A venomous snake was spotted slithering around in the water at a beach in north Wales, shocking a group of friends with the 'rare' sighting.
John Meirion Griffith had been water skiing with friends at a beach near Rhosneigr, Anglesey, when the group clocked an adder snaking its way through the sea.
Advert
As it made its way towards Traeth Cymyran beach, John started filming the snake and posted the footage on his Facebook page on Sunday 16 June.
He captioned the video, which shows the creature zig-zagging through the water: "Swimming adder."
Many people commented on his post to say how 'scary' the footage was, with one Facebooker asking: "Where is that? So I can stay the f*** away."
Replying to one person, John said: "I was ready to jump out the way."
Speaking to the Daily Post, John said he and his pals knew adders were fairly common in the local area, but had never seen one swimming in the sea like that.
Advert
He said: "We knew there are plenty of adders in the Cymyran area, but never in our lives had we seen one swimming across the sea like that!
"I didn't realise until I got home and Googled it that it's a pretty rare thing to witness."
Dr Wolfgang Wüster, a herpetologist at Bangor University, agreed that the scenes were a rare sight to come across.
After watching the clip, he told the outlet: "Adders in the sea are an uncommon sight, but not exceptional - there are various records of adders on beaches or even in the strandline in north-west Wales.
Advert
"Elsewhere, they have also been documented in the sea - in Swedish studies in the Baltic, adders have been recorded moving between small islands hundreds of metres apart in the sea."
According to the Woodland Trust, the adder is the UK's only venomous snake, but rarely bites humans.
Its website explains: "These snakes are shy creatures that will naturally retreat from humans.
"It is rare for adders to bite people, but this can happen if humans try to handle them or accidentally step on them.
Advert
"Adder bites are rarely fatal, but can be very painful."
Once fully grown, adders usually measure between 60 and 80cm in length, with males often sporting a silvery-grey colouration, while females can be copper or brown.
They tend to have a distinctive, black zig-zag pattern on their backs, although you can also find fully black adders in some areas.
The trust adds: "Your best chance of seeing an adder is in spring, when they are emerging from hibernation and spend the early part of the day basking in sunlight.
Advert
"They are sensitive to vibration and quick to slip away when they feel footsteps approaching."
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/John Meirion Griffith
Topics: UK News, News, Snake, Animals