Massive three-metre python rescued from Inanda
"This species is protected, it is illegal to kill, trade or keep it... They are best left in the wild where they belong," said Nick Evans, snake catcher.
LOCAL snake catcher, Nick Evans, rescued a 3.1 metre female Southern African Python weighing 16kgs from a small holding in Inanda on Saturday, 24 February.
The snake was first spotted eating a chicken on Saturday, 17 February. Evans said the people at the premises bred many chickens.
“They had two ‘chicken rooms’, and the python had captured a hen which was nesting under one of these wooden rooms on stilts. Two friends and I raced over. Unfortunately, the callers had only been watching the snake from one side of the house. When it moved out of sight, they were too scared to go around the building to watch where it went,” said Evans.
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They spent two hours after midnight searching for the snake through piles of wood and asbestos, covered in chicken poo, but still couldn’t find it. They began to think that it could have slipped away into the bush.
Evans said there was a patch of bush between the house and the main road. On the other side of the road were homes, so it couldn’t really go anywhere.
He believed that this small patch of bush was where it lived. At some stage, it would have been killed by a passing car or a human. Its only food source was livestock, and there was a stream running through, so it had water.
“I believe the python returned for more ”KFC” on Saturday [24 February]. This time, however, the people watched from all sides of the building. I and my fiancée (Joelle) and four friends got there in good time. We arrived to find the snake just finishing its meal – there were just the chickens legs poking out its mouth. As soon as it saw us, it regurgitated its meal. That’s never nice, but at least it hadn’t swallowed it completely. It was a quick and easy capture,” said Evans.
He claimed Pythons in the Inanda area, and in many areas where there are a lot of settlements, regularly feed on livestock.
In the Inanda area, there are few wild-roaming game left, such as Duiker, so domestic livestock will have to do.
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The Southern African Rock Python does not hunt people, and it is nothing like the computerised snake in the Anaconda movies.
Still, it is a snake that is best left alone. Pythons are not venomous, but they have rows of sharp and large teeth which can inflict a severe amount of damage should it latch onto you.
“This species is protected, it is illegal to kill, trade or keep it. However, they are still being frequently killed for the muthi trade. It is much like rhino horn, it is used by people who believe it does actually work to treat certain ailments. But it is a false belief, there is no scientific proof that it actually works. The Pythons are best left in the wild where they belong,” said Evans.
The specimen will be handed over to KZN Wildlife, whom Evans works closely with, who will release it in a protected area away from people.
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