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Posted by W von Papineäu on March 06, 2003 at 06:59:22:
CAPE TIMES (Cape Town, S Africa) 06 March 03 Serpents slither into homes to beat the heat (Borrie La Grange)
Residents in the quiet Boland town of Paarl, Western Cape, have been receiving unwelcome visitors of the reptilian kind - several snakes have been slithering into their homes in the past month.
Paarl's resident snake-catcher, Danie Malherbe, has had to remove more than 15 snakes, most of them poisonous Cape cobras, from homes.
Malherbe, proprietor of a snake park, said the hot, dry weather was causing the snakes to seek quiet, cool, dark shelter and water.
He said a greater awareness of snakes and more conservation-orientated behaviour was leading people to call him to move the snakes instead of killing them.
At the moment Malherbe is the hero of the town with his services very much in demand.
He conceded his job is dangerous.
"Cape cobras are very nervous snakes and tend to strike if they feel threatened," he said.
"You most definitely have to be quicker than the snake, otherwise it's tickets for you
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=14&art_id=vn20030306062409295C107196&set_id=1
SOUTH AFRICA BROADCASTING CORPORATION 06 March 03 Poisonous snakes invade Boland
Snake catchers in the Western Cape's Boland district have their hands full with an infestation of poisonous snakes.
SABC radio news reported on Wednesday that residents in the Paarl and Wellington areas have been hit by an infestation of serpents.
A snake catcher in the area, Danie Malherbe, said the dry summer weather had caused snakes to move down from the mountains in search of shelter and food in low-lying areas.
Malherbe, who claimed to have caught about 30 snakes, said poisonous snakes like the Cape Cobra and Boomslang had been found in people's gardens and in farming areas.
http://iafrica.com/news/sa/215404.htm
