Duo bring feminine touch to snake-handling
The women are now well equipped with skills.
As the weather heats up, snakes become more active.
The City of Ekurhuleni has increased its snake-handling staff compliment to enhance community safety and conservation of the creatures.
Mapaseka Maleka and Mbali Masango are both from Daveyton and share a passion for environment conservation, including snake-handling.
Having undergone an intense snake-handling course at the African Snakebite Institute, the women are now well equipped with skills including first aid for snakebites and venomous snake-handling techniques.
According to Mapaseka it took guts and bravery for her to develop a passion to handle snakes, given that it is a field perceived to be only for men.
READ: Snake season is upon us
“I used to see my male colleagues responding to calls from members of the community to come assist them with snakes in their houses and I would see how terrified some people get by just looking at a snake,” she said.
“That was when my passion to assist others grew.
“More importantly, I wanted to assist with first aid to those who were bitten.”
Ekurhuleni is home to the brown house snake, among others, known to frequent human dwellings where it feeds on rodents or lizards.
It is completely harmless and relies on muscle power to constrict its prey.
This snake is active at night and is relatively slow moving.
ALSO READ: Snake finds chameleon on the road
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