Let’s see what Wiki tells us about it:

‘’The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of venomous snakes found all over the world, except in Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and north of the Arctic Circle. All have relatively long, hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom. Four subfamilies are currently recognized.^[2] They are also known as viperids.’’

They do reside in Romania too.

Because most of our fly fishing locations are high up in the mountains, it is possible to meet at least once vipers. The most common species in Romania is the ‘’Vipera berus’’. It can have a variety of colours, as seen above. A completely dark black species was identified too. Another species is the horned viper, ‘’Vipera ammodytes’’ , although the last one mostly in the south regions of the country.

Precautions

Wearing long trousers made out of strong fabric and not too tight reduces the chance of getting bitten. Waders are also a good preventive wear. Snakes like hot places. If letting your wading boots/ waders to dry over night, hang them at least 1ft above the ground. Better 2ft. Upside down. Snakes do not defy gravity.

Avoid contact! If you see one, go around it!

Forget Macro mode on your camera. You really really don’t want a 2ft snake hanging from your eyeballs. Remember, you are the one stepping into its territory! Don’t poke the vipers (with a stick or other object). This is NOT Facebook.

By approaching riverbanks or fishing places, although it might seem counterproductive make some noise. If you don’t, at least keep your eyes wide open!

If you decide to untangle your fly line from a tree or plants along the riverbanks, remember: learn tocast! Don’t get tangled!

If you still decide to tangle your flies/line, when searching for your flies please search first for snakes!

Vipers are beautiful creatures but also dangerous. The horned viper is protected by law as endangered species. Don’t contribute to its extinction.

Rule number one: don’t get bitten!

Getting bitten can (not mandatory) lead to death in 5 Hours. In case you somehow managed to elude rule number one, remember the following:

• Try to identify the snake! (was it really a viper? color, pattern, head shape)

(This doesn’t involve crawling on your knees after it and trying to snap some pics)

• Get help. Call/radio somebody. Following information is critical: Where? When? How many bites? Actual symptoms?

• Don’t panic. Don’t try to suck the venom out of the wound. Don’t apply tourniquets!

• Don’t move around! Stay still! Moving too much leads to an accelerate cardiac rhythm, the blood circulation speeds up and the venom dissipates faster into the blood stream. Try to find a place in shadow to wait for help.

• Take one Aspirin if available, please NO alcohol, coffee or other excitants (again, rising the heart rate will lead to the above mentioned problems)

• In case of hypothermia, place a blanket/warm clothes above the victim/yourself

• Maintain the bitten limb underneath heart level (i.e. don’t raise your feet above chest level. When sitting in shade, keep your upper body right against a tree/rock)

• Don’t suck out the venom! Also do not make cuts along the bite marks. The venom spreads so fast that you will have no chance of extracting an efficient quantity. Don’t apply ice or cold on the bite.

• Never use anti-viperin serum on the field, the risk of anaphylactic shock is greater then the benefits (except if you have medical personal and ICU treatment possibilities at hand, meaning i.v. lines, defibrilaor, prednisone, adrenaline etc.)

Remember: our fly fishing locations are within 1-2 hours drive to specialized medical centers. If needed, we will meet halfway with the ambulance on descent. That means getting treated in ½ the time comparing it to complete transport to hospital. If necessary helicopter rescue and extracting from difficult locations together with the local mountain rescue teams is available according to the number of ongoing emergencies locally.

Stay safe and enjoy your fly fishing location!