Puff adder killed by Luthuli Park learners outside school yard

POLOKWANE – The DA in Polokwane has written to the municipal manager Thuso Nemagumoni seeking the waste and environment department to urgently attend to the grass cutting and pest control management in and around Seshego.

Last week, a highly venomous puff adder was killed by learners outside Luthuli Park Combined School.

DA councillor Tiny Chidi says numerous complaints have been received from concerned parents over the frequent sighting of snakes in and around schools in the area.

“It is a major concern that the Polokwane Municipality’s waste and environment department that has hired 2000 EPWP workers, is unable to clean public areas and maintain grass cutting. This has left many areas near schools and other public areas being overgrown with unkempt grass,” she said.

The species is named for its tendency to inflate its body with air and hiss loudly when threatened, in order to discourage predators from attacking it.

If bitten, the unpredictable puff adder’s venom rarely causes death, but it can cause blistering, pain, and tissue damage which could result in loss of limbs.

Its venom is relatively slow acting and thus, death stemming from a puff adder bite is likely influenced by other factors, including infection at the site of the bite.

“It is important to ensure that residents of Polokwane, and more importantly learners, are afforded their constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being and to have the environment protected. If one of the learners were to be bitten by a snake, the Polokwane Municipality would take the blame for their negligence in the environmental cleanup that is needed outside public schools. We urge the municipality to take immediate action to address the overgrown areas,” Chidi’s statement read.

It is unknown whether there were any injuries as a result of the snake’s presence near the school.