Puffy encounter

[Vetseun]

From a group, from a FB page... the eagle has caught a snake!

 

Puffy Cassette.jpg

Shame Poor thing.

[MORNE]

Eagle....

 

That poor snake deserved a nobler death

[Me rida my bicycle]

Eagle....

That poor snake deserved a nobler death

????????????????

[Me rida my bicycle]

From a group, from a FB page... the eagle has caught a snake!

 

Puffy Cassette.jpg

one lucky rider! If it was mine I would have taken the picture of the whole bike and placed it for sale????

[Robbie Stewart]

From a group, from a FB page... the eagle has caught a snake!

 

Puffy Cassette.jpg

 That's a sad and painful end for the snake. It looks like a Berg Adder, not a puffy.

[stefmeister]

 That's a sad and painful end for the snake. It looks like a Berg Adder, not a puffy.

Neither.

Looks like a Western Diamondback rattlesnake.

[NickGM]

Neither.

Looks like a Western Diamondback rattlesnake.

Agreed. Either way though, I kinda wish I hadn't seen that pic.

[dave303e]

Agreed. Either way though, I kinda wish I hadn't seen that pic.

 

+1, so sad to see.

 

Must say regarding dogs vs snakes, I have had a dog actively run 10m to come and nip me while out running on a trail. I have nearly stood on a few snakes including a puffy on my birthday earlier this year. An not one of those snakes tried to bite. All just slid off into the grass to avoid/escape. But most will pet a dog and not many will take the time to even just have a good look at a snake

[Robbie Stewart]

+1, so sad to see.

 

Must say regarding dogs vs snakes, I have had a dog actively run 10m to come and nip me while out running on a trail. I have nearly stood on a few snakes including a puffy on my birthday earlier this year. An not one of those snakes tried to bite. All just slid off into the grass to avoid/escape. But most will pet a dog and not many will take the time to even just have a good look at a snake

 

Yup. People are more accepting of a dog than a snake (for obvious reasons, I know) but I have been bitten by a dog while riding and ended up with a rather large gash in my lower leg. I have seen plenty snakes out and about (puffy's, other adders, cape cobra's, rinkhals, boomslang, skaap steker, other) and not once did a snake try to bite me. In EVERY instance it tried to escape. The only snake that ever tried to bite me was a mole snake I cornered on my neighbour's driveway because my cat was attempting to kill it. I had a broom stick and prevented it from leaving while I waited for a snake catcher to come save it. A snake is more afraid of us than we are of them and they will always try to flee first.

 

Anyone that's interested, watch Dingo Dinkelman on YT. He is a bloke in KZN who has a rather massive collection of snakes, and he goes and saves them from people often. 

 

[Grease_Monkey]

+1, so sad to see.

 

Must say regarding dogs vs snakes, I have had a dog actively run 10m to come and nip me while out running on a trail. I have nearly stood on a few snakes including a puffy on my birthday earlier this year. An not one of those snakes tried to bite. All just slid off into the grass to avoid/escape. But most will pet a dog and not many will take the time to even just have a good look at a snake

 

 

That's coz dogs are cute And nothing happens to me if the dog bites me (except a bit of pain), the snake on the other hand.... chances are it won't bite me, but if it does - eish. 

 

But on a serious note, I take a wide berth around any dog I see when out riding, they are just too unpredictable. In the last 2 years I have had encounters with 3 puffies, and 4 mole snakes / cobras (sure about some, unsure about others - I do not know snakes well enough to tell a mole snake and cobra apart while they cross the trail quickly), and some sort of black snake that slithered into the water at Oak Valley. On all occasions except one the snakes got out of my way much faster than I could get out of their way. The one that did not get out of the way was a cobra that was sunbathing on Helderberg. I just stepped WAAAY back until it decided to get off the trail. On that specific day I actually saw another snake on my way down the trails too - was quite paranoid after that ride because I had spotted another snake crossing the trail the ride before that too making it 3 in 2 rides. That was spring of 2018 though where there were apparently a higher number of snakes than usual out and about. 

 

I am not gonna run away from snakes, but I have a healthy fear of them and will stay well away from them if I spot one. 

[M Hickley]

My recent encounter.

[Bonus]

My recent encounter.

 

Closer than I would have got!

[M Hickley]

Closer than I would have got!

He/She was actually very relaxed, not aggressive at all

[porqui]

He/She was actually very relaxed, not aggressive at all

 

Do you know how stupidly fast these clumsy looking creatures are?

Their strike speed is even more stupid.

[T_Boss]

Spotted two very dead puffys on our ride up the Klien River Valley yesterday, both has been run over by cars sadly.  But this time of the year, snakes really are out in full force on the trails. stay sharp

[Kranswurm]

Do you know how stupidly fast these clumsy looking creatures are?

Their strike speed is even more stupid.

They are cool.