Romsilva experts warn that vipers have begun their breeding season and contact with them should be avoided. The viper, a poisonous species, attacks if it feels threatened, News.ro reports.

“ATTENTION – The marriage season has begun! Vipers are venomous species and contact with them should be avoided, they will attack if they feel threatened. “Experts recommend that tourists who go out into nature in areas where vipers live, avoid gravel, rocky or sunny surfaces, carefully examine the place where they are sitting and do not put their hands between the cracks of rocks,” Romsilva said on Thursday.

Experts remind that the horned viper is common in several areas of southern and southeastern Europe, including several areas of Romania, in the southwestern and southeastern regions.

“This is the largest European viper, reaching a length of 90 centimeters. It is distinguished by a sharp muzzle with a soft nasal horn and a stripe on the back, formed by a sequence of rhombuses, of different colors in males and females. They feed on small mammals, lizards, frogs or birds and prefer rocky habitats in mountainous areas,” Romsilva also said.

Romsilva also posted several images of vipers caught in the Defileul Giului National Park.

Defileul Jiului National Park, one of the 22 national and natural parks managed by the National Directorate of Forests – Romsilva, covers an area of ​​more than 11,000 hectares, between the Parang and Valkan mountain ranges, in Hunedoara and Gorge counties.