Since olden times, people have been spinning frightful yarns about snakes, something that doesn't sit right with Johan Marais from the African Snakebite Institute. He assures us that snakes are not malevolent creatures seeking to harm humans; they are actually timid and nervous animals that prefer flight over fight.
Busy holiday resorts are largely snake-free precisely because these animals are shy, but if you're wild camping in nature, you may come across what is considered by some to be the original enemy.
1 All snakes are venomous
There are 176 snake species in Southern Africa, of which only 20 are life-threatening and 30 are relatively dangerous. That leaves us with 126 species that you needn't worry about.
2 Snake venom can be sucked out of a bite
We can thank old cowboy movies for this myth. Nowadays, charlatans sell pumps designed to suck out snake venom, but this is ineffective
