Romania 26.04-03.05.2024  

Romania may not be the first destination that comes to mind for herping in Europe, but it definitely deserves a spot on your list! The country boasts a diverse range of reptiles, stunning landscapes, and incredibly friendly herpers.

For this trip, my goal was to find the three viper species native to Romania: the Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii ssp. moldavica), Nikolski’s Adder (Vipera berus nikolskii), and the Long-Nosed Viper (Vipera ammodytes).

I arrived early in the morning, picked up my rental car, and drove to a forest northeast of Bucharest, hoping to spot some adders. Upon arrival, I noticed the grass was still wet, so I decided to move on to my next location before it got too hot, planning to return later.

My next stop was in Buzău County, about three hours northeast of Bucharest, known for its population of Moldavian Meadow Vipers. This species has a limited distribution in Romania, with only a few small areas where they can be found. I spent the entire day searching here but unfortunately had no luck as the temperatures rose quickly. However, I did spot some lizards and a variety of insects along the way.

Iași

My next destination was Iași, located in the northeastern part of Romania, not far from the Moldovan border. I had been in touch with several local experts, including Catalin Petreanu, a young herpetology student at the university in Iași, and Adrian Baltariu, a local  photographer. They were kind enough to share their insights with me prior to my visit and agreed to accompany me in search of Nikolski’s Adder and the Moldavian Meadow Viper.

Catalin is conducting his thesis on the Nikolski’s Adder, so we began our search in an area south of Iași, near some train tracks and cultivated land. We were also joined by two other university students, Leonard Cioancă and Alexandru Peredelcu, along with local biologist Stefan Anitei.

The day proved to be challenging, with few reptiles spotted aside from some lizards (Lacerta viridis), until the very end when Catalin’s keen eyes caught sight of a young male Nikolski’s Adder hiding under a bush. We were thrilled! Over the next few days, we also encountered frogs, toads, turtles, and grass snakes in the area, but unfortunately, we only managed to find that one adder.

Press on images to view large

After the Nikolski’s adder was checked of, we decided to look for meadow vipers the next morning.

Just outside the city limits of Iași there is a small vally with some natural steppe meadows – here the Moldavian meadow viper still thrives, but in an extremely limited area – together with vast amounts of beautiful sand lizards (Lacerta agilis chersonensis).

We where extremely lucky, and the first day we found 3 meadow vipers -the first one was showed to us by Viviana Vicol and Sabina  Baciu – Viviana uses this area in here study of the meadow vipers and Sabina studies the lizards in the area. The next two I found myself also climbing in the vegetation.

The specimen Viviana and Sabina found had climbed to the top of the vegetation to get away from the wet undergrowth and find sun to bask – see the image under to see the first one in situ.

The plan was to spend a few days exploring the area around Iași to locate two species of adders. After that, I intended to drive southeast in Romania to search for the long-nosed viper (Vipera ammodytes) and other local reptiles along the way. I was set to meet my friend, Marius Iancu, but as I prepared to head south, he messaged me about torrential rains in that region. This prompted me to adjust my plans and extend my stay in Iași by booking a new hotel room for the remainder of my trip. During my time there, I enjoyed the company of Catalin, Adrian, Leo, and Stefan, who joined me on various excursions in the area. Adrian and I even found time to go birdwatching and look for ground squirrels. Although we spotted the ground squirrels, unfortunately, we didn’t manage to capture any good photos.

Under you can the an assortment of images captured of Moldovan meadow vipers these 4 days. In total we found 6 individuals in this meadow. Press images to views large versions.

Various images – press to view large

In conclusion, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the amazing herpers of Romania! I have never experienced such incredible support in sharing spots, as well as the warm hospitality I received both in the field and in town.

I especially want to thank Catalin Petreanu, Adrian Baltariu, and Leonard Cioancă for their invaluable help and companionship. I also appreciate the wonderful company of Stefan Anitei and Alexandru Peredelcu. Additionally, a big thank you to Doru Panaitescu and Alexandru Strugariu for their assistance in preparing for the trip!

I will be back for more!