And rather than hinder my career, my stand attracted BBC producers with better judgement, and eventually led to me presenting my own primetime BBC One wildlife series, Rhys Jones's Wildlife Patrol.īut while it worked out well for me in the end, the same cannot be said for the racer snake, which has already been roundly and colourfully attacked. A couple of days later, though, I received another call telling me that the documentary had been poorly thought out and that a decision had been made to cancel the production. I remember thinking that that would be the last chance I'd ever have to work for the BBC, but also feeling that I'd made the right decision. "Do you know anyone else that would be interested?" "Okay," the voice replied, seemingly without hearing a word I had just uttered. A documentary of that calibre would present adders in a poor light, and it was not a project I would want to be part of. It was a delicate snake that could easily be injured, and it would be unethical to undertake such an exercise just for the camera. Taking a deep breath, I clarified through gritted teeth that Britain's only venomous snake was both shy and reclusive and not at all aggressive. "We especially want to see the fangs, and the venom … just how much venom can we see from milking an adder?"
"We'd love to shoot a documentary about adders with you," the voice on the other end of the phone exclaimed. In fact, my first break as a wildlife presenter came about following a phone call from the BBC Natural History department regarding snakes, having seen me deliver a talk for the British Association of Science at Cardiff University. This of course does little to alleviate public ophidiophobia, an irrational fear of snakes. Snakes are often portrayed as slimy, cold, angry sticks with teeth rather than anything resembling a living, breathing creature. Reports involving snakes are commonly misrepresented or deliberately sensationalised.
It's all too easy to demonise the snake, and for years that's exactly what the media has encouraged. Snake eyesight has evolved to quickly detect movement – and once they spot a target, their reactions can appear highly aggressive and relentless in pursuit. They were filmed during their best feeding opportunity of the year, as young iguanas are born and make a dash for the safety of the higher rocks above. Filmed on Fernandina Island in the Galápagos, the Galápagos Racer ( Philodryas biserialis) is a slim, fast-moving, mildly venomous snake that reaches lengths of up to 120cm.
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