Snakes in WC Spring Time

[Meezo]

My puffy close call from 2 years ago at Jonkershoek Firehut Trail, it hissed like a m*tha*f*cka... 

Screengrab from gopro 

[Paul Ruinaard]

FWIW I always have liked snakes. As a lighty we caught many around the local dams in Darrenwood area, also got bitten by a Red Lipped Herald or two.

On welvanpas i literally came around a bend to almost go over two massive puffies lying in the path. Not sure if they weren't pro-creating. Anyway i crashed and fell trying to avoid them which also wasn't the brightest move. By the time my brother got there and i got the phone out they had slithered in to the bush and were not to be seen. I still can remember the speed i stood up from the fall, as you say they are not slow when angered.

Lots of snakes up Bains Kloof and Wellington area.

[dave303e]

Honestly, Puff adders are dangerous because you don't see them. They are really really invisible if they have settled into a spot to hunt. Basking in the open they are easier to spot, like on the road in the video, but on a small trail when they are waiting for a small mammal to channel through, good luck spotting them. There have been studies and checks where they reckon that a mature snake hunting will let you step on it and it will not strike. I am not going to test the theory, but I do think it may be true. I nearly stepped on one while running near loskop dam. I stopped 2 steps later to turn and examine it, the thing was so relaxed and calm it kind of ambled away without a care in the world.

A lot of the stats around them being the most deadly snake in Africa are also skewed because they are so widely distributed and common. 

Other than that if you spot them early enough they are one of the easier snakes to deal with IMO. They are short buggers and while they strike fast they don't have a huge strike radius, so you don't need to get that far away from them to be fairly safe. If you have a good eye on the path you will have enough time to react and give it enough space for both of you to be very safe.

We moved one out the garden the other day. The dogs found it and were about to pack it(working terriers not pets) when we heard the hiss and reacted. But really they are fairly easy to handle, use a pole hook to pop it into a big drum, poured it out the drum down by the railway where the cable thieves like stripping cable. 

 

[Grease_Monkey]

Definitely snake season - in the last 2 weeks we (big group so chances of spotting them are higher) have seen 3 puffies in Lourensford (2 in the trail, 1 in the water canal next to the trail), and a mate rode straight over a big mother of a puffy while speaking to me climbing up Helderberg. I think he soiled his pants when he saw it. Puffy didn't seem to rushed to get off the trail either....

[DJR]

21 minutes ago, dave303e said:

.................., poured it out the drum down by the railway where the cable thieves like stripping cable. 

 

👍You interested in becoming our minister of police? I'll vote for you!

[Rowl]

We've moved to the WC very recently and I'm having some doubts😵😆

[dave303e]

6 minutes ago, Roul said:

We've moved to the WC very recently and I'm having some doubts😵😆

Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand, Greenland and Antarctica... your choices are slim to avoid snakes.

[ALBERT MICHAEL]

Should this thread be merged with 'Cape Town Danger Areas'?

 

[NickGM]

1 hour ago, tinmug said:

I've been told a puff adder will strike a balloon twice before you see it pop. And that by an experienced snake handler that will handle anything by hand, except a puffy, then the tongs are used. 

 

They have a really quick strike but that quote is up there with Muhammed Ali saying that he's so fast he can turn the lights off and be in his bed before it gets dark.

[Brawler]

I'm a snake magnet. I think I just spot them and others ride on past...

I love them but also extremely scared of them. Get the shivers riding in tight trails with poor visibility. At least on a bike I feel slightly safer. I could never trail run for this reason.

Some places seems worse than others. Basically every time I ride upper g spot I see a moerse puffy.  Probably why I ride so much more in winter 😄

 

[Trashy]

I encountered two puffy's mating at Boschendal a few months back. I noped out of there very quickly.

Also see a lot of snakes at Plaisir. Big Cobra and a puffy on my last ride there.

Might use adult diapers instead of cycling shorts from now on.

[Eddy Gordo]

You guys should google what what the puffy poison does to your soft tissue and muscle. Rather extremely alarming. I think there is a thread on 4x4 community with pics with the different effects of poison from diff snakes.

[Newbie321]

 

Rode past another one a few turns later, this was darker and looked more menacing with it's tongue out

Edited November 3, 2022 by Newbie321

[Shebeen]

me: we should really clear up that pile of dead branches at the bottom of the garden

walk passed the shed, do a world record standing long jump.

 

 

phone the local snake guy, money well spent!

not touching the wood pile for a bit now!

 

(this was early september - location: fish hoek)

 

[MORNE]

13 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

me: we should really clear up that pile of dead branches at the bottom of the garden

walk passed the shed, do a world record standing long jump.

 

 

phone the local snake guy, money well spent!

not touching the wood pile for a bit now!

 

(this was early september - location: fish hoek)

 

[Robbie Stewart]

15 hours ago, Newbie321 said:

 

Rode past another one a few turns later, this was darker and looked more menacing with it's tongue out

Bloemendal is famous for its cobra and mole snake population. The problem is that from this range you are hard pressed to tell the difference. The one has a bite worse than Amber Heard and the other is pretty much as potent as a black mamba.

Unless your bunny hop skill is at the Rampage level rather slow down and stop and wait for them to move on. 

But if you were wondering why it's a bad idea to go bundu-bashing about off-piste at Bloemendal, now you know why.