Three pythons rescued from under M4 highway near La Mercy
The snakes were spotted by construction workers and are believed to be a mating trio.
THREE Southern African Pythons were recently rescued by Jason Arnold from under the M4 Ruth First Highway near La Mercy.
According to the Sunningdale resident, he was called out by workers at a construction site who spotted the three snakes – two male pythons just under 2m long and a larger female python around 3.1m long – basking in the sun.
Recognised as the country’s biggest snake, pythons feed largely on warm-blooded prey, including small antelope, birds and monkeys, to name a few.
Arnold was also joined by fellow snake rescuer Nick Evans on the day to rescue the trio, believed to be a mating trio.
“Construction workers had noticed the three pythons basking in the shrubbery adjacent to the freeway. The snakes obviously became wary seeing people coming too close and slithered into some ground cover right next to the tarred roadway. When I got to where they were last seen, I moved the ground cover and found a hole which led to a hollow cavity under the tarred roadway. It had started raining quite hard when I drove to the site. Visibility was poor, so I decided to return the following day and assess the situation properly.
“When I arrived the following day, it became very apparent that news had spread, and many people who walked by were now aware of the snakes being there. It was mainly due to this – but also due to the fact that the snakes were at very high risk of venturing onto the freeway during the night when they hunted and being hit by cars – that it was decided to remove them and relocate them to a safer area. I and fellow snake handler Nick Evans, along with the help of the construction company and their TLB, undertook the tricky task of excavating two channels, leading to the Pythons’ ‘den’ from both sides. We eventually got them out safely. The female python weighed around 18 kilograms while the two male pythons were 2.6 kilograms and two kilograms respectively,” he said.
Contact Arnold on 082 745 6375 for any snake-related emergencies.
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