Experts explained the increase in snake attacks on humans

Since the beginning of May, reports of snakes attacking people have become more frequent. Thus, at least six regions have recorded such cases, Izvestia estimates. Among them are the Chelyabinsk and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories.

The warm winter and the rapid onset of heat increased the food supply for snakes and created favorable conditions for their survival, said veterinarian Mikhail Shelyakov.

"The prevailing weather conditions this year led to an early awakening of snakes in March, and, as a result, a sharp increase in their population, as more individuals than last year survived," he explained.

Associate professor at the Institute of Ecology of the RUDN University Vladimir Pinaev attributed the aggressiveness of snakes to the fact that in May they traditionally have a period of searching for a partner for procreation.

"But snakes do not hunt people and attack only in self—defense," the expert emphasized.

According to the Center for Hygiene Education of the Population of Rospotrebnadzor, there are more than 50 species of snakes in Russia, 11 of them are dangerous. The most common are the common viper, steppe viper, nosy viper, Caucasian viper, gyurza viper, and sand viper.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Here are the vipers: why snakes have become more likely to attack people