The metre-long snake was seen taking its time after pouncing on a common toad and quite literally biting off more than it could chew.
Grass snakes, which are the only snakes found locally, are protected under the Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000. They are harmless and feed mostly on amphibians, and can grow up to 120cm long.
Jeremy Le Maistre, who encountered the unusual scene during a walk and managed to capture a series of photographs, said: ‘I found it at the sand dunes when out walking with my wife, and would say it was around a metre long.
‘I grew up on a working farm and was a full-time dairy farmer for six years after I left school but this is the first grass snake I’ve seen. They are very shy so to see a large one out like this hunting was very impressive.’
A 2018 study on Jersey’s grass snakes found that their numbers were higher than first thought, but they were still at high risk of extinction. The publication of the study followed four years’ work by Dr Rob Ward, from the School of Anthropology and Conservation (DICE) at the University of Kent, working with Jersey’s Environment Department. During a two-year period spent searching for them, Mr Ward walked over 613km of survey routes and found 43 different individuals.
Environmentalist Mike Stentiford described the encounter as ‘quite amazing’, adding that it was ironic that one declining species was seen eating another.
‘I don’t think there’s anything like the numbers of grass snakes we had maybe 20 years ago and they are a bit secretive,’ he said. They hide away an awful lot of the time, so to have a photograph like this is certainly a case of being in the right place at the right time.
‘I think a lot of people are a little bit nervous about snakes but grass snakes are quite harmless and very special. We should be looking after them.’
He added that the west coast seemed to be a ‘hot spot’ for the snakes, with the sand dunes especially providing an ideal habitat for them.
