Pippa:

When I get back I'll certainly look those books up.

Right now I am far more worried about snakes that I might encounter. Having had this happen six times already, and knowing in the wet season snakes sometimes head for shelter around lodges and tents, I am getting paranoid. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't see any this time!

Original von Jan
Pippa:

When I get back I'll certainly look those books up.

Right now I am far more worried about snakes that I might encounter. Having had this happen six times already, and knowing in the wet season snakes sometimes head for shelter around lodges and tents, I am getting paranoid. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't see any this time!

dear jan,
i don't think you should be worried!
as long as you wear solid boots and long slacks while walking and make some noise while walking you should be safe! but you have to have a thourough look where you steps lead you because of the lazyness of the puffadder which won't give way but instead defent itself !
i'll cross my fingers that any encounter provides you only with a good look at these wonderful creatures!

Jan,
Snakes usually run off as they feel you arriving through sensory organs in their body. They do not hear but feel the ground trembling. When they feel movement they are the 1st to go.
Pippa is totally correct that we are the ones in the wrong place and the adder family (common in Kenya mainly on the coast) is the puff adder. They are slow moving so common bites are from them.
However slow moving does not mean they bite slowly. They have an incredibly fast bite.

James Ash from Malindi showed me a couple of times when he showed me how to milk a puff - the speed they strick at. He used a Balloon at the end of a stick as an example.
Snakes only bite to defend themselves.

If you ever see a Gabon Viper - now that is creation and beauty at its utter best! What a beautiful snake.

Nico:

Were you aware of the fact that James Ash died about a year and a half ago?

One of these days I want to go to Bio-Ken, have a tour and try to face my fears.

WOW guys. Just before I posted the above I went to Bio-ken's website. It is a brand new website and is chock full of very useful information that all should be aware of. You can even sign up for snake safaris (no, not for me thank you)

I have met Anthony Childs and his fiance Emma but I've never met RoyJan. Do you guys know him?

All check out the new website at: http://www.bio-ken.com. It is well worth everyone learning from this one.

ok, you guys want to continue discussing snakes in the shark topic although I created a snakes-topic... fair enough...

`Knowing´James Ashe is probably exaggerated, but I have seen him a couple of times on his spectacular shows and had a chat with him after the show.

His knowledge about snakes is/was amazing, I learned a lot from him.

James was a friend of my dad who provided lots of information to dad on snakes and they did the odd snake show together in various languages.
I knew he passes away.