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snSakes&myths
nakes have suffered from bad press – Adam and Eve, the snake and the apple, the evil serpent that must have its head crushed and so it goes. Their weird limbless appearance, secretive nature and the fact that some snakes possess venom capable
of inflicting serious injury or even death add to their woes.
It was thought that our fear of snakes stemmed from nurture more than nature, that
humans (and primates for that matter) are hard-wired to easily be taught how dangerous snakes are and that they should be avoided at all cost. Even a frivolous comment by a parent or aunt, while still in your infancy, may well have been enough to instil an unrealistic fear of snakes. But recent studies have shown that there is also a genetic component and that we may in fact be born with a fear of snakes. Having been involved with snakes for more than 35 years and doing talks, lectures and training to hundreds of thousands of people, it is evident that our fear of snakes has a lot to do with a lack of knowledge. I have had several people with an absolute phobia of snakes attend one of my snake awareness programmes, with some of them so terrified that halfway to the venue they turn around and go home. But when they eventually make it to the programme, they have an amazing change of attitude after three hours of learning more about these fascinating creatures. I am not saying that they lose their fear, but they certainly see snakes through different eyes and have a far better understanding of how snakes function.
Despite popular belief, snakes are not aggressive and do not chase after people. Snakebite statistics back this up as do the number of fatal bites in South Africa every year. In South Africa we have around a dozen fatal snakebites a year – quite surprising as potentially deadly snakes are abundant in some areas, often very close to human activity. I have captured six Black Mambas in one morning walking along a cliff face that is about 600m long. People often find this difficult to believe but if you are 5 – 6m away from any snake, in any situation, you are perfectly safe. Even if you are moving about – there is no snake that will approach from that distance and attack you. Not even a Black Mamba. Very few people get bitten by the Black Mamba, which is fortunate as it has a very potent nerve venom that may affect breathing within half an hour. Black Mamba victims need to be hospitalised urgently and are often treated successfully with antivenom.
Generally speaking we have a poor understanding of first aid for snakebite and the myths and misinformation confuse the issue. Bad advice
is easily obtainable, especially on social media.
There are no traditional medicines that can
help snakebites. I once spoke to a 100-year-old Bushman in the Central Kalahari in Botswana and
asked him how they treat snakebite. According to him they send someone to a pharmacy to purchase Condy’s crystals, they then mix it up with water and get
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