THE MERCURY (Durban, S Africa) 03 June 05 Snake exhibition scales new heights (Sara Oelofse)
After 28 years of exhibiting at the Royal Show in Durban, the Snake Park was awarded its first gold medal this year.
Owner Garth Carpenter said he was very pleased that the hobby which he had started as an eight-year-old had culminated in this recognition.
Upon his retirement as a game warden, Carpenter opened the Crafty Duck wildlife care and rehabilitation centre on the Wartburg road, near Pietermaritzburg.
'Of the 43 different species that I have caught over the years, only eight were dangerous to man'
"The Snake Park, which has a wide variety of indigenous and exotic snakes, helps keep the centre going," he said.
He said that during the past summer he had received more than 200 calls to remove snakes from houses, outbuildings and gardens in and around the city.
"Of the 43 different species that I have caught over the years, only eight were dangerous to man," said Carpenter.
He believes that stricter control over the import of exotic venomous species should be put into place because serums for these snakes were not readily available.
"If one is bitten by a snake, the best advice I can give is that one should put a pressure bandage on the entire limb, as one would for a sprain. Venom is injected in a concentrated form and a bandage that restricts the blood flow without cutting it off would prevent the venom from being absorbed too quickly. Putting a pressure bandage on it gives the snake bite victim more time to get medical attention and a better chance to survive," said Carpenter.
He said campers and hikers should always have a pressure bandage in their kit.
Snake exhibition scales new heights