Just when you thought it was safe to go into the sea, a video starts going viral of a Cape Cobra having a little swim along South African shores.
Juliette Thirsk captured the video which shows what looks like a large Cape Cobra on a beach near Paternoster this past weekend. The snake can be seen swimming directly into the sea, as it if it is going for a quick surf, keeping its head above the water.
Snakes are good swimmers and there are scattered reports of people encountering snakes well out into the sea. They use the water’s surface tension to glide and can lift 1/4 to 1/3 of their body length off of the water surface. A snake on land can only lunge forward (strike) a distance of half of its body length. A snake on water does not have a solid surface to thrust against, so its strike range while swimming is extremely limited.
“Snakes prefer to flee rather than fight. But if they feel cornered or threatened, or if they are accidentally stepped on or provoked, a water snake (venomous or nonvenomous) seldom backs down.”
“On land or water, giving snakes a wide berth will minimize your chances of being bitten.”
Juliette posted the video to the “Snakes of South Africa” group which is quickly racking up views and creating quite a conversation.
Clive Webster posted: “Yup, even the snakes are emigrating …. they can’t handle the other type of SNAKES that run the country!”
Monique Gillingham added: “I’ll just run away, and give him the beach, he obviously needs the beach holiday more than i do…”
Nikki Keulder said: “Note to self: watch out for snakes at the beach AND in the water.”
Watch the video below:
Posted by Juliette Thirsk on Friday, 10 November 2017
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