05/09/2025
Dear Friends,
Spring is upon us and with the weather warming up, we are seeing more movement of snakes, other reptiles, and other wildlife. I'm writing to you to graciously remind you of a few things. Please know, we want to assist you with wildlife however, we need you to be realistic about your expectations.
These are some of the things we wish to remind you of:
1. Not EVERY snake (or other wildlife) needs to be removed/relocated. This is NOT good conservation and we should not get in the habit of expecting this. Removing an animal does NOT mean you are wildlife-free forever of whatever it is you do not like. It does not work that way. You should not expect it to work that way. We live in Zululand. We must learn to coexist within reason.
2. I (nor the rest of the team) am NOT employed by the municipality or Ezemvelo. You cannot expect us to come out to just look for a snake that was seen 3 weeks ago. It is not a good use of our time and our other resources (expertise, fuel, training). If you think I ought to be jumping to come look for a snake, please, I kindly ask that you speak to your Ward Councilor who can speak to the municipality about hiring a professional snake handler to be put on payroll - including other necessities like a vehicle, ladder, health insurance, continuing education to improve skills and safety, and continual upgrade of equipment. I will happily apply for the job if the salary is adequate for the service expected.
3. If the snake has gone into a hole or the snake is 4+ meters in a tree, it is NOT an immediate threat to anyone. Snakes don't want to be around people. If they can away from you, that is what they are doing to do. Please do not ask me to come to your place to dig at a hole that we have no idea how deep or how many chambers it may have. This is not a good use of our time. Please do not expect me to climb a 4m+ tree for a snake that is threatening NO one. Snakes do not attack. Give it space and time to move on. It will. None of us can levitate and we don't have a cherry picker at the ready (again, we don't work for the municipality).
4. We cannot track a snake. You need to try and get a photo to send to us and watch the snake until we arrive. Even when all this happens correctly, sometimes we just cannot catch it. This is why we are protective of our resources since we are not employed by the municipality or Ezemvelo and we need to ensure we have the best possible chance of securing that snake (or animal).
Please be kind and realistic. If we tell you it's not possible to get the snake or track or whatever - or that the chances are incredibly slim, it's because we've been at this for a long time and know what the chances are of success. And there have been more than a few times that I have been stiffed on donations for my time, expertise, and fuel. Yes, I have been promised a donation for coming out to catch a snake and not received a donation. Even when I've caught the snake - some people still believe that my time, fuel, expertise is not worthy of donation. I have to protect myself and my team from that.
If you have questions, concerns about snakes, reptiles, bats, or other wildlife, or want to rant to me about the realities of what we do, please feel free to WhatsApp me on 076 614 0186. Thank you for reading and I truly hope you understand the realities we face. Below are some tips to help us improve chances of successful snake catches. And - to drive the point home - we are NOT employed by the municipality or Ezemvelo.
