Baby snakes ensure python's survival
May 18, 2005
Keith Ross
Park owners have decided to release 20 African rock pythons, an endangered species, into the wild. They will be electronically tagged and their progress will be monitored. Report compiled by Keith Ross
A huge African rock python - heavy with eggs - brought to a South Coast snake park has proved a blessing for the conservation of this endangered species in the area.
The python laid 40 eggs after its arrival at the Pure Venom park near Shelly Beach and all have hatched successfully.
The park's owners decided to release 20 of the pythons into the wild and the first five are already in the Oribi Gorge Conservancy.
"We also released two adult pythons in the gorge at the same time," said a spokesman for Pure Venom, Nadia Moolman.
"We will release another seven of the young pythons in a couple
of weeks.
"It is absolutely wonderful having all these pythons. We will probably release 20 of them."
Moolman said the plight of African rock pythons on the South Coast was quite desperate.
"People burn the sugar cane and destroy the pythons' habitat. The pythons are hunted illegally and killed for muti.
"That is why they are endangered. Probably only 3% or 4% of rock pythons survive to maturity."
Moolman said the pythons released in the gorge had been electronically tagged and their progress in the wild would be monitored.
"They will soon go into hibernation for the winter. We will probably monitor their progress in about September."
She said the mother python had been brought to Pure Venom from a rural area after one of the park's workers had persuaded the local
people not to kill it.
"We often pay for snakes, just to stop people killing them."
Margate air show
Margate seems set to become one of the country's main centres for air shows with the news that the SA Air Force has agreed to make a major contribution to this year's event.
"This is fantastic," said festival organiser Vicky Erasmus soon after hearing the news. "They have just turned our planned air festival into an A grade show.
"The air force have not been here for seven years and it will be lovely to have them back. I believe they now plan to come here every year, as part of their regular schedule."
Erasmus said the air force would bring a variety of aircraft, including helicopters, Cessnas, Impalas and Cheetahs.
"They will also bring the Silver Falcons aerobatic team and the Golden Eagles parachute team."
She said the name of the event had been changed to the Sasol Delight South Coast Air Show as the Sasol Tigers Aerobatics team would be taking part
The show will be held at the Margate Airport on June 18.
Concern over attacks
Newcastle's local authorities are greatly concerned that they are losing investment from the Far East because of attacks by robbers on Chinese and Taiwanese families living in the town.
The authorities say some Taiwanese businesses have already closed and there is no doubt that the attacks have scared off some investors.
"Some of our industrialists have sent their wives and children back to Taiwan because of the crime situation here," said Newcastle's Director for Economic Development, Ferdie Alberts.
"In the past six months about 10 Chinese and Taiwanese families have been robbed in our residential areas and there is no doubt these attacks have had a very negative effect on investment.
"The people who have been robbed have lost confidence in this area. They are hoping to get out and have retrenched staff."
Alberts said the attacks had also discouraged new investors from coming to Newcastle.
"When industrialists come here from the Far East, they obviously speak to the Chinese who are already here and they are told about these things," he said
"There is also a Taiwanese Chamber in Africa and these attacks and robberies are reported on their website."
"The attacks are not only happening here. The Chinese have been attacked in Ladysmith and QwaQwa as well."
Runaway fires expected
The Mercury's Empangeni Bureau reports that the people of Zululand expect some runaway fires this winter.
And with the early onset of hot, dry winds and a lack of rain, much of the grassland is tinder dry, writes Chris Jenkins.
The Zululand Fire Protection Services have issued a stern warning to people to be "super alert and careful" as conditions have made the threat of runaway fires very real.
Operations manager Trevor Wilson, who is based at the organisation's control centre in KwaMbonambi, said that the region had been through the driest April since 1992, with just 30mm of rain.
There had been no rain to talk of north of Richards Bay this month, at least until last Saturday, when the region received a welcome soaking.
Wilson said the Fire Protection Services was averaging fighting five fires a day.
The situation was aggravated by beehive robbers who often started fires when smoking out hives in the vast plantations of Zululand.
"We need rain desperately," Wilson said.
"We should be a lot greener at this time of the year. Things were looking really good a few months ago, but suddenly they have changed."
Wilson said the situation was such that the fire protection services were close to putting water bombers on standby.
Bombers had already been used to douse three fires in the Midlands last week.
