Snakes south Durban residents are most likely to encounter during snake season

WITH snake season making it more likely for you to bump into all types of slithery creatures who come out of hiding due to the rise in temperature, snake catcher, Nick Evans, warns residents to be vigilant about the different types of snakes they might encounter.

Ranging from highly venomous to non-venomous, Evans, founder of the KwaZulu-Natal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, says while residents living in the Montclair and Yellowwood Park areas are more likely to have an encounter with the likes of black mamba’s or the Mozambican spitting cobra’s, these types of highly venomous snakes are hardly found on the Bluff.

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“Bluff residents should be wary of the highly venomous green mamba, as well as the stiletto snake and the night adder, which are both also venomous. Non-venomous snakes which will also be frequently spotted, include the brown house snake, the spotted bush snake, the Natal green snake, as well as the green water snake.

“Herald snakes are also very common. They have mild venom, but are harmless to people. Residents need to also be mindful of the fact that anti-venom is difficult to get at the moment due to a national shortage. While it is not impossible to find, it is difficult, therefore we do not want to create panic, but we want people to be aware of the shortage. It is a very real crisis,” said Evans.

Arguing the fact that the shortage is felt throughout Africa, Evans said where there are many highly venomous snakes among large populations of people, it is appalling that there is an anti-venom shortage.

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“People need to know that snakes do not want to bite them. We see very few accidental bites in Durban, and most occur when people interfere with the snakes. I often see situations where the snake could easily have bitten someone, but did not. Snake safety for humans is simple. Leave the snake alone. Killing or capturing a snake puts you at a high risk of being bitten. If you need it removed, phone a professional,” said Evans.

“Fortunately, many bites are dry bites, where venom is not injected. I’ve experienced those, where an insignificant amount of venom is injected. The problem is, you do not know how much venom has gone into your body, only time will tell,” said Evans.

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