Green Whip Snake

Green Whip Snake

Hierophis viridiflavus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
at Vanoise National Park
1 Verified sightings at Vanoise National Park From 2019 to 2026
304 Verified sightings across all 8 parks From 2019 to 2026
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Green Whip Snake

The green whip snake or western whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. This species is present in Andorra, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and possibly Luxembourg.

Currently two subspecies are distinguished, a melanic (H. v. carbonarius) and a striped form (H. v. viridiflavus). The melanic form occurs in the eastern part of the range and the striped in the western part, with a contact zone throughout most of northern Italy.

Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, and urban areas. The green whip snake is a slender species with a small but well-defined head, prominent eyes with circular pupils, and smooth scales. The background colour is greenish-yellow but this is mostly obscured by heavy, somewhat irregular bands of dark green or black, particularly in the front half of the snake. The underparts are grey or yellowish and the tail has narrow longitudinal stripes. The young are a greyish colour and develop their full adult... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~40%
2 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
3 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
4 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
5 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
6 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
7 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
Insufficient data
8 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
← Back to Vanoise National Park