uShaka’s Zama rattles snake phobia with education

ZAMA Shandu ‘scaled’ to new heights when she overcame a fear of snakes ingrained in her from a young age.

Determined to conquer her fear, Shandu, volunteered at Dangerous Creatures, the reptile section at uShaka Marine World, to learn more about snakes.

As her knowledge grew, she overcame her fear and has since gone on to take up a full time position at uShaka, educating others about snakes.

“I came here to understand snakes. I needed to understand why I had been brought up to see snakes as these demons. A lot of people don’t like snakes and our families have brought us up to understand snakes to be something to fear. We were taught never to touch a snake, stand near a snake or get in a snakes way,” she said.

“I think these stories were told to protect us in a manner, but the way the stories were told, snakes were portrayed as evil animals you should never go near. My mind has been fully changed. I now handle snakes. I rescue snakes if I see them near my house because I know how to handle them. I won’t deal with venomous ones as I would need to be fully trained- for venomous snakes I call a snake handler,” she added.

Also read: Ushaka Marine World struggles to stay afloat in pandemic

Not all snakes are feared in the isiZulu culture, said Shandu. Brown and green snakes are seen as good snakes sent by the ancestors. –

“In our culture, whenever we see a brown or green snake we say it is an ancestral snake, so we shouldn’t kill it. In that way, that kind of snake was always protected, but because people don’t know if the other snakes are safe or not, they are seen as bad snakes that should be killed- not understanding that they are all the same as the green snake we have been protecting for centuries,” she said.

Since taking on her role as educator at uShaka, Zama Shandu has been able to share her knowledge with her family.

“Being in this environment has helped because I can help my family understand snakes, so they feel more comfortable. I can show them which snakes are venomous or non venomous,” she said.

“The education I got here changed my perspective so much. In order to get comfortable with these animals, you need to understand them individually. You need to understand the different species so you know what they are capable of doing and you understand how to deal with them when you come across them,” she added.

Fear and phobias around snakes pose a threat to the animals as fear drives residents to kill snakes they encounter at home.

“People living in those (bushy) areas will encounter snakes more often and when they see snakes coming into their homes they will often get scared because they don’t know how to react to snakes. We try to explain so people can understand snakes so they don’t end up killing them, because snakes have a role to play in the environment,” she said.

Also read: VIDEO: One-eyed python finds a new home at uShaka

“They feed on rats and other pests, so they are controlling those pests. If there’s an over population of rats in your area, it’s not going to be a healthy environment. Snakes don’t always come around, they have seasons. Quite often in summer, you will encounter snakes. Some snakes also pop up at night because they feed at night.

“Brown house snakes are often spotted at night. They are harmless. Often they will be spotted in houses because that’s where they will go to find food. We fear them when they come into our houses but they are just coming to look for food,” added Shandu.

l Shandu appealed to the community to contact a snake handler to remove a snake from homes rather than killing the animal.

Local snake handler, Jason Arnold can be contacted on 082 745 6375.

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