Watch: Farmer, citizens react in true SA-fashion as python climbs tree
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a massive snake slithering up a tree on a farm in the North West, and SA is loving the brave camera work.
How would you react if a 4m python climbed a scraggly tree in front of you? Probably with strong language, much like a North West farmer did.
A video posted on Boland Snake Removals 24/7 and Pest Control’s Facebook page shows the huge snake, identified by the page as an African rock python, slithering up a tree. As the python, believed to be pregnant, makes its way up the tree, you can hear branches breaking – and the farmer’s hilarious reaction.
“Liewe donner die ding is dik,” the farmer says in Afrikaans. An approximate translation to English would be “Good heavens, this thing [the python] is thick.”
The farmer wishes to remain anonymous to protect the snake from being killed for muti.
Warning: The following video contains strong language
With over 1,500 comments, the discussion beneath the post offers plenty to entertain:
- Some of the comments make for a good chuckle.
One comment, from Anton Eksteen, posted in Afrikaans but translated into English reads: “If you thought Usain Bolt was the world record holder in the 100m, wait until I spot a [snake] like this… Usain Bolt would look like an amateur.”
While Collen Emeunc offered a traditional brandy as a reward for the farmer’s camera work: “Camera man come fetch Klipis & coke.”
About the climb
How common is it that African rock pythons climb trees? According to a post by Patrick Sherman on Animal Diversity Web, the large-bodied snake mainly stays on the ground, but climbs if the need arises.
“They can swim well and stay submerged for a long time, which is advantageous for avoiding potential threats,” the post adds.