Snakes on a trail

[canadonis]

We have been having awesome weather in Cape Town for the last week and with that many walkers runners and cyclists trying to work away their Christmas pudding. I had the same idea and hit the Devil Peak to the Kings block house halfway up while strggling and cursing for having that 2nd helping of pudding; I don't know wht made me look more intensely at wht I initially thought was branch lying into trail turned out to be the biggest Puffadder I'd seen in my life. At that point I had lots of 'what ifs' as I was alone got me thinking ' Has there been many hubbers encounters with snakes? I understand we invading their terrain for our pleasure. Can we do anything to increase our survival chances in the unlikely event of a Snake bite incidence. Unfortunately no phone to take pics.

 

I would be interested in the general hubbers views, am I being paranoid bec of my encounter.

[Skylark]

Anyway ride over or very near a snake and had them strike at your leg or tyre?

[BrandonF_]

Check out the Tygerberg Mountain bike clubs website, there's a snake guru's take on snakes on our trails and what to do, also an emergency number to contact should you get wacked.

 

And yes, four Cape Cobra encounters for me over December, two right under my left leg on single track and my wife got a buckled head ready to strike cobra encounter at the Koeberg Nature reserve

Edited January 18, 2014 by BrandonF

[johannrissik]

@Skylark: I had a puffie strike (and hit) my front tyre twice in quick succession outside Windhoek......all he got was a mouthful of Stans

 

Also know a guy who was actually bitten by a Cape cobra that he unintentionally ran over on his bike. There were two sets of bite marks, but no symptoms, so there can't have been any envenomation. (It all happened too fast)

 

Keep your eyes open and give the snakes a gap to get away.

[Cippo]

Best to do if you get bitten by a snake while riding stop where you are and call for help, if you not at a point you know well move to the nearest place you can direct emergency service. Hopefully you have reception. If you are on the mountain call the 'goverment ambulance service' at 10177 or 107, or call Sanparks. Most likely your cell provider will redirect call to them first. I would suggest in western Cape not to call a private ambulance service as most likely they will first try and get to you on mountain and then realise they can't reach you and then only call for rescue helicopter or rescue services, time wasted which you don't want. You wanna get to the hospital asap. Sucking on bites and cutting open ai'nt gonna help. Puffadder's venom is cytotoxic so damage will mainly be local at bite site leading to tissue damage. Your limb will swell up quickly and in hospital you might need a circumferential inscision to relieve pressure if its completely swollen cutting off circulation. Hope this helps.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Cippo

[Cuppa Bru]

Damnit, I knew there had to be some kind of drawback to moving to CT...

 

Here is the TygerbergMTB Club link: http://www.tygerbergmtb.co.za/flora-fauna/snakes.html

According to the article snakes aren't out to kill us. The poisonous ones will give you enough warning and not all of the snakes are poisonous. For instance one of the most common snakes there is a harmless brown molesnake which grows up to 1.5m long.

[BrandonF_]

@Skylark: I had a puffie strike (and hit) my front tyre twice in quick succession outside Windhoek......all he got was a mouthful of Stans

 

Also know a guy who was actually bitten by a Cape cobra that he unintentionally ran over on his bike. There were two sets of bite marks, but no symptoms, so there can't have been any envenomation. (It all happened too fast)

 

Keep your eyes open and give the snakes a gap to get away.

 

If it was an adult Cape Cobra, it, fortunately for him, gave a dry bite, adults can control their release of venom, where juvenile Cobra inject whatever they have stored

[Cippo]

 

 

If it was an adult Cape Cobra, it, fortunately for him, gave a dry bite, adults can control their release of venom, where juvenile Cobra inject whatever they have stored

 

Sounds like most juveniles injecting anything they can.

[johannrissik]

If it was an adult Cape Cobra, it, fortunately for him, gave a dry bite, adults can control their release of venom, where juvenile Cobra inject whatever they have stored

Yip, unfortunately bikes are fast-moving and we tend come upon the snakes too quickly for them to get out of the way.

[BrandonF_]

 

 

Sounds like most juveniles injecting anything they can.

 

Haha!

[BrandonF_]

 

Yip, unfortunately bikes are fast-moving and we tend come upon the snakes too quickly for them to get out of the way.

 

Guys in CT developing great bunny hopping skills to avoid being bitten as well, go youtube "Contermans Cape Cobra", crazy.

 

Here's the link:

Edited January 18, 2014 by BrandonF

[DJR]

Guys in CT developing great bunny hopping skills to avoid being bitten as well, go youtube "Contermans Cape Cobra", crazy.

 

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVQ_GQpijcY&feature=youtu.be

 

I would have made a lot more bleeps!

[(Deon)]

I would have made a lot more bleeps!

 

..you have in the past.

[NicoBoshoff]

I heard someone asked their doctor what they should do if they got bitten on their Fish River Canyon hike. Apparently he said they should go and sit down next to their friends so that they at least don't die alone.

[Icycling]

Been a roadie - I say just do what Darren Lil does!!!

 

[Icycling]