BY: Warren K. Dick
WITH it being Spring and Summer soon, the reptiles and insects are going to be more prolific again.
Having discussed the spotted bush snake in a previous article, I thought I would introduce the second most common seen snakes in gardens in the Durban area, the herald snake.
The herald snake is also known as the red-lipped herald, or the red lipped snake, however most specimens found in the Durban South area do not have any colour on their top lip.
The herald snake averages around 70cm in length, with a maximum length of one metre. Their main diet is frogs and toads, which makes this snake very useful to keep around in the garden to help control the frog numbers.
When threatened these snakes put on quite a show, flattening their head (almost like that of a cobra), hissing and striking out viciously. However, other than striking fear into the heart of a possible enemy, these snakes are completely harmless to humans and pets. While they do have fangs and venom, their venom only affects frogs and toads. Some people claim to get a headache from this snake’s bite, but most snake catchers will attest to this being in one’s imagination. I have been bitten by these snakes before and never experienced any adverse effects.
Sadly many of these snakes are misidentified by people as being black mambas, cobras or even night adders and subsequently killed without mercy.
However the herald snake is easy to quickly identify if you know what to look for. While the body of this snake is grey/brown, similar to that of a black mamba, the colour of the head is what quickly tells this snake apart. The herald snake has a distinctly darker (often black) head when compared to the rest of its body. Very often the herald snake also has white speckles on the body and a pearl white underbelly.
This should help you to tell the difference between a harmless herald and a deadly black mamba the next time you encounter a grey snake in your garden.
Snakes were not created for us to fear, however they play a vital role in the food chain. Without them we would be over-run by genuine pests. No snake, venomous or not, ever deserves to die. If you see a snake in your garden, do not kill or touch it unless you know exactly what it is. In most cases it is sufficient just to leave them in the garden where they belong. However if you would like to have a snake that you have seen identified or removed (a small call-out fee to cover petrol may apply), Whatsapp pictures to me or call me on 072-211-0353.
