Snake surprise for municipal workers
Local snake catcher Fred Lubbe rushed to the municipal dump site after employees fled their changing room in fear of the intruder which was originally thought to be a snouted cobra
MUNICIPAL workers were in for a Monday morning shock when they were greeted by an Olive grass snake that had snuck into the female changing rooms. Local snake catcher Fred Lubbe rushed to the municipal dump site after employees fled their changing room in fear of the intruder which was originally thought to be a snouted cobra.
Lubbe said the Olive grass snake was not highly venomous but that its bite was extremely painful, albeit not lethal.
He said that at 1.5m in length, this particular snake was the longest Olive grass snake he has ever seen.
‘Snake catchers are wary of this snake because the bite is extremely painful.
‘I was grateful the supervisor called me and that the snake was not harmed.
‘I am also very grateful that none of the staff was bitten.’
The 1.5-metre snake was released at a safe location.
‘The reason I do not disclose the location is because snake poaching is rife. People sell the reptiles for muthi and sometimes they are even exported.’
The Olive grass snake is one of the most frequently encountered snake species in northern KZN and is often mistaken for a black mamba or female boomslang.
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