The days leading up to this have been rather dismal, loads of rain and generally typically summer weather meant there was little in the ways of reptile activity in and around Durban. I decided late on Friday afternoon after packing a few things and finishing up with some work to head out to St Lucia. […]
Its been a while It has been two years since I’ve visited Mpumalanga on a herping related trip, the previous trip was a huge success with a decent species count and a good few new species I’d not photographed before so I was really hoping this trip would produce similar results. A few months in […]
The Common Snakes of Durban There are eighty-three different types of snakes found in Kwa-Zulu Natal, of which fourty-four species are not venomous; eight can cause painful—although not lethal—bites; and, eleven that are known to be potentially deadly. With Durban being located along the eastern coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal, it’s well known for its temperate […]
Over the last 9 days a friend Theo Busschau and I ventured into some of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa’s lesser explored Nature Reserves and historical records looking for two specific species. Afroedura pondolia – Pondo Flat Gecko. Leptotyphlops sylvicolus – Southern Forest Thread Snake. The major issue is some records were over 35years old and […]
On my previous trip to this area of the Western Cape in February was quite a different experience, in February the weather was hot, dry and relatively quiet on the reptile front with hours spent in the field offering very little rewards. This time around thankfully was a vastly different experience. Earlier in the year I […]
Scelotes bipes – Silvery Burrowing Skink. Is a South African endemic that occurs in the Western Cape from Mossel Bay to near Saldanha Bay, with records from Robben Island. There appear be be five distinct subpopulations of these Scelotes, with substantial gaps between some of them. Text Source: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/44979043/0
A very smooth-scaled snake with a blunt head that is not distinct from the body. It has minute eyes and a very short, bluntly rounded tail. Colour varies from a pinkish grey to a plain brown. A fossorial species sometimes encountered in termitaria or above ground after rain. Little is known about the natural history […]
Cordylus macropholis – Large Scaled Girdled Lizard is an endemic terrestrial cordylid, preferring the succulent plant Euphorbia caput-medusae and related species as shelter (Mouton et al. 2000). It may also shelter beneath calcrete rocks and in stick-nests of Vlei Rats (Otomys species) (P. le F.N. Mouton pers. obs.) Occurring on the west coast of South Africa, in the Northern […]
After not spending a weekend at home in about 6 weeks, I was in two minds about my planned trip to the Western Cape. Eager to photograph a few species I don’t often see but anticipating the end of the incredibly rushed and meticulously planned out trip to Robertson in the Western Cape. Robertson is […]
The beginning of the year has come and gone and, to be honest, the first quarter is just about through too. I’ve added a few thousand kilometres to my car’s mileage, and a few new species to my Bradypodion list, which include: Bradypodion ngomeense Bradypodion occidentale. Everyone always has plans for Easter […]