THE INDEPENDENT (Johannesburg, S Africa) 24 April 04 Heavy rains trigger flood of snakes
Zagreb (Sapa-Dpa): Strong rains in Croatia triggered a profusion of snakes near the eastern Croatian town Slavonski Brod, prompting panicking citizens to kill more than 200 of the Orsini vipers, the daily Jutarnji list reported on Saturday.
The normally elusive vipers, which are displayed on some Croatian stamps, were trying to escape rising water levels near the town about 200 kilometres east of the capital Zagreb.
"Orsini's Vipers don't like water," snake hunter Adam Mirkovic, 69, told the newspaper, adding: "I have been hunting snakes for the past 30 years, but I have never seen so many snakes on such a small territory as this year."
Mirkovic also said it was not a crime to kill a snake, wandering "what would have happened if hundreds of Orsini's Vipers have reached city limits or near-by villages".
Weather conditions in Croatia have been unstable for weeks, with rains and thunderstorms almost every day.
Heavy rains trigger flood of snakes