22 August 2012 | Nicolene Smalman
BERG-EN-DAL - Two huge pythons which were caught at Schagen earlier this month were relocated to the Kruger National Park this weekend.
Mr Christoff Neuhoff of the farm Rietfontein discovered the snakes together in the middle of a farm road between citrus orchards on August 2. Gert Bensch, a committee member of the Lowveld Herpetological Association (LHA) was called to capture the reptiles.
The larger of the two snakes had been seen in the area before and the farm labourers insisted that the snakes be removed or killed. Fearing for the wellbeing of the pythons - which is a protected species - Neuhoff called Bensch to remove and relocate the snakes.
The larger snake turned out to be a female of 3,88 metres which weighed 35,9 kg. The smaller male "was only" 2,83 metres long and weighed 10,2kg.
Chris Hobkirk, chairman of the LHA, with the assistance of Daniel Louw, who is the LHA member responsible for relocation in the Malalane area, arranged for the snakes to be released in a suitable habitat in the KNP. They were subsequently released together in the Berg-en-dal area on Saturday.
Hobkirk shared the followoing interesting facts about pythons:
• A snake that size is capable of swallowing a human, however is very unlikely to do so. Humans are seen and smelt as a very dangerous threat to a snake. The bigger the snake the wiser it has become during its almost 30 years of life, therefore knowing the danger a human can be. There are recorded cases of pythons biting and trying to strangle small children collecting water along river banks, obviously mistaken for a prey item. This is however very exceptional and not the rule.
• Python mothers do have a type of parental care. They lay the clutch of between 20-80 eggs in a tight ball and wrap her body coils around the eggs to maintain temperature and protect the developing youngsters. She will exit the burrow, bask in the sun to increase her body temperature and return to the nest transferring the heat to the eggs. During this three to four month incubation of the eggs she will not eat or even drink water. Once the babies hatch they all go on their own way after a few days and remain independent for the rest of their lives.
• You as a private citizen need a special permit to keep such a snake in captivity from the local parks board, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), as well as the Department of Environmental Affairs. The MTPA permit is required for any indigenous reptile you might want to keep in captivity.
