Whilst hiking the other day with my usual gang, one of us spotted a saw scaled viper sitting (laying?) on a rock. This is the first snake I have seen in the wild here in the UAE.
I believe this is the Saw Scaled Viper
Apparently, it can rub its scales together to make a hissing noise. The snake developed this ability to ‘hiss’ because hissing with its lungs would waste moisture so valuable in the desert.
It is poisonous but might not kill a healthy adult human
It looks rather large…
… until you see it in relation to a person.
Andy gets a close-up
After a few flashes from our cameras, it had enough attention and slithered off into the rocks.
These snakes come out at night to hunt among the rocks.
Leave a Reply