IF YOU sssspot a snake at home and you’re not sure what to do, the team of the popular TV show Snakes in the City are in town and ready to help – for free.
As the days grows warmer, with regular downpours, snakes are out foraging for food.
Snakes in the City stars Simon Keyes and Siouxsie Gillett, who are back in Durban to respond to calls to rescue, remove and relocate snakes. They are currently filming the next season of the National Geographic Wild’s internationally-acclaimed reality series.
After 10 months in the UK, where the couple are based, they said that with their passion for snakes and reptiles, it was always a delight to be out helping to rescue and relocate them.
“Every day presents us with new adventures and challenges as we go about doing what we love and landing up in some unbelievably strange positions and in unlikely places to find our slithery friends. Most of all, we love educating people and changing their attitudes about snakes; showing that they play an important role in the environment. We hope we are saving the reptile population one snake at a time,” they said.
Ashleigh Lokan, 33, from Novers Farm near Tugela, lives with her husband and mother-in-law. The family appeared on the show last season when they called the team out to help with a black mamba that was more than 2m long.
“It was just a normal evening and it was getting dark so we went to put the light on in our dining-room area. There is also a small pantry near there. When my husband went to switch the light on, he took a step back and said he thought there was either a snake or a stick on the floor. When he went closer, he realised it was a snake but at the time we didn't realise what type of snake it was.
“He called us and we went over. We moved a few chairs that were stacked there. It was then that we realised it was a black mamba. My husband said it was a dangerous snake. We first called somebody else to remove the snake but that person was not available and they connected us with Simon and Siouxsie and they came over.”
Lokan said the team arrived at around 7pm and only left at around 9.30pm.
“The snake was wiggling all over. It was going from one area to the other. It eventually went into the ceiling. It was a whole big drama,” she laughed.
Graeme Duane, the creative director at Earth Touch, the uMhlanga-based production house that produces the series, said the Durban-based show was growing in popularity internationally.
“The diversity of the snake population, harmless, venomous and everything in between, along with the wide variety of locations in Durban, and Simon and Siouxsie’s quirky, passionate and dedicated approach makes for compelling viewing,” he said.
Keyes and Gillett are available to capture and remove snakes from properties in and around the greater Durban area, north to Tongaat, south to Illovo Beach, and inland to Botha’s Hill, subject to availability.
The season will be filmed under strict Covid-19 regulations. There is no charge for a call-out, and the caller, with permission and depending on the conditions of the call-out, may end up on the television series.
*If you spot a snake in your home, workplace or neighbourhood, call the Snakes in the City hotline at 063 234 6932.