Snake demo at an institution for the mentally challenged

Gary went on to tell a few tales of how and where they rescue snakes. Sadly it's man who causes the biggest habitat destruction by building houses, roads etc. Snake Getters are running out of places to release rescued venomous snakes, especially the Cape cobra.

Apparently 100 000 or more snakes are killed each year in South Africa with only 3-5 people being killed by snakes, as opposed to at least 11 616 fatal road accidents last year.

The next snake was smaller and thinner than Idiot, an Aurora house snake. This snake is non venomous but is a constrictor, feeding on lizards and mice, growing to between 50-80cm with a longitudinal stripe or patterned body.

The next specimen was a 1.2m mole snake. The markings of these snakes can range from salt and pepper speckled to black spots on green, brown or silvery black but the most significant identifying feature is the arrow-pointed head, apparently so that the snake can burrow. Mole snakes are common and are aggressive and will hiss, but they aren't poisonous (venomous), but they will bite, particularly in sandy flats. Of interest is that they aren't territorial and therefore won't build nests.

The boomslang is bright yellow on top and black underneath, has large eyes and is very fast. It's rear fanged and its venom is a very potent haemotoxin, destroying arteries in humans and taking approximately 48 hours to kill an adult.

Good news is that it's a docile snake and is an uncommon cause of deaths because it is an elusive creature and quick to move away.

As with sharks, snakes have received bad press over the years and contrary to what many people believe, a snake is more likely to get out of the way of a human being and will not confront or chase after them. Although each species of snake has a method of killing prey, the temperament will change from one snake to another, as with human beings.

The next snake was a puff adder with a large head and its cheeks filled with cytotoxic venom, its skin rough and keeled in order to grip rocks. With Tracy's help Gary inserted a pen into the snakes mouth and showed the 2.5cm retractable fangs. This snake is the cause of 10 000-15 000 deaths on the African continent per year. If bitten by a puff adder, the bite is not necessarily fatal and may only necessitate the amputation of a limb. The venom spreads rapidly through the body and apparently the pain is indescribable. The puff adder is named because it puffs when annoyed. Its short fat body is pure muscle, like a taught elastic band, the strongest snake. Apparently when a puff adder sheds its skin, the snake goes blue, even its eye caps.

Gary proclaimed that the Cape cobra is the finest example of fauna in the Western Cape and described it as death-on-wheels. It's a very nervous snake and feeling a vibration, will strike spitting neurotoxin with uncanny accuracy, causing a slight sting, swelling and necrosis around the bite, this in turn causes paralysis of the heart and lungs and eventually death approximately 30-min after the bite.

The Cape cobra has a flat head and fat cheeks (full of neurotoxic venom), and can range in colour but is often gold. It has small fangs at the front of the mouth and will make a double puncture wound. It will strike without warning and signs of attack are tingling of the lips and toes. These snakes are highly intelligent.

Treatment: Apparently doctors spend approximately 15-min of their six-year medical studies on snakes and the treatment thereof. It is therefore important for us, as hikers, to be able to identify snakes and to know the protocol for treatment.

Forget about suction devices or tourniquets. Most bites will be to a hand or foot and come from a cobra or puff adder, these snakes use 10 times the venom they need to use for a kill. Use a pressure bandage on the bitten limb, not tight as though for a sprain, maybe even a splint. Keep the limb below the heart. It's important to keep the person calm and to get them to hospital as soon as possible, preferably by carrying them.

The venom passes through the lymph system.

Tip: Apparently snakes don't like Jik or ammonia so a strip of these should deter them from entering your property. When you come across a log blocking your path, step onto it not over it. Logs are favourite places for puff adders to rest.

If you see a snake, leave it alone and he will leave you alone. Move away in the opposite direction.

'The idea behind Snakegetters was to pull together snake catchers from all areas'