WATCH: Glen Anil snake man pens first book

IT has been a labour of love for Glen Anil resident, Tyrone Ping, who recently launched his first book, A Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of KwaZulu-Natal.

The field guide, which is the first of its kind for the KZN region, showcases a comprehensive collection of reptiles in the province in detail.

“This book has been years in the making. There are a number of books and field guides for snakes in Southern Africa and Africa but never really anything about KZN specifically. As a province, we have one of the highest diversity of snake species within the entire country with 83 species of snake found in KZN. The field guide features more than 170 species of snakes and reptiles, many of which I was lucky enough to photograph. I can certainly say putting this book together has been a labour of love,” Ping explained.

Ping, a photographer and conservationist, said he wanted to make the field guide easily accessible to the general public.

“I think there is room for everyone in this book. I wanted to make it accessible to everyone and I avoided any scientific jargon. There is enough information in the guide that you can read and understand without feeling overwhelmed. We have a number of fantastic scientific snake books and field guides in Southern Africa which I have in my collection but not all of them are accessible.

“In my book we have the name, the range of the species, size, colour and field notes and how venomous they are. I would say this book is for children all the way to up to adults. I also feel a great deal of what I’m doing is education, raising awareness on our reptiles and how important they are to our ecosystems,” he said.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book, visit his website or you can purchase it on Amazon.