Four-Lined Snake

The Four-Lined Snake is among the largest snake species in Europe, found primarily in the Balkans, Italy, and parts of the eastern Mediterranean. It is entirely harmless to humans and known for its calm, deliberate temperament, making it one of the more docile large colubrids in its range.

Adults develop a distinctive four-striped pattern that gives the species its common name, though juveniles are patterned quite differently.

• Large, heavy-bodied snake, among the biggest in Europe
• Adults typically yellowish-brown to olive with four dark longitudinal stripes running the length of the body
• Juveniles show a blotched pattern rather than stripes, changing with age
• Smooth scales
• Round pupils

The four dark stripes on an otherwise plain background are diagnostic in adults, though juveniles must be identified by other features due to their blotched pattern.

Inhabits dry, open woodlands, scrubland, rocky hillsides, and agricultural edges across the Balkan Peninsula, Italy, and parts of the eastern Mediterranean, including Greece and Turkey. Prefers warm, sunny locations.

Diurnal and generally slow-moving and calm compared to more excitable colubrids. Feeds primarily on rodents and other small mammals, along with birds and eggs, subduing prey by constriction. Reproduction is egg-laying (oviparous), with clutches typically of 5-16 eggs.