Snakes

Friday, Nov. 7^th  2014 

Apparently this area is rich with snakes.  We have been told that many venomous snakes of all kinds live around us, hiding in holes and tall grass.  As the weather heats up, we hear, we will see more of them.  We can protect ourselves by staying within the walled compound in which we live, and avoid tall grass, depressions, or holes in the ground.  Groundspeople keep the grass cut short most of the time, and the geese, we are told, eat many rouge intruders.

Evidence of the truth of these warnings is common.  Our first week here we were told that a green mamba—a highly poisonous tree snake—had been captured and skinned just outside the wall.  Last Sunday one of the farm workers heard hissing and snuck up on a pair of battling short, thick, venomous snakes (we decided later that they were puff adders) which he promptly beheaded, proudly displayed and prepared to eat. 

Apparently, snake meat is tasty enough to encourage hunting.  When toads are grabbed by a back leg by a hungry snake, the toads give off a distinctive scream.  Our intrepid hunter above grabs his machete and follows the sound—if he is fast and lucky, he may find another free dinner.

Not all snakes are “good to chop” (a local term meaning good to eat).  Some are killed and abandoned, as was the 6-foot python killed in the farm fields a few weeks ago.  The green mamba is not a good food either; our snake man noted that poison ran throughout its body, making it inedible.

But the rules for

the lesser skilled at hunting or gastronomy:  stay on the flagstone paths, stay within the compound, and, if you see a big bright green snake, RUN!