Pupil, 17, rescues wildlife from fire

Teen and his dad save 33 tortoises and snakes from blazing Overberg

“There was just smoke everywhere and I started crying when I could not rescue all the tortoises‚” said self-confessed “nature freak” Corne Uys as he recounted how he had rescued snakes and tortoises as wildfires ravaged the Overberg in the Western Cape.

A total of 31 homes were destroyed and another 28 damaged by three wildfires that raged across the Overberg on Friday.

“I was at school and the fire alarm went off and we had to leave the school. The fire had jumped over the mountain.

“I went home and started packing all the equipment and my dad and I went straight into the frontline‚” said Corne‚ 17 and just into matric.

He said by the time they reached the scene‚ the fire had pushed all the animals on to the road.

“It was absolute chaos. Cars were driving up and down. We were there for about three hours until the firefighters told us to leave because the fire was getting stronger.”

The professional snake catcher said he and his father rescued as many animals as they could and as a result, their bakkie was running out of space.

“I wish I could have done more‚ but the smoke was all over. I felt so bad when I saw some that I could not rescue‚” Corne said.

With nature conservation this close to his heart‚ Corne is set to follow his passion after matric.

“I’m not going to go to university. I will do short courses in nature conservation.

“It’s something I’ve been interested in all my life.”

His father‚ Hugo‚ agreed.

I wish I could have done more‚ but the smoke was all over. I felt so bad when I saw some that I could not rescue

“He is a nature freak. He loves nature. He loves the mountain and spends all his free time diving‚ exploring caves and looking for animals.”

Hugo said he and his son were involved in beach clean-ups and are both passionate about rescuing animals.

Recalling the events of the day, he said: “It was an emotional experience.

“We washed all 33 tortoises that we rescued and released them [into nature] the following day.” –