Durban snake catcher Nick Evans and two of his friends came across a couple of pythons but Evans said the best sighting was a 2.8m specimen.
Evans said this Wednesday was a busy but cracking day of research for him.
“My favourite kind of days. I find such days as exciting as a day of snake rescues. Learning more about one’s study animal, collecting data, getting results, is more fun than it may sound,” Evans said.
He said two friends assisted him on his southern African python monitoring project at an undisclosed location.
“We came across a couple of pythons, but the best sighting of the lot was this 2.8m± specimen,” Evans said.
“As you can see, it was enjoying the sun, which was giving the snake the energy needed to digest its meal.”
“If I had to guess the meal, I'd say large cane rat. They’re very active where this python was,” Evans explained.
He said that it would likely be the snake’s last meal until after winter.
“It was a very relaxed individual, which we moved away from quickly,” Evans said.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, a southern African python that was rescued in Durban last month found a new home at a game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal on World Earth Day.
The Babanango Game Reserve said it was World Earth Day and what better way to celebrate than to introduce a new member to the Babanango family.
Our reserve is a conservation area for all, even a 23.95kg southern African python, the reserve said.
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After a difficult rescue, Evans managed to safely rescue a southern African python weighing 23.95kg from a tricky spot at a home in Clare Estate.
Evans said that while it was a difficult rescue that didn’t go to plan, they managed, with the snake safe, and it would not have been possible without those who were present. A great team effort.
The reserve said that as one of Africa's largest snakes, the southern African python plays an important role in the ecosystem and with it being classified as threatened, we are privileged to be able to offer this species a wild space to thrive in.
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