Southern African Python
Python natalensis
Non-venomous, but large, and protected
If there is a snake in front of you right now
Move away and take children and pets with you. Do not try to catch or kill it. Then call a snake remover. That is the right response for every snake, harmless or not, so there is no need to identify it first.
🔍 Enlarge How to recognise it
Very large and heavy-bodied, with dark blotches over grey-brown. Adults are unmistakable on size alone.
Not venomous, and a protected species. It is illegal to kill one. Turns up occasionally along the green corridors and river valleys around the Berea. A large python should only ever be handled by a professional, both for your safety and the animal's.
Seen in Manor Gardens
Nobody has logged a Southern African Python here yet. If you spot one, you will be the first on the record.