Snakes beware: ‘Fearless Fred’ isss back

Intrepid snake catcher ‘Fearless’ Fred Lubbe (78) has returned to the city after two years in Underberg, and is already back to catching highly venomous snakes.

He moved to Underberg following the death of his wife, who passed just days before their 50th wedding anniversary in 2020.

ALSO READ: ‘Fearless’ Fred contradicts snake misconceptions

“The loneliness struck while living in the mountains,” said Fred. “I missed my family, my grandkids – and proper snakes.”

Fred lived on a farm outside Empangeni for over 30 years and has loved snakes for more than 60.

From the age of 16, he kept them as pets, but stopped once he became a father, continuing instead as a snake catcher.

“I’m absolutely passionate about snakes – keeping them alive and not being killed.”

While Underberg offered fresh air, it had only rinkhals, which Fred jokingly calls ‘rubber snakes’.

“They were just too easy for me after the mambas and cobras I was used to!” he joked.

Back in action

This past weekend, Fred and Bay snake catcher Peter ‘Daring’ Daniel teamed up and caught a 1.7m male boomslang in a rural village near Tronox Empangeni.

“There were kids around and it was very dangerous,” he said, adding that the snake slid into a bush near a compound of six houses.

ALSO READ: Freefalling Fearless Fred nabs mamba

After Peter chopped away the bush, Fred got out his tongs and successfully made the catch.

Fred also removed a 1m Mozambique spitting cobra from a guard room storing chicken feed in the Ntambanana area.

They requested the caller close all windows and doors until Peter and Fred could make the trip.

“Chicken feed attracts rats and mice – and that attracts snakes. Mfezi bites are common. They just want warmth. People often get bitten when rolling over in bed,” said Fred.

He advises keeping properties clean to avoid snakes, saying, “When people store rubble, it brings lizards and mice – which attract snakes.”

Peter said it’s great to have Fred back, because of the high demand.

“Sometimes I get 3 to 4 calls at once. If I’m doing a snake call and I get another one, I can pass it on to Fred,” said Peter.

Fred is thrilled to be back in action, adding, “A big shout-out to Peter ‘Daring’ Daniel – he’s welcoming me back by giving me calls so I can start catching real snakes again!”

With snake hatchlings emerging from late January through mid-April, the two snake catchers have warned the community that there is a spate of snake sightings because the eggs are hatching.

For snake removals in Empangeni, Richards Bay and surrounding areas, contact ‘Fearless’ Fred Lubbe on
066 2433377 or Peter ‘Daring’ Daniel on 076 0516420.

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