 --> 00:25:41,838
Carinthia's Worthersee.
281
00:25:46,414 --> 00:25:50,247
Snake Island was named
for its elongated shape
282
00:25:53,326 --> 00:25:55,953
but like its neighbor, Capuchin Island,
283
00:25:55,953 --> 00:25:59,453
it's a perfect habitat for the dice snake.
284
00:26:04,266 --> 00:26:07,016
(birds chirping)
285
00:26:12,505 --> 00:26:16,588
It's harmless to humans
and a habitat specialist.
286
00:26:21,532 --> 00:26:24,557
It can swim and dive exceptionally well,
287
00:26:24,557 --> 00:26:28,250
remaining underwater for an hour or more.
288
00:26:28,250 --> 00:26:32,167
(anxious chimes, violin tones)
289
00:26:38,794 --> 00:26:41,955
Dice snakes prefer to hunt small fish.
290
00:26:41,955 --> 00:26:43,512
They lurk at the bottom of
291
00:26:43,512 --> 00:26:46,345
the lake and snap at passing prey.
292
00:26:49,696 --> 00:26:53,613
(anxious chimes, violin tones)
293
00:26:57,968 --> 00:27:01,249
If the tidbit is too big
to devour immediately,
294
00:27:01,249 --> 00:27:04,666
the dice snake brings its prey onto land.
295
00:27:09,227 --> 00:27:13,227
(anxious trumpet, violin tones)
296
00:27:16,107 --> 00:27:18,153
This snake can be found throughout
297
00:27:18,153 --> 00:27:21,236
Europe when the conditions are right.
298
00:27:25,967 --> 00:27:28,708
Above all it needs unpolluted waters
299
00:27:28,708 --> 00:27:30,958
like here in the Worthersee
300
00:27:33,747 --> 00:27:37,914
or natural flowing streams
with unreconstructed banks
301
00:27:39,228 --> 00:27:42,061
like the Kamp in northern Austria,
302
00:27:45,326 --> 00:27:49,243
one of the few rivers
that remains unregulated.
303
00:27:56,304 --> 00:27:58,888
The dice snake hides on a gravel bank,
304
00:27:58,888 --> 00:28:00,971
warming up between dives.
305
00:28:10,934 --> 00:28:14,101
Then it returns to the flowing waters.
306
00:28:21,849 --> 00:28:25,516
(up tempo electronic tones)
307
00:28:33,428 --> 00:28:35,396
Although the dice snake is rarely
308
00:28:35,396 --> 00:28:39,313
longer than one meter,
it's extremely powerful.
309
00:28:41,207 --> 00:28:45,207
Once it has a grip, it
won't let go of this one.
310
00:28:54,039 --> 00:28:55,966
Like all snakes it isn't able to
311
00:28:55,966 --> 00:28:59,549
dismember its prey, so
it devours it whole.
312
00:29:02,551 --> 00:29:04,806
Thanks to its extremely flexible jaw,
313
00:29:04,806 --> 00:29:07,889
it can swallow relatively plump fish.
314
00:29:11,693 --> 00:29:15,276
It then wrenches its
mouth back into shape.
315
00:29:18,429 --> 00:29:21,795
In 2009 the dice snake
was named Endangered
316
00:29:21,795 --> 00:29:26,394
Reptile of the Year and
that still applies today.
317
00:29:26,394 --> 00:29:30,561
It only survives where
there is clean, clear water.
318
00:29:34,907 --> 00:29:37,606
The dice snake has laid up to 25 eggs
319
00:29:37,606 --> 00:29:41,523
in rotting vegetation
near its hunting grounds.
320
00:29:42,775 --> 00:29:44,581
The heat of decomposition will
321
00:29:44,581 --> 00:29:47,914
hatch the clutch of eggs after 10 weeks.
322
00:29:51,753 --> 00:29:55,503
The leathery shell is
perforated from within.
323
00:30:02,035 --> 00:30:04,983
It can take minutes or several hours
324
00:30:04,983 --> 00:30:09,549
for the young snakes to
struggle out of the eggshell.
325
00:30:09,549 --> 00:30:12,799
(relaxed violin music)
326
00:30:23,635 --> 00:30:25,844
The birth process of these reptiles
327
00:30:25,844 --> 00:30:28,927
hasn't changed for millions of years.
328
00:30:30,059 --> 00:30:33,892
(relaxed flute, violin music)
329
00:30:39,152 --> 00:30:41,575
The little snakes are perfectly developed
330
00:30:41,575 --> 00:30:45,751
from the first moment and
still carry their yolk sac,
331
00:30:45,751 --> 00:30:49,084
which they'll lose in the next two days.
332
00:31:05,726 --> 00:31:09,893
Tangles of young grass snakes
are found until midsummer.
333
00:31:10,963 --> 00:31:13,253
Once they make their way to the surface,
334
00:31:13,253 --> 00:31:15,086
each goes its own way.
335
00:31:20,702 --> 00:31:24,869
Frog spawn has long since
transformed into tadpoles.
336
00:31:28,156 --> 00:31:30,319
In cool mountain areas they develop
337
00:31:30,319 --> 00:31:33,652
slowly and can still be found in August.
338
00:31:39,635 --> 00:31:43,302
The table is set for
the young grass snakes.
339
00:31:45,780 --> 00:31:49,921
They don't need to learn
to hunt, they're born to.
340
00:31:49,921 --> 00:31:54,004
(anxious violin tones, drumbeat)
341
00:31:58,116 --> 00:32:00,565
Tadpoles are the ideal prey for snakes
342
00:32:00,565 --> 00:32:04,148
that are hardly longer
than 10 centimeters.
343
00:32:07,374 --> 00:32:10,541
The young grass snakes seem insatiable
344
00:32:13,229 --> 00:32:15,203
but when they can't find food,
345
00:32:15,203 --> 00:32:18,536
they may need to fast for several weeks.
346
00:32:27,235 --> 00:32:29,238
It's not unusual for several young
347
00:32:29,238 --> 00:32:32,435
snakes to fish in the same pond.
348
00:32:32,435 --> 00:32:34,617
There are lighter and darker versions
349
00:32:34,617 --> 00:32:38,461
of grass snakes but the
behavior is the same,
350
00:32:38,461 --> 00:32:40,378
eat as much as you can.
351
00:32:46,081 --> 00:32:49,529
Time for a rest after a good meal.
352
00:32:49,529 --> 00:32:53,696
That applies to all snakes
because they digest slowly.
353
00:32:55,660 --> 00:32:59,327
(anxious up tempo drumbeat)
354
00:33:02,473 --> 00:33:06,640
However, the slow and the
inattentive live dangerously.
355
00:33:07,713 --> 00:33:09,970
Of the large number of grass snakes that
356
00:33:09,970 --> 00:33:14,100
hatch every year, only a fraction survive.
357
00:33:14,100 --> 00:33:16,767
Ravenous hunters are everywhere.
358
00:33:21,231 --> 00:33:25,314
(light anxious electronic tones)
359
00:33:27,933 --> 00:33:32,100
A praying mantis can
overwhelm young grass snakes.
360
00:33:38,169 --> 00:33:40,543
The mantis will devour the reptile
361
00:33:40,543 --> 00:33:42,960
right down to the last scale.
362
00:33:56,933 --> 00:34:01,100
Relatively soon after birth,
young snakes have milky eyes.
363
00:34:03,610 --> 00:34:05,865
This is not due to an illness but is
364
00:34:05,865 --> 00:34:10,032
part of a cycle that recurs
throughout their lives.
365
00:34:13,687 --> 00:34:14,921
In order to grow,
366
00:34:14,921 --> 00:34:19,144
they must shed their skin
at regular intervals.
367
00:34:19,144 --> 00:34:21,977
This usually happens in one piece.
368
00:34:24,627 --> 00:34:28,246
The transparent eye scale is also shed
369
00:34:28,246 --> 00:34:32,413
and headfirst, the snake peels
off the parchment-like skin.
370
00:34:34,432 --> 00:34:37,630
It tangles itself in
vegetation to create friction
371
00:34:37,630 --> 00:34:42,351
and rolls off the old skin
like a glove turned inside out.
372
00:34:42,351 --> 00:34:46,184
(relaxed piano, violin music)
373
00:34:53,878 --> 00:34:57,461
The slough remains, a
thin shell of scales.
374
00:35:04,807 --> 00:35:06,476
Like snakes,
375
00:35:06,476 --> 00:35:08,643
black storks avoid humans.
376
00:35:12,299 --> 00:35:14,261
Quite unlike their white relatives,
377
00:35:14,261 --> 00:35:17,094
they brood hidden deep in forests.
378
00:35:26,208 --> 00:35:28,383
Freshly molted young Aesculapian
379
00:35:28,383 --> 00:35:31,050
snakes live in the same habitat.
380
00:35:37,967 --> 00:35:40,786
Black storks have
excellent eyesight and hunt
381
00:35:40,786 --> 00:35:44,953
all kinds of small creatures
in forests and meadows.
382
00:35:49,084 --> 00:35:53,251
Young Aesculapian snakes
look a lot like grass snakes.
383
00:35:54,584 --> 00:35:57,001
The black stork isn't choosy.
384
00:35:59,775 --> 00:36:02,633
Its massive bill can cope with large prey
385
00:36:02,633 --> 00:36:06,688
and at one meter tall,
it's a dangerous predator.
386
00:36:06,688 --> 00:36:09,938
(anxious violin tones)
387
00:36:18,912 --> 00:36:23,079
By late summer, there are
large numbers of young snakes.
388
00:36:25,265 --> 00:36:29,237
The black stork has no
problem finding them.
389
00:36:29,237 --> 00:36:32,237
(up tempo drumbeat)
390
00:36:38,207 --> 00:36:42,374
Her bill has sharp edges
to go with its sharp tip.
391
00:36:46,038 --> 00:36:50,205
The shaking breaks the
snake's vertebrae and ribs.
392
00:36:59,746 --> 00:37:01,835
The stork takes its time,
393
00:37:01,835 --> 00:37:06,002
making sure the snake is
truly dead before it swallows.
394
00:37:13,661 --> 00:37:16,911
(relaxed violin music)
395
00:37:21,356 --> 00:37:23,985
The black stork can't
endanger the Aesculapian
396
00:37:23,985 --> 00:37:28,068
snakes as a species, it's
much too rare for that.
397
00:37:30,913 --> 00:37:33,568
(up tempo electronic tones)
398
00:37:33,568 --> 00:37:35,818
Summer has passed its peak.
399
00:37:37,952 --> 00:37:41,952
In the alpine foothills
the signs are all there.
400
00:37:46,548 --> 00:37:49,443
Plants like the corn lily
401
00:37:49,443 --> 00:37:50,526
or monkshood.
402
00:37:56,984 --> 00:37:59,641
The adder now bears 15 young that haven't
403
00:37:59,641 --> 00:38:03,558
hatched from eggs but
are born fully developed.
404
00:38:09,892 --> 00:38:11,818
The important thing now is to
405
00:38:11,818 --> 00:38:15,318
spread out and find suitable living space.
406
00:38:18,683 --> 00:38:21,025
The lack of suitable habitats means that
407
00:38:21,025 --> 00:38:24,452
some snakes are becoming
rarer throughout Europe.
408
00:38:24,452 --> 00:38:27,079
Some are now only found in tiny areas
409
00:38:27,079 --> 00:38:29,996
limited to a few square kilometers.
410
00:38:35,570 --> 00:38:38,431
One of these nature islands is Carinthia's
411
00:38:38,431 --> 00:38:42,598
Gaea Valley in Austria at the
foot of the Dorpache mountain.
412
00:38:44,041 --> 00:38:49,041
This almost impossible area
has been battered by rockfalls.
413
00:38:49,041 --> 00:38:52,041
(mysterious chimes)
414
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,383
In places it looks as though a giant
415
00:39:00,383 --> 00:39:03,716
has strewn boulders around like pebbles.
416
00:39:09,198 --> 00:39:11,127
Hard to believe a landscape like
417
00:39:11,127 --> 00:39:14,939
this could attract much animal life.
418
00:39:14,939 --> 00:39:18,856
(relaxed chimes, violin music)
419
00:39:28,933 --> 00:39:31,728
And yet one of the largest and most
420
00:39:31,728 --> 00:39:35,728
poisonous snakes in Europe
lives in this region,
421
00:39:38,693 --> 00:39:41,168
the nose-horned viper,
422
00:39:41,168 --> 00:39:43,418
also called the sand viper.
423
00:39:46,940 --> 00:39:48,740
The scaled horn on the tip of
424
00:39:48,740 --> 00:39:51,407
its snout makes it unmistakable.
425
00:39:59,064 --> 00:40:02,254
It's found in the Balkans,
Bulgaria and Greece
426
00:40:02,254 --> 00:40:05,921
and anywhere between
South Tyrol and Turkey.
427
00:40:12,004 --> 00:40:15,199
(birds chirping)
428
00:40:15,199 --> 00:40:17,122
(anxious violin music)
429
00:40:17,122 --> 00:40:21,289
Like all vipers, it has two
poison fangs in its upper jaw.
430
00:40:23,100 --> 00:40:25,707
Its bite is more dangerous than the common
431
00:40:25,707 --> 00:40:29,921
viper's but deaths are
still extremely rare.
432
00:40:29,921 --> 00:40:33,921
The last one in Austria
was around 70 years ago.
433
00:40:41,899 --> 00:40:45,399
The poison works quickly on rats and mice.
434
00:40:51,682 --> 00:40:53,996
The nose-horned viper is perfectly
435
00:40:53,996 --> 00:40:57,844
camouflaged in its rocky surroundings
436
00:40:57,844 --> 00:41:01,206
but its popular name of
sand viper is inaccurate,
437
00:41:01,206 --> 00:41:03,289
it's never found on sand.
438
00:41:10,583 --> 00:41:14,750
The dark zig-zag band on its
back is especially pronounced.
439
00:41:19,752 --> 00:41:21,921
The male, larger than the female,
440
00:41:21,921 --> 00:41:24,421
can grow to more than a meter.
441
00:41:30,548 --> 00:41:33,041
Males and females are often so different
442
00:41:33,041 --> 00:41:36,874
in coloring, they look
like different species.
443
00:41:37,801 --> 00:41:41,359
The females are mostly
brown to copper colored,
444
00:41:41,359 --> 00:41:44,026
the males more ash to dark gray.
445
00:41:49,878 --> 00:41:51,697
Dusk in this wild area
446
00:41:51,697 --> 00:41:55,053
of rockfalls in southern Carinthia.
447
00:41:55,053 --> 00:41:59,969
The giant rocks release
the stored heat of the day,
448
00:41:59,969 --> 00:42:04,312
best conditions for
warmth-loving reptiles.
449
00:42:04,312 --> 00:42:08,244
Nose-horned vipers are active at twilight.
450
00:42:08,244 --> 00:42:11,494
(anxious violin music)
451
00:42:15,741 --> 00:42:17,325
They don't lay eggs
452
00:42:17,325 --> 00:42:20,408
but instead give birth to live young.
453
00:42:29,679 --> 00:42:31,600
The climate in mountain regions
454
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:34,933
would be too harsh for clutches of eggs.
455
00:42:38,842 --> 00:42:43,009
Live birth is better for
the survival of the species.
456
00:42:46,629 --> 00:42:48,311
The young are still in their
457
00:42:48,311 --> 00:42:51,188
amniotic sac when they're born.
458
00:42:51,188 --> 00:42:53,405
But after only a few hours they become
459
00:42:53,405 --> 00:42:57,572
quite lively and already
resemble the adult snakes.
460
00:43:03,337 --> 00:43:05,062
Nose-horned vipers can give
461
00:43:05,062 --> 00:43:07,395
birth to up to 20 young per litter.
462
00:43:07,395 --> 00:43:11,562
That seems a lot but only one
or two will survive to breed.
463
00:43:14,311 --> 00:43:18,394
The fight for survival is
tough for young snakes.
464
00:43:21,843 --> 00:43:26,232
The future of this majestic
species is more than uncertain.
465
00:43:26,232 --> 00:43:28,326
Their tiny remaining habitats are
466
00:43:28,326 --> 00:43:32,076
isolated islands and
could disappear in time.
467
00:43:33,066 --> 00:43:36,899
(relaxed violin, flute music)
468
00:43:39,561 --> 00:43:42,756
From Austria's alpine regions
469
00:43:42,756 --> 00:43:46,256
to the Kanonian lowlands close to Hungary,
470
00:43:56,521 --> 00:44:00,657
this region is home to very
special flora and fauna
471
00:44:00,657 --> 00:44:04,824
that have adapted to the
aquatic world and the swamps.
472
00:44:10,786 --> 00:44:15,776
A mysterious little snake
settled in the water meadows.
473
00:44:15,776 --> 00:44:19,693
(relaxed guitar, violin music)
474
00:44:24,055 --> 00:44:27,981
It wasn't described by science until 1897,
475
00:44:27,981 --> 00:44:29,231
Orsini's viper.
476
00:44:30,817 --> 00:44:33,110
But hardly had it been documented,
477
00:44:33,110 --> 00:44:36,351
then it was threatened with extinction.
478
00:44:36,351 --> 00:44:38,684
Within 80 years it was gone.
479
00:44:42,209 --> 00:44:46,376
The last photos in the wild
were taken 50 years ago.
480
00:44:50,098 --> 00:44:51,467
The last half century
481
00:44:51,467 --> 00:44:55,445
has changed the ecosystem dramatically.
482
00:44:55,445 --> 00:44:58,695
(relaxed guitar music)
483
00:45:02,190 --> 00:45:06,357
Like here at the border
between Austria and Hungary.
484
00:45:07,825 --> 00:45:11,742
(relaxed violin, guitar music)
485
00:45:29,506 --> 00:45:32,423
Orsini's vipers have gone from here
486
00:45:35,603 --> 00:45:38,390
and though the
Neusiedler-See National Park
487
00:45:38,390 --> 00:45:41,243
does all it can to
protect flora and fauna,
488
00:45:41,243 --> 00:45:44,243
Orsini's viper has become a phantom.
489
00:45:50,441 --> 00:45:54,123
But kilometers beyond the
Austrian border in Hungary,
490
00:45:54,123 --> 00:45:56,288
we still find the smallest
491
00:45:56,288 --> 00:45:59,371
and rarest poisonous snake is Europe.
492
00:46:02,557 --> 00:46:05,307
(birds chirping)
493
00:46:08,597 --> 00:46:11,956
From the tip of its snout
to the end of its tail,
494
00:46:11,956 --> 00:46:16,123
Orsini's viper measures no
more than 35 to 50 centimeters.
495
00:46:21,484 --> 00:46:23,405
It's never found in the forest,
496
00:46:23,405 --> 00:46:27,572
specializing in open water
meadows and grassy steppes.
497
00:46:29,176 --> 00:46:32,783
Orsini's viper ignores other snakes' prey,
498
00:46:32,783 --> 00:46:34,533
they're much too big.
499
00:46:42,255 --> 00:46:46,997
It hunts insects like
crickets and grasshoppers.
500
00:46:46,997 --> 00:46:51,164
(relaxed electronic tones, drumbeat)
501
00:46:57,645 --> 00:47:01,992
The green bush cricket is
relatively safe in the bushes.
502
00:47:01,992 --> 00:47:04,825
Orsini's vipers don't climb trees.
503
00:47:06,469 --> 00:47:09,886
(relaxed ensemble tones)
504
00:47:31,736 --> 00:47:35,903
The wart-biter however is
definitely within range.
505
00:47:39,122 --> 00:47:42,372
(anxious violin tones)
506
00:47:48,218 --> 00:47:51,635
Once again the insect is swallowed whole.
507
00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:57,077
(tense violin tones, chanting)
508
00:48:06,217 --> 00:48:09,246
Sadly, Orsini's vipers have disappeared
509
00:48:09,246 --> 00:48:11,579
almost everywhere in Europe,
510
00:48:12,971 --> 00:48:16,947
the result of persecution
and habitat loss.
511
00:48:16,947 --> 00:48:20,197
(relaxed violin music)
512
00:48:25,011 --> 00:48:29,178
Autumn in Austria, the
colors change within weeks.
513
00:48:40,637 --> 00:48:44,304
The days grow shorter
and temperatures drop,
514
00:48:49,101 --> 00:48:53,268
a profound change for snakes
that above all need warmth.
515
00:48:58,662 --> 00:49:02,265
As the insects collect the
last pollen and nectar,
516
00:49:02,265 --> 00:49:06,432
the active phase for Aesculapian
snakes is ending too.
517
00:49:08,438 --> 00:49:11,188
(birds chirping)
518
00:49:14,733 --> 00:49:18,052
The final beautiful days of autumn.
519
00:49:18,052 --> 00:49:21,219
(relaxed piano music)
520
00:49:23,299 --> 00:49:26,216
The sun gives its all one last time
521
00:49:27,066 --> 00:49:31,233
but the power of late
summer has long since waned.
522
00:49:32,231 --> 00:49:36,064
(relaxed guitar, flute music)
523
00:49:51,228 --> 00:49:54,645
One last sunbath for an Aesculapian snake
524
00:49:56,088 --> 00:49:59,505
but the falling leaves disturb its peace.
525
00:50:05,933 --> 00:50:10,100
With the evening fog, the
temperature sinks to zero.
526
00:50:14,043 --> 00:50:18,014
High time for snakes to
find frost-free quarters
527
00:50:18,014 --> 00:50:20,764
or they won't survive the winter.
528
00:50:21,660 --> 00:50:25,827
(relaxed ensemble music, light chimes)
529
00:50:30,186 --> 00:50:32,514
Some abandoned mouse nests will be
530
00:50:32,514 --> 00:50:35,931
comfortable snake villas over the winter.
531
00:50:42,044 --> 00:50:45,606
Layers of autumn leaves
provide perfect insulation
532
00:50:45,606 --> 00:50:49,439
no matter how cold and
frosty it gets outside.
533
00:50:57,713 --> 00:51:00,083
When winter comes to Europe,
534
00:51:00,083 --> 00:51:03,250
all the snakes have long been at rest.
535
00:51:08,474 --> 00:51:12,449
Only occasionally does an empty slough
536
00:51:12,449 --> 00:51:14,949
recall their mysterious lives.
537
00:51:17,268 --> 00:51:21,435
(dramatic violin music, drumbeat)
39486
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