It is once again the time of year to expect the re-emergence of snakes in Zululand, with the summer nearly upon us.
Having aestivated for the past months, sporadic hot days like last Sunday can bring them out in numbers.
While most snakes can last for months without food, they are particularly active after a long rest and this is when they most often encounter humans or their pets.
Snake fossils date from about 80 million years ago and they rank among the most successful of animals.
There are an estimated 2 500 living species in 417 genera and 11 families.
They are found in most of the temperate and tropical parts of the world. Little is known of their habits and lifestyles and they are universally feared by man, unfortunately resulting in their being killed on sight.
Snakes have backbones with up to 440 vertebrae, flexibly linked, which keep their bodies in shape and help them with locomotion. In some species there are vestiges of hind limbs. Some snakes can shake off their tails, but lack the ability to regenerate new tails.
All snakes are carnivorous and many of them are specialists in seeking and eating their prey, like the egg-eaters for instance.
They immobilise their prey by constricting it – the pythons and mole snakes – or they inject toxins with hollowed out, tube-like fangs – the adders and mambas.
Others simply engage the prey with jaws and teeth and swallow it alive and whole.
One of the greatest gifts any parent in this country can give his or her child is to make it aware that not all snakes are venomous and they need not be feared.
Even venomous snakes can be beneficial. There are 130 species of snakes in our country, with many of the venomous snakes injecting toxins less dangerous than that of bees and wasps.
Even though it is non-venomous, the python has killed people in Africa by constriction.
In South Africa about 16 000 individuals are murdered by other people every year, thousands die in road accidents, thousands as a result of voluntary inhalation of burning, toxic tobacco, scores more from drug abuse, hundreds from ignorance about how and where lightning strikes, and fewer than 30 from snakebite.
Serving as a prime example of the ignorance of humans about the economic benefits of indigenous snakes, we have Thailand which over years exported untold millions of its ‘medicinal’ snakes to China, Vietnam and Korea – also great purchasers of rhino horn.
With the decline in Thailand’s snakes, agriculture collapsed with rodents destroying about 500 000 hectares of rice fields. The snake exporting trade made a handful of people very rich, but caused starvation among the masses.
In our country snakes destroy dassies and cane rats which cause huge problems in farmlands and cane fields.
If you encounter snakes, like the cobras and vipers, and you have sufficient warning, back off and let them slither away.
They fear you more than you fear them.
