Scared Turkish man kills 'endangered snake'

TRABZON

A man in the Black Sea Turkish province of Trabzon’s Köprübaşı district killed an endangered snake on June 27 after it sneaked into his garden, Demirören News Agency reported.

Ramazan Sancak told the agency that he was leaving his house when he spotted the two-meter-long snake.

“I was scared. I’ve never seen such a huge snake before. I killed it by hitting it with a bat,” he said. 

According to the agency, the snake was of Vipera kaznakovi species, which is endemic to Turkey, Georgia and Russia.

If confirmed, the killed snake would be one of the largest of its species ever recorded.

Some 40 snake eggs have reportedly been found around the town, which raised concerns among the locals of Köprübaşı.

Turkey’s Natural Protection and National Parks Administration had declared in 2016 that the species, which is also called the Hopa viper or Caucasus viper, was put under protection.

As it is an endangered species facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future, Turkish authorities had taken precautions in the area to protect the snake's habitat.

Locals were advised that they should notify authorities without killing this species of snakes and they should not use pesticides that can risk their lives.