19th Aug 2013

Over 100 visitors at the BBC Summer of Wildlife event in Edinburgh on 17-18 August took part in 'Newt Snap', a new game developed by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. The aim of the game, to identify newts from their individual belly patterns was surprisingly popular with all ages. Comments ranged from a slightly sceptical "that sounds riveting!" to "I could do with a game like this to keep my boys occupied. I wondered where they had all gone!" The fastest team won a DVD of David Attenborough's Life in Cold Blood.

Native reptiles and amphibians (slow-worms, common toads and great crested newt tadpoles - collected under licence from Scottish Natural Heritage) also attracted a lot of interest. Thanks very much to everyone from Lothian ARG and CentARG (Laura Coventry, Ellen Hagen, Jackie Watson, Annie Hedger and Emma Baillie) who helped many people learn about the animals and play the newt game. Thanks also to the University of Kent and The Farm Environment for the pictures used to make the game.