Snakes in WC Spring Time

[Paul Ruinaard]

But the truth of the matter is like any wild animals they only attack if cornered and are very aware that if they injure themselves then its probably tickets for them. Think of how scary a human is size wise. 

Theres only the mambas which are territorial and then the puffy who is a lazy sh$t and never moves as he is camouflaged. 95% are when you mess with them aka threatened then they defend (bikes, snake wranglers, hikers walkers etc with sticks) or when they are handled.

TBH you are very lucky to see them. Snakes are beautiful creatures as well. Have a look at the complexity of the patterns, camouflage on them and the diversity of strategies they adopt and how they hunt. Like any natural environment they bring balance and are in a particular niche which we screw up. Kill snakes and rodent populations get out of hand etc. Spiders are very similar. Bas PR TBH.

[FootballingCyclist]

5 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

So the list of things not to do anymore is getting longer. There is no more:

Cycling in the trails

Cycling in the road

Going to the beach

Swimming at the beach

Staying at home

Playing cricket

Going to bike parks

Going to the toilets

Getting water from a tap

and according to Samuel L. Jackson, flying is also dangerous

Playing rugby in a team with a dietician.
 

Fixed

[Robbie Stewart]

2 minutes ago, Paul Ruinaard said:

But the truth of the matter is like any wild animals they only attack if cornered and are very aware that if they injure themselves then its probably tickets for them. Think of how scary a human is size wise. 

Theres only the mambas which are territorial and then the puffy who is a lazy sh$t and never moves as he is camouflaged. 95% are when you mess with them aka threatened then they defend (bikes, snake wranglers, hikers walkers etc with sticks) or when they are handled.

TBH you are very lucky to see them. Snakes are beautiful creatures as well. Have a look at the complexity of the patterns, camouflage on them and the diversity of strategies they adopt and how they hunt. Like any natural environment they bring balance and are in a particular niche which we screw up. Kill snakes and rodent populations get out of hand etc. Spiders are very similar. Bas PR TBH.

I spent a weekend with mates at Warmwaterberg Spa some years ago and took my bike along. On the ride out on the gravel road we came across a Berg Adder lying in the road having a bask. I stopped and took some pics. As I wanted to leave, I turned away from my uncleated foot and came crashing down due a loss of balance. 

I ended up landing right next to the flippen snake. I suppose I could say I was lucky not to land on-top of it.

I have never jumped up so fast in my life before. My mate was standing there hosing himself rather than help me up.

The snake had zero cares to give.

[FootballingCyclist]

9 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

So the list of things not to do anymore is getting longer. There is no more:


Staying at home


 

on This, a good friend and riding buddy who lives directly opposite the gate to Rondevlei Sanctuary in Grassy Park forwarded us a VN he received from what I assume is someone in NHW who calmly says "Hi Reyaan, someone has just witnessed a boomslang go into your premises, we have contacted the handlers who will come and search for it and remove it". 

 

Good Luck to them because he has a very decent size yard which is loads of grass and plants and trees 

🤣

[Meezo]

2 minutes ago, FootballingCyclist said:

on This, a good friend and riding buddy who lives directly opposite the gate to Rondevlei Sanctuary in Grassy Park forwarded us a VN he received from what I assume is someone in NHW who calmly says "Hi Reyaan, someone has just witnessed a boomslang go into your premises, we have contacted the handlers who will come and search for it and remove it". 

 

Good Luck to them because he has a very decent size yard which is loads of grass and plants and trees 

🤣

not Reyaan , but HE RAN

[Paul Ruinaard]

I think i posted it somewhere but In a similar vein i was coming down welvanpas and came around a corner to two fat puffies in the path - i fell off trying to avoid them and also did some quick scrambling around to try and ensure i wasn't in their way. They just slithered away and left me to my own devices. Literally vanished as well when they hit the fynbos. Min gepla.

If you see its always the second or third person on the MTB who is the one they are now rearing up in front of (in the case of a cobra). First person has now threatened them or come around a bend and caught them in the open. They cant get away cause theres more so immediately they react in a defensive manner. If you surprise them and are past them they will head in the opposite direction.

[FootballingCyclist]

3 hours ago, FootballingCyclist said:

on This, a good friend and riding buddy who lives directly opposite the gate to Rondevlei Sanctuary in Grassy Park forwarded us a VN he received from what I assume is someone in NHW who calmly says "Hi Reyaan, someone has just witnessed a boomslang go into your premises, we have contacted the handlers who will come and search for it and remove it". 

 

Good Luck to them because he has a very decent size yard which is loads of grass and plants and trees 

🤣

Almost 2m long...

 

Pic take from his balcony when it eventually left the yard, after it dissapeared in the trees... The other from a video he took, shows just how long that nope rope actually was!!! 

[guidodg]

A lady in our cycling group here in Greyton got bitten by a Cape cobra this morning at 11am while cycling with her daughter [that she had in a carrier on the bike] in the forest.

She came round a corner and the cobra hooded and launched itself at the bike to strike and coiled itself around the seatpost.

She dropped the bike and the snake eventually got away...but she was bitten on the ankle.

Made her way to Caledon hospital and I believe they kept her under observation but nothing bad happened as far as I know...news are still a little sketchy but still quite alarming to say the least

[MORNE]

20 minutes ago, guidodg said:

A lady in our cycling group here in Greyton got bitten by a Cape cobra this morning at 11am while cycling with her daughter [that she had in a carrier on the bike] in the forest.

She came round a corner and the cobra hooded and launched itself at the bike to strike and coiled itself around the seatpost.

She dropped the bike and the snake eventually got away...but she was bitten on the ankle.

Made her way to Caledon hospital and I believe they kept her under observation but nothing bad happened as far as I know...news are still a little sketchy but still quite alarming to say the least

Probably a dry bite? Ive heard/read that highly venomous snakes wont always pump you full of snake juice since it takes so much ‘resource’ to produce it in the first place. They use it sparingly.

apparently.

cant help but think if i know it bit me already and it finds itself coiled around me, id probably react in anger and bite it back😅

Edited November 14, 2022 by MORNE

[MORNE]

^Ps: 

“Human bites are often more dangerous than animal bites because the human mouth has more bacteria in it than most animals' mouths. It is very easy for a human bite to become infected”

see…mr snake better watch himself. Ill stop brushing my teeth over weekends as protection too🤣

[babse]

1 hour ago, FootballingCyclist said:

Almost 2m long...

 

Pic take from his balcony when it eventually left the yard, after it dissapeared in the trees... The other from a video he took, shows just how long that nope rope actually was!!! 

Maaaaze poweeez 

[gemmerbal]

Lots of flatties on Bottelary Road from Hazendal onwards and then along the R304 towards Malmesbury. A fresh one almost daily… eeeeeeeeek!

[tubed]

14 hours ago, Paul Ruinaard said:

But the truth of the matter is like any wild animals they only attack if cornered and are very aware that if they injure themselves then its probably tickets for them. Think of how scary a human is size wise. 

Theres only the mambas which are territorial and then the puffy who is a lazy sh$t and never moves as he is camouflaged. 95% are when you mess with them aka threatened then they defend (bikes, snake wranglers, hikers walkers etc with sticks) or when they are handled.

TBH you are very lucky to see them. Snakes are beautiful creatures as well. Have a look at the complexity of the patterns, camouflage on them and the diversity of strategies they adopt and how they hunt. Like any natural environment they bring balance and are in a particular niche which we screw up. Kill snakes and rodent populations get out of hand etc. Spiders are very similar. Bas PR TBH.

Excellent post

[dave303e]

11 hours ago, MORNE said:

Probably a dry bite? Ive heard/read that highly venomous snakes wont always pump you full of snake juice since it takes so much ‘resource’ to produce it in the first place. They use it sparingly.

apparently.

cant help but think if i know it bit me already and it finds itself coiled around me, id probably react in anger and bite it back😅

Comes back to what @Paul Ruinaard said, they are more concerned with getting out alive themselves than with hurting you. It could well have been a dry bite and hopefully it was.

Like the experimentation done on puff adders. Think it was a wits professor ±2012 who would track them down and then 'step on' and tease them with gumboots to try get them to bite. They were very averse to biting and would usually try stay camouflaged or his and move away.

[The Ouzo]

13 hours ago, guidodg said:

o strike and coiled itself around the seatpost.

She dropped the bike and the snake eventually got away...but she was bitten on the ankle.

This bit, ^^^^^

and this bit 

13 hours ago, guidodg said:

her daughter [that she had in a carrier on the bike]

are rather concerning. 

Not sure what I would have done on that situation though.

[Trashy]

51 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

 sure what I would have done on that situation though.

I can tell you EXACTLY what I would have done in that situation:

Advertised a pair of slightly s̶o̶i̶l̶e̶d̶ used cycling pants on the classifieds.