Durban — An Eastern Cape snake catcher made a nine-hour journey to rescue three highly venomous rinkhals from a home.
Neville Ganes said that he recently travelled a total of 574km from King Williams Town to Elliot.
He said that he made the journey because someone needed help, the family has children and dogs and he did not want anyone to get hurt.
Ganes said the closest snake catcher to Elliot was not going to be able to get to the family sooner.
In the past, he made an even longer journey to Sterkspruit for a Cape cobra that had taken out three sheep and a cow. The journey was about 12 hours.
In the rinkhals rescue, Ganes said that Marlene Vonita Ewers’s family had seen three rinkhals basking in the sun and disappearing underneath concrete slabs when disturbed.
Ganes said that when he got to the home, Ewers’s daughter showed him where they last saw the snakes, under the concrete slabs.
“I had two people assisting me. With an endoscope camera and torch, and from a safe distance, I checked under the slabs, knowing they were far from me,” Ganes said about laying on the ground and looking underneath the slabs for the snakes.
“We located the snakes under the concrete using a camera, and with the help of two brave gentlemen, they managed to lift the concrete slabs high enough, allowing me to safely remove the snakes.
“Two snakes were rescued from under one slab and the other two were rescued from under a second slab,” he said.
Ganes said that all the snakes were very healthy, except for one which had superficial scarring following a confrontation with the dog.
He said the snakes were one female and two males.
Ganes said he conducted the rescue for free, but Ewers had offered to cover petrol costs which were more than R1 000 and Ganes covered some of it.
“Thank you to Marlene Vonita Ewers for the call-out and for covering the fuel costs for me to travel a total of 574 km to save the snakes. Thank you to Darrel Cloete for your assistance,” Ganes said.
He said the three rinkhals were not the highest number of snakes he had rescued at one location.
In King Williams Town he rescued five centipede eaters which are mildly venomous but caused no threat to humans.
Ganes said that the snakes were released onto a private farm with the owner’s permission.
Ganes added that when threatened, the rinkhals spreads its hood, showing its distinctive, striped neck. It is a spitting snake and can spray its venom up to thre metres away. When confronting humans, it accurately aims its venom at the eyes. It is also known to fake death by rolling onto its back with its mouth agape.
Daily News