Today I would like to share a bit about my passion for snakes and other reptiles.
Yes, believe it or not snakes were also created by God for a particular plan and purpose. Unfortunately thanks to the Old Testament, snakes have gotten a bad wrap and so been feared by most people. However if you take the time to learn a little about these creatures, you soon learn that there is nothing to be afraid of.
First of all, there are about 170 different snake species in South Africa, more than half of them are technically known to be venomous, but only 14 species are considered to be potentially deadly.
Harmless snakes like this Herald are often indiscriminately killed, because it looks something like a Black Mamba. The Herald is one of the most common snakes found in our gardens, and although it does carry venom, it is completely harmless to man. These snakes often put on quite a show when cornered, raising and flattening the head, hissing and striking out viciously. In our area these snakes are uniform grey in colour, with a much darker, even black head. I have never found one here that has red or orange lips, usually the lips are white, grey/brown in colour. Juveniles and even some adults have white spots on the body. These nocturnal snakes feed on frogs and toads, as well as small lizards, such as geckos. They are actually very useful to keep around to help control the toad population.
A little bit of useless information, do you know how the Herald got it’s common name? Well this snake was first described to people in the Herald news paper some years back.
I will speak about more of the common snake species found in our area in the coming weeks.
Now with summer coming the chances of coming across a snake becomes a lot more likely, and I am already receiving calls from folks to remove them from there homes and gardens. If you come across a snake in your garden or your house, please do not attempt to catch it yourself unless you are 100% sure that you know what you are dealing with. And please don’t kill them, rather contact an expert like myself to safely remove and relocate them.
Please feel free to visit my Photography page for more pictures of God’s amazing little creatures found in and around the Bluff: www.facebook.com/WkDickPhotography
God Bless
Warren K Dick
