Puff adders relocated from shopping centre

Two amorous puff adders were found in the bush around Cascades Centre on Friday last week.

Maritzburg Sun was told that Cascades Lifestyle Centre staff spotted a rather large-looking snake, sunbathing on the intertwined leaves and branches on the opposite side of the river, which runs next to the parking lot outside of the Spur restaurant.

Cheyenne McLaren, who works at the centre and is the daughter of snake catcher, Peter McLaren, said the snake was spotted in the morning. McLaren said at the time the snakes were spotted, she was on her tea break and noticed one of the Cascades employees and a car guard making their way to the embankment as they spotted what they thought was a snake. "I contacted my dad to come and have a look and possibly try to remove the snakes as they could make their way to the parking lots which could pose a danger to the shoppers in the centre," said McLaren.

McLaren said her father arrived first at the scene, which was taped off to avoid any shoppers getting close to the snakes so that they wouldn't get harmed.

He managed to catch the first one and during that time, Tavish Farquhar had arrived and managed to get a box to put the snakes in once they were captured.

"The other snake went into the bush and Farquhar made his way into the bush to capture it, which he did successfully.

"Both snakes were captured safely and passersby took interest in the scene playing out. From those who were aware of the snakes being there, they were most relieved that they were relocated and were out of harm's way," said McLaren.

McLaren said that she is relieved that the snakes were removed as puff adders are venomous and a bite from them can cause a great deal of harm.

They were also mating so they could have become very aggressive towards anyone who came into contact with them.

"When I arrived McLaren had already captured the female puff adder and I then captured the male. The two snakes were copulating which means that the snakes were mating," said Farquhar.

Farquhar said once the snakes were captured, he took them back to his farm where he released them safely back into their natural habitat.

"It's not common to find snakes in an area [like Cascades]. Puff adders are most common in savannas and grasslands. However, due to climate change things are changing," he said.