We went for a walk along the Lourens River in Somerset West today. A gentle stroll we thought - until we spotted a huge puffadder about a metre long, curled up next to a tree close to the river bank. It's a very popular area for dog-walking so we warned everyone we saw. The puffadder is an extremely dangerous snake and accounts for more deaths than any other snake in Africa.
To cut a long story short, one of the dog walkers said she was a snake handler and would catch it. By this time it had moved away from the river and into longer grass. She borrowed a walking stick from an elderly gentleman and eventually manoeuvred the puffadder into an unturned rubbish bin and carried it to the river where he swam away with a zig-zagging movement.
So pleased that someone was able to relocate the snake safely. Sadly too many get killed just because a human feels threatened. The Puff adder is not a naturally aggressive snake
