Landfill staff trained to deal with snakes

[Lizard_King]

Landfill staff trained to deal with snakes

November 24 2014 at 03:30pm
By Nontando Mposo

Cape Town - The warm summer months are here which means all types of snakes are out and about hunting for prey and reproducing.

Just two weeks ago, a nearly 2m Cape cobra was spotted soaking up the sun at Hout Bay Beach before taking a dip in the sea.



To help prepare for unexpected encounters like these, staff working at Cape Town’s landfill sites have been trained in snake identification as well as how to deal with a snake bite should they get bitten. A total of 85 staff members have completed the course and a further 57 are to be trained.

Ernest Sonnenberg, mayoral committee member for utility services, said that although some of the employees were reluctant to participate in the snake handling training, they were able to sit in on the identification and first-aid sections. He also said most of the employees were enthusiastic about the two-day training.

Called “Snake Out”, the training covered snake identification and gave staff the necessary first-aid expertise to skillfully manage the situation should they be confronted with a venomous snake.

Being able to tell the difference between a poisonous and a harmless snake will help prevent unnecessary panic as well as assist in preventing potential snake bites.

“Many of the city’s facilities, such as the Coastal Park landfill site, are situated near snake habitats, and the food waste that enters the site can attract snake food sources like rodents… it is very important that we continue to offer programmes such as this one so that our staff members can perform their tasks well, and grow in their careers,” he said.



From the most common harmless snakes to the most dangerous there are about 42 recorded species of snakes in the Western Cape.

According to the SPCA Cape of Good Hope, the harmless snakes include the rhombic egg eater, mole snake, olive house snake and the slug eater. The venomous snakes include the large boomslang, the Cape cobra as well as the thick and heavily built puff adder.

Cape Argus

http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/en ... HRfAhFwot0
http://www.scienceclarified.com/He-In/I ... rates.html
http://citizen.co.za/280036/snake-ident ... ill-staff/

[Ruan Stander]

That's real good, let's just hope they implement it. It's irrelevant really to know what snake you are killing, as I have a feeling that's what many of them will still just do.