Slithering serpents abound in hot weather

FOR as long as humans have existed, people have tried to predict and forecast the weather. Sometimes with little success, yes, even eNews Channel Africa’s Chief Meteorologist Derek van Dam gets it wrong sometimes. But if you were looking for an accurate change in weather conditions, look to the slithering serpents snaking around your gardens and lawns.

Durban North’s snake man, Jason Arnold can attest to this. In the two days preceding the weekend, he had more than ten call-outs in various suburbs around Durban. He also caught various snakes including two Mozambique spitting cobras, two black mambas (one of which has set up a home at King Shaka Airport), a rock monitor or legavaan and a bush snake.

“There’s a theory that an increase in snake sightings may also indicate oncoming rain. It could also be the snakes trying to get a meal before a storm,” he explained.

One of the spitting cobras was found in Durban North. “This was one of my weirdest cases just because the cobra simply disappeared. I got a call out on Christmas Day and when I got there, I spotted the little guy’s tail behind a pot plant next to the wall. So I rushed over to the pot and moved it but the cobra was gone. There were no holes in the wall or ground or in the plant, he just simply disappeared.

“Then on Wednesday last week the same snake resurfaced in the next door neighbour’s bedroom. I told them to put a towel at the bottom of the door and keep it closed. But when I got there he had somehow gotten out. I eventually found him in the garden,” he said.

He added the cobra’s name was misleading as they are found throughout Southern Africa. In the case of legavaan, it was almost a case of mistaken identity.  “The Rock Church in Sunningdale had its normal service on Sunday and noticed some faeces on the floor. At first they wondered how a hadida got in?

“Later on they noticed a tail sticking out from underneath one of the couches and called me,” he recalled.

Contact Jason Arnold on 082 745 6375.