Rinkhals Research Cape Town

[atropos]

I agree jka. It seems pointless to kill something which could be used for education. I understand where Cape Nature is coming from but feel that each case should be taken on merit of the circumstances. The snake still has limited movement but is alive. I am going to continue to feed it and keep contact to a minimum. If it appears to still be struggling in a month or so...well we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

[Loslappie]

atropos I hope you never have to cross that bridge!
See what he does with a frog without the splint..

[Puff the Magic Adder]

I was watching E-TV news this evening and briefly saw one of those newsflashes at the bottom of the screen which said that a Rinkhals has been found in the Cape Town metro area.

An article here too:
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article760209.ece/Snake-thought-to-be-extinct-in-Cape-Town-found

[TonyK]

Nice one atropos/Grant you use this forum and its members to gather information for your research but then you don`t even bother to give us any feed back .

[atropos]

Hi Tony. My
apologies. I can't begin to tell you how busy I have been over the last few months. Things have happened incredibly quickly. I really want to thank everyone who have been involved in this research. It definately was a collaboration which is by no means over. Although we now know that there are still rinkhals around there are still a few more areas where it would be great to confirm there presence before we can start looking at detection probabilities and (hopefully) delve further into population studies. I admit that I am getting a lot of credit for a collaborative effort and have been fortunate enough to have the means to do so. This is not my focus though. What I am happy about is that rinkhals are back on the map and that we are building a platform for snake awareness in general. The response from interested people all around the country wanting to find out more about the rinkhals and snakes in general has been amazing. In the east of the city of cape town we have rescued some 40 snakes in the last 2 months as a result of the publicity. Thanks for the input. Grant

[Loslappie]

Hi All
Guys this is by no means over, it will never be.

Grant asked me to post this pic on the thread.
He got this picture from a Gentleman in Pringle Bay that up until seeing the flyer didnt know what it was.
This snake was Photographed in The Koggelberg Biosphere in 2005.

We just love the banding on this snake, especially the top band..

Thanks for all the feedback

[nvlooi]

Well done Grant!

Great pic and snake...

[MrG]

Wow, thats a beauty. Great work you guys are doing here. Hope you get a lot more reports.

[Wolf777]

Well done! Keep up the good work.

[MacAdder]

Ive heard of reports of sightings around the Pringle Bay and surrounding area all the way to Gordons Bay/Strand. I’ve also heard that there have been sightings on Table Mountain but that has yet to be confirmed.
Loslappie have you sent this info to Grant Smith ? = rinkhalsrelic@gmail.com

[Loslappie]

Thanks MacAdder
Grant asked me to post the pic on his behalf.
Yes, people have sent in reports of sightings on Table Mountain, Tygerberg, up the west coast, however those have not been confirmed.

[MacAdder]

... Tygerberg, ...

My step dad says he used to catch these critters on the Parow/Bellivile side of Tygerberg hills as a kid. I spend alot of time in and around the area and have never seen or heard any reports of an animal remotely suggesting a Rinkhals. I have only his word so I think there may have been but no more.

[atropos]

Thanks for posting the picture Elroy. The top band on that snake just blows me away. Funny you should say that MacAdder. I received a report recently from from an area in belville close to the Tygerberg Nature reserve which loslappie and I have been discussing. It is strange that if the snakes are in the area that it is not common knowledge but the description is accurate. I will post the other pictures that I have received when I get some more time. P's the rinkhals that we have been rehabing has shed (with a lot of help) and the bands have gone from orange to yellow.

[atropos]

As promised here are some of the confirmed records so far. Some are within the study area while some are
from other areas in the Western (Southern) Cape






My favourite so far


And here are some of the pics on the snake we are trying to rehabilitate

Tubed, you can clearly see the break


Home made splint


After shedding



Once again a BIG thank you all who have contributed to this project in any way, especially to
Loslappie who's probably tired of hearing my voice on the phone!

[Bushviper]

At least most of the snakes are alive. That is already a feat in itself. Can you confirm the live ones were left alive?

I have caught rinkhals and snouted cobras with similar breaks in their backs. They had full use of the lower half of the body though. If this one does not then do not release him. Glad you did not euthanase him.