AlexanderTHG
Well-Known Member
With the end of the successful 2024 reboot, a new year entails, so to you I present the ZooChat Challenge Great Britain, Ireland & Crown Dependencies 2025: Slithering Serpents
With inspiration taken from 2025 being the year of the snake in the Chinese Zodiac, if you hadn’t already guessed, your challenge this year is to see as many species of snake as you can.
I thought I’d keep the task simple again like last year, before some more diverse challenges planned for the next two years. There are a huge number of snake species spread throughout Britain & Ireland, however very few collections hold large numbers of species. As such, the challenge this year should be quite close and hopefully keep churning right the way through the year.
Of course, the same usual rules courtesy of Shorts apply:
1. You have to actually see the animal, even if just for a second.
2. Photographic proof is not required, your word is your bond.
3. You must see the animal from normal public access areas and during normal public opening hours (no special experiences)
4. Only species seen at a zoo in the geographic limits of the challenge can count in this challenge.
5. However, any private zoos or zoos with limited opening dates don’t count.
6. Record your tallies on this thread after each visit.
7. Whilst not compulsory, I would recommend including scientific names in your tally.
8. The winner will be the individual who has seen the most species of snake by midnight 31st December 2025!
So any species in the suborder Serpentes will count and colour morphs (but not hybrids) are allowed. I’ll add extra emphasis on the species level. No subspecies, and try to use the IUCN classifications if unsure on current species splits. As always, taxonomy is never simple, and so some species are unclear. Any questions, just ask, and I or someone else will try to answer.
In short, you have exactly 12 months to see as many snake species as you can. So without further ado, let the challenge commence!!!
With inspiration taken from 2025 being the year of the snake in the Chinese Zodiac, if you hadn’t already guessed, your challenge this year is to see as many species of snake as you can.
I thought I’d keep the task simple again like last year, before some more diverse challenges planned for the next two years. There are a huge number of snake species spread throughout Britain & Ireland, however very few collections hold large numbers of species. As such, the challenge this year should be quite close and hopefully keep churning right the way through the year.
Of course, the same usual rules courtesy of Shorts apply:
1. You have to actually see the animal, even if just for a second.
2. Photographic proof is not required, your word is your bond.
3. You must see the animal from normal public access areas and during normal public opening hours (no special experiences)
4. Only species seen at a zoo in the geographic limits of the challenge can count in this challenge.
5. However, any private zoos or zoos with limited opening dates don’t count.
6. Record your tallies on this thread after each visit.
7. Whilst not compulsory, I would recommend including scientific names in your tally.
8. The winner will be the individual who has seen the most species of snake by midnight 31st December 2025!
So any species in the suborder Serpentes will count and colour morphs (but not hybrids) are allowed. I’ll add extra emphasis on the species level. No subspecies, and try to use the IUCN classifications if unsure on current species splits. As always, taxonomy is never simple, and so some species are unclear. Any questions, just ask, and I or someone else will try to answer.
In short, you have exactly 12 months to see as many snake species as you can. So without further ado, let the challenge commence!!!
