Date: 15-24.7.

Team: Tomáš Dino Holer, Jan Machek, Jan Doněk, Petr Hataš

Many of my herpetologist friends visited Georgia and came back absolutely thrilled. So I knew that one day I simply had to go there too. And when tickets appeared at a good price, there was no point in waiting. All that remained was to put together an expedition team, which of course was not too difficult a task. So we bought tickets to Kutaisi, where there are direct flights from Prague. Unfortunately, we paid a higher price for the luggage than for the tickets themselves. We bought them through MyTrip, with whom I have good experiences. But now we know that in the case of WizzAir, we should buy tickets directly from the airline. When we later bought one piece of cabin luggage, we found out that it was half the price. Our plane was leaving relatively early in the morning, so Petr, Honza D. and I met at my place in Prague 6 the day before so that the guys wouldn’t have to travel far to the airport. WizzAir has a reputation as one of the worst low-cost airlines, but we didn’t actually notice anything particularly bad. On the contrary, to our surprise, the plane departed on time and even landed 20 minutes earlier than scheduled.

In Kutaisi, an employee of the rental company where we had arranged a car was already waiting for us. He recommended where to buy a SIM card, which was really good value. Unlimited internet and SMS for 15 days cost only 10€. We also exchanged a few euros for the local currency – Georgian Lari (GEL). A Jeep Renegade was waiting for us in the parking lot. We were advised that due to the quality of the roads and the accessibility of some locations, a 4-wheel drive vehicle was needed. We saw this on the way to our first accommodation with a beautiful view, but somewhat worse accessibility. On the way from the airport, we had to watch out for cattle on the road. And also some Georgian drivers. Rumors about Georgian drivers and their behavior on the road had reached us, but we were still initially surprised by cars in the opposite direction, calmly overtaking before the bend and across the double line.

In the evening, we arrived at the aforementioned accommodation in the mountains above Batumi. As soon as we unpacked, we got back in the car and headed to the first location. Around the mountain streams, a mysterious salamander lives here – the Caucasian salamander. In the southeastern part of Georgia, it is a subspecies (maybe even a species) Mertensiella (caucasica) djanaschvilii. Male salamanders of the Mertensiella genus have a small growth on their back – a pseudopenis, which probably serves to stimulate the female during mating. This special organ is only found in these salamanders and also in the Lyciasalamandra genus, which we observed in Turkey on an expedition in 2020. On the way to the location, we listened to the call of tree frogs (Hyla orientalis) in various places along the road. Sometimes we even stopped and tried to find a tree frog. First, we managed to find several tadpoles of tree frogs in a puddle by the road, as well as newt larvae, probably of the Caucasian banded newts (Ommatotriton ophryticus). A few kilometers further on, we finally saw an adult tree frog on the wall of a house. We parked on the bank of the river, where two Russian couples were drinking. One young lady could barely stand, but she decided to go down the steep path to the river. Fortunately, her “rescuer” noticed this in time and, although he was greatly strengthened by alcohol, helped her to get down safely. However, we did not linger and looked for a suitable way across the river to the other side. To our surprise, there was no bridge, but a cabin on ropes that you can take to the other side. We were a little afraid that it would be locked at night, but it was not, so we set off in pairs to the other side. A sophisticated system allowed the cabin to be pulled in from both banks, so there was no risk of us getting stuck on the other side.

We continued along the path along the river and soon came across a small side stream. On the way, we were surprised by a freshwater crab of the genus Potamon, which – as we later found out – is quite common in this part of Georgia. And soon we celebrated our success by finding a mertensiella larvae. It was quite large and beautifully colored. Mertensiela lay eggs in depressions on the bottom of the stream and their larvae live for 2-4 years before they undergo metamorphosis and turn into adult salamanders. In total, we eventually observed about 20 larvae, but unfortunately we did not manage to find any adult salamanders. Of the other species, we also met the Caucasian toad (Bufo verrucossimus) and a Long-legged wood frog (Rana macrocnemis).

The next morning, while the others were enjoying a sweet sleep until almost noon, I set out for the surroundings. It was cloudy and only here and there the sun’s rays broke through the thick clouds for a moment. The Batumi area has an almost tropical humid climate and typical dense ferns grow everywhere. Georgian lizards (Darevskia rudis) of the subspecies bischoffi were basking on the stones. There are over 30 species and subspecies of lizards of the genus Darevskia in Georgia and the discovery of new, cryptic species is apparently not over yet. Most of them do not even have a common name yet. Sand lizards (Lacerta agilis), which we know from the Czech Republic, were running around in the grass. However, the subspecies grusinica lives here, the males of which have a beautiful green coloration often all over their bodies. Of our species, I also met the Eastern slow worm (Anguis colchicus) and two smooth snakes (Coronella austriaca).

In the afternoon we set off by car towards the Turkish border, where Caucasian vipers (Vipera kaznakovi) are supposed to be found. The clouds had cleared a bit in the meantime and it was already quite hot. Moreover, we were hungry, so we treated ourselves to a hearty lunch at a local restaurant in a campsite by the river. When we sat down at the table, the staff argued a bit among themselves, probably about who would serve us, because they immediately understood that they would have to communicate in English. So they sent to us probably the youngest waitress, who knew English quite well. The food preparation took a bit longer and we could “enjoy” the atmosphere on the terrace by the river, created by frolicking children in the pool under the waterfall and loud Russian music from the speakers of other campsite visitors. The wait was brightened up by a couple of Darevskia derjugini barani lizards, running along the wall just a short distance from our table. Then they finally started bringing food in the form of a delicious salad, stuffed mushrooms, fried cornmeal cones and typical meat skewers. After the meal we had some coffee and the whole expense came to about 100 GEL, which is about 8€ / person.

Time passed, so we tried evening herping in the area. The habitat looked suitable, but unfortunately we were unable to find any vipers. We only saw a few lizards of the genus Darevskia. On the way back, we tried another salamander location. As soon as we arrived and set off along the stream, a heavy downpour began. Petr and Honza D. went ahead and hid in a small cave, while Honza M. and I returned to the car. We promised ourselves that the rain might lure adult salamanders out of their hiding places. Again, we searched in vain for adults, but we did find dozens of larvae.

The next morning we tried another location for Caucasian vipers and this time we were successful. We observed a total of 7 beautifully colored, orange to reddish-red vipers and we had the opportunity to photograph and film some of them. The Caucasian viper is one of the most common vipers in Georgia, but such beautifully colored individuals are found only in the western part around the city of Batumi.

The goal was achieved and it was time to leave subtropical Batumi and head further east to the mountains around the city of Borjomi. The forests here are less exotic and the landscape somewhat resembles the foothills of the Alps. The goal here was again the salamanders, this time the nominal subspecies (species) caucasica. About a month before our trip, on the recommendation of my herpetologist colleagues, I wrote to the administration of the Borjomi National Park, asking if they would be so kind as to allow us to enter the park at night. I received a reply that it is no problem and that when we arrived, we should stop at the “ranger” hut at the entrance to the park. So we boldly set off for the Nedzvi Valley, just before dark. On the terrace in front of the hut were sitting 4 park rangers and only one of them knew at least Russian. They told us that they would not let us into the park without a permit issued in the NP administration office. Then they put me on the phone with the boss, who told me that he was currently mowing the lawn in the garden and that we should have written in advance if we wanted to go to the park at night. Of course, I explained to him that I had written an email in advance, and during the conversation we even found out that it was he who answered my email. He just forgot to write that we had to come during working hours and that it was almost dark now and that we would not be allowed there. Unfortunately, this is a classic phenomenon of the nature conservation bureaucracy in a country that just recently started to protect its nature. Of course, we respect the strictness of nature conservation, especially when it comes to a National park. But here the strictness is somewhat lax when cars and quad bikes drive right through the park and you just count the animals, that are run over on the road. We had no choice but to go to another location outside the protected area. A dirt road took us to the edge of the forest, where we left the car and continued on foot. We looked for bear tracks on the muddy path, but it seemed that none had passed by here in the near future. Even so, we preferred to stick together. Soon we heard an unknown frog vocalization near the stream and immediately assumed that it could be a Caucasian parsley frog (Pelodytes caucasicus). As it soon turned out, we were right. We found both adults and tadpoles, and even eggs of these interesting frogs. A young grass snake (Natrix natrix) was hunting the tadpoles here, and we also saw several Long-legged wood frogs (Rana macrocnemis). Finally, we discovered one larva of the Caucasian salamander (Mertensiella caucasica) in the stream. However, it was relatively dry around the stream and we soon gave up searching for adults.

In the morning we set off for a confirmed location of the Transcaucasian viper (Vipera transcaucasiana), which was supposed to be right next to the border of the national park. However, as soon as we stopped and got out of the car, a local guy came up to us. He spoke Russian and told us that we couldn’t go this way, that it was a national park and that we were only allowed to go there on marked tourist trails. This was in contradiction to what was written on the park’s website and on the sign by the road, which only prohibited making a fire, picking flowers, etc., but not entering. It turned out that the guy was a local “ranger” and that he was quite knowledgeable about the local herpetofauna. He enthusiastically showed us that “here on that side there is v. transcaucasiana and here again v. kaznakovi and in the stream mertensiella”. He was very kind, however, he stood his ground and said that he couldn’t let us go there. He said they had problems with snake smugglers there, so we explained that we just wanted to take pictures of the snakes and that he could check us out when we left. We tried in vain to call the boss to see if there was any chance of getting to the site with a permit, but we he did not answer the phone. So we had no choice but to head elsewhere. On the way to the next site, we stopped at the NP office, where they issued us the necessary permit for night entry into the park. The badly printed and carelessly torn piece of paper was finally in our hands.

I wrote to my friend Tomáš K. if he knew of any other viper locations in the area. He advised us of a valley where the vipers were likely to be, and fortunately, a hiking trail leads through it. The sun was already high and the temperature was not optimal for searching for basking snakes. However, I noticed the western edge of the valley, which, thanks to the denser growth of trees, had probably been in the shade a moment ago. And within ten minutes I found the first and only Transcaucasian viper (Vipera transcaucasiana), basking in the semi-shade by a large stone. We tried to search further for about two hours, but without success.

In the evening we were finally able to set off for the Nedzvi Valley, with the previously obtained permit. This time the rangers let us go further without much questioning. First we headed to the place where I had found a Caucasian newt (Ommatotriton ophryticus) in the internet database and we did indeed find the larvae of these newts there. But it is too late in the summer for adults to be in the water. On the way we met several Caucasian toads (Bufo verrucossimus), a few alive and also a few that had been run over on the road. As I already mentioned, cars regularly drive through the national park and they also attract tourists for quad bike rides. Then we met an Eastern slow worm (Anguis colchicus) on the road, trying in vain to swallow a huge slug. As we were taking pictures, we heard the sound of an engine around the bend and we just collected our things and moved them out of the way, including the poor slow worm, whose life we ​​had certainly saved. The car whizzed by and the driver just waved at us with a smile.

Then we returned to another “trail”, which was supposed to lead to the salamander site. As we continued, we increasingly had to navigate around fallen trees and through rugged, overgrown terrain. We were therefore progressing desperately slowly and the environment did not look the most suitable for salamanders. Our reward was a melanic grass snake (Natrix natrix), which was crawling right next to the road. When we finally reached the marked location on the map after several hours of overcoming obstacles, we found out, the stream had dried up. This time, we did not find any larvae and had to return (almost) empty handed. We probably unfortunately chose the wrong location.

In the morning we tried to find another suitable place for vipers. We slowly climbed up the hill along a dusty road worn out by heavy tracked machinery. Along the way we were surprised by an oriental tree frog (Hyla orientalis) and we also observed several lizards Darevskia derjugini derjugini. The road led to the church at the top of the hill and since we were in no hurry, we decided to go all the way up. There was apparently a rectory by the church, from whose terrace a bearded priest dressed in black robes waved at us and when we asked him with a gesture whether we could look inside the church, he nodded in agreement. The church was nicely and newly painted inside with biblical characters and stories. We were surprised that it was only decently gilded, considering it is an Orthodox church. After the tour, we contributed a little to the money box, lit candles and headed back down. Our knees and thighs suffered on the steep path, so much so that we couldn’t believe we had come up the same path.

We headed north to the Greater Caucasus Mountains. We were a little surprised when our navigation system told us: “Continue for 161 km.” The main and only road to Russia looked like a highway at times, like a dirt road at other times, and then cut right through towns and villages. As we approached the mountains, the road began to be lined with various stalls selling local products, as well as those pretending to be local. We knew we would be returning the same way, so we left our souvenir shopping until the return trip.

We arrived in the mountain town in the evening and checked into a small, cozy hotel. There wasn’t much left to eat at the local restaurant, but they did offer us a beef soup that was similar to Vietnamese Pho, and we also tasted the local red wine.

In the morning we set off into the mountains above the village to look for a Caucasus subalpine viper (Vipera dinniki). The weather seemed ideal, partly cloudy, pleasantly warm. First we found one Caucasian lizard (Darevskia caucasica) and surprisingly several “green” toads of the species Bufotes sitibundus. We searched for a long time on the rocky slopes, until we basically gave up and set off down into the valley. Then a local four-legged guide joined us and walked with us the whole way. And about halfway down the descent, a Georgian viper was waiting for us right next to the hiking trail. I was a little worried about how “our” dog would react to it, but he just lay down in the grass nearby and didn’t care about the viper at all.

The task was accomplished, and so the next morning we could head south to the dry and warm area southeast of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. On the way, we bought souvenirs at roadside stalls. Before we arrived at our destination – Rustavi, we were greeted by a huge garbage dump, right next to the main access road. Unfortunately, there was no other accommodation available here than in the middle of the “urban jungle” of abandoned panel houses. However, our hotel was quite cozy and there was good parking. The only disadvantage was that the owner locked the entire building after midnight, so we always had to be back on time.

On the first evening, we set off to the nearby steppe just outside the city. The roads were in terrible condition in some parts of the city and beyond. There were deep holes everywhere, in some places there was no asphalt at all, and cars were constantly driving in the opposite direction. We arrived at the place while it was still light and soon discovered several Caspian turtles (Mauremys caspica) by a small lake. We could already hear the approaching storm in the distance and a heavy downpour soon began. We waited out the rain in the car and, before darkness fell, we set out to explore the surroundings. We had barely walked a few steps when we came across a Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca). But we only took a few quick photos and videos and had to run away from very numerous swarms of mosquitoes.

On the way back, jackals ran in front of our car and at a greater distance we probably saw a wolf, which should also occure here. Finally, we had to get out of the car again and clear the road of toads (Bufotes sitibundus) and frogs (genus Pelophylax), which had been lured out by the heavy rain.

After arriving, I had a brief chat with our host, and he showed me on the map the place where the feared snake “Gjurza” supposedly lives, which the locals fear as almost nothing else. The snake is, of course, the Blunt-nosed viper (Macrovipera lebetina), the largest viper in this area, which can grow up to one and a half meters long. The place he showed us was very popular with tourists, and we wanted to find a quieter location. So, using satellite maps, we picked a small wadi near the border with Azerbaijan and set off there early in the morning. The first thing we found were several Greek tortoises (Testudo graeca ibera). There were several piles of old iron-reinforced concrete in the valley, among which we found a total of about 10 large and wide snake sheds, which could not have belonged to any other than the Blunt-nosed viper. Later, we also discovered one dead juvenile. However, we did not find the snakes themselves anywhere. It was already starting to get hot, so we decided to return to the valley in the evening after dark.

The tortoises had already “parked” somewhere and we didn’t find any, but we were surprised by a Caucasian agama (Paralaudakia caucasica), which emerged from its hiding place just before dusk. As night fell, the valley began to come alive. Within a few minutes, we found our first snake – a Ring-headed dwarf snake (Eirenis modestus). When we finished filming and photographing this small snake, we had barely taken a few steps and saw a beautiful Cat snake (Telescopus fallax iberus) on the slope. We had barely managed to photograph and film it when we heard Honza M. nearby calling: “Guys, it’s here! I’ve got it!”. So we left the Cat snake and ran after it. I still had to collect up the equipment and so I arrived a little later. The guys stood in an imaginary circle and in the middle lay a huge Blunt-nosed viper (Macrovipera lebetina). Fortunately, she was completely calm and probably relied on her cryptic coloration. Honza found her moving, but as the others approached, she fortunately stopped. Thanks to this, we were able to take pictures and film her in peace, before she finally decided to escape and rushed forward at high speed. Only at that moment did we realize her real size, which we estimated at approximately 120 cm. We are sure that there could be much more to find in this valley, but unfortunately it was already late and we had to return to the hotel in time.

We had one last day left and we had to spend it on a long drive back to the airport in Kutaisi. In the evening we checked into a nearby apartment, and we tried our last chance to find adult salamanders. Basically blindly, we found a mountain valley where they might be found. At first we had trouble finding a stream that we could walk along normally. There was a spa in the mountains and many roads were closed in the evening. But in the end we found a small side spring and went upstream. We found several larvae again, but the search for adults was again unsuccessful, so it was clear to us that we would have to return to Georgia in a more suitable period for salamanders.

In the morning, we had a minor inconvenience at the airport when no one came to pick up our rented car. They willingly accepted our slightly overweight luggage without any comments, so we hoped that they wouldn’t take off without us. In the meantime, we managed to contact the rental company and tell them what had happened. They informed us that someone was already coming to pick up the car. But time was running out, and when we had barely an hour until departure, we wrote that we were leaving the car keys at the information desk and went to check-in. We arrived at the gate when the last passengers were boarding, but in the end everything went well.

Georgia is a diverse country and home to many species and subspecies of reptiles and amphibians, including potentially new, cryptic taxa. We definitely have to return here sometime in the future, if only for the salamanders.

On behalf of herpetology.cz team,

Dino

List of taxa:

27 taxa in total:

Amphibians (9 taxa):

Anura (6):

Bufo verrucossimus

Bufotes sitibundus

Hyla orientalis

Pelodytes caucasicus

Pelophylax spp.

Rana macrocnemis

Caudata (3):

Mertensiella caucasica

Mertensiella djanaschvilii

Ommatotriton ophryticus

Reptiles (18):

Lizards (8):

Agamidae:

Paralaudakia caucasica

Anguidae:

Anguis colchicus

Geckonidae:

Tenuidactylus caspius

Lacertidae:

Darevskia caucasica

Darevskia derjugini barani

Darevskia derjugini derjugini

Darevskia rudis bischoffi

Lacerta agilis grusinica

Snakes (8):

Colubridae:

Coronella austriaca

Eirenis modestus

Natrix natrix

Telescopus fallax

Viperidae:

Macrovipera lebetina

Vipera dinniki

Vipera kaznakovi

Vipera transcaucasiana

Turtles and tortioises (2):

Mauremys caspius

Testudo graeca