AN unusually high number of sightings of adders on Exmoor this year has been put down to the wam and dry weather rather than any resurgence in their numbers.

Social media comments suggested a boom in numbers on Exmoor of the UK’s only venomous snake, and in particular more sightings of melanistic, or ‘black adders’, snakes with a darker pigmentation, which experts believe helps them to better absorb heat.

But, the summer of 2025 has been the hottest on record in the UK and adders are more active in warm weather and therefore more noticeable, while numbers of visitors to Exmoor have soared.

By contrast, a study by the Amphibian and Reptile Group (ARG) and University of Reading has expressed a fear that adders could become extinct in the UK by 2032.

The study said 90 per cent of the country’s adder populations were in decline due to a number of factors, including loss of habitat and more disturbance by humans.

ARG said adders were an ‘indicator species’, meaning if they were in decline then others which relied on the same habitat were also likely to be declining.

An Exmoor National Park Authority spokesperson said there was no confirmation from an ecological point of view that the adder population had grown.

The spokesperson said: “Anecdotally, talking to one of the rangers, it is probably just a combination of more people being out in the nice weather and adders basking in more opportunities for sunshine, so therefore being seen more often, rather than there being more of them.”

Adders grow to between 24 and 31 inches in length and prey on lizards, small mammals, and ground-nesting birds.

The go into hibernation usually in October and emerge during the first warm periods in March each year.

The Wildlife Trusts said adders were a priority species for conservation efforts.