Between May and June 2025, a total of 174 snakes were introduced to five locations. Three of these snakes were fitted with radio telemetry transmitters. This enables us to regularly receive information about the animals’ exact location, movement range and activity.
Another milestone in the project was releasing snakes into the habitat restoration area connecting the two sections of the Bugac Puszta. Our goal is for the grassland area established between the two existing viper habitats to become populated by the released snakes and for a new population to be created. The processes taking place here, the development of the habitat, the movement and survival of the animals are continuously monitored, with the help of the tagged animals released here.
Grass-level protective nets have also been placed over the artificial burrows, which are already well known to the snakes raised at the Centre and previously released into the habitats. These nets protect the area around the burrow entrance from predators, enabling animals that are not yet familiar with the habitat to safely explore their environment. We monitor the areas during regular visits after release, record any animals we see and take good-quality photos of them if possible so that we can identify them individually. We have also set up camera traps in the reintroduction sites, enabling us to observe the creatures without disturbing them.
The release of snakes born and raised at the Center has been the subject of several short films, which can be viewed at the following links:
