Video

MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - A yellow-bellied sea snake, rescued from a beach in Dana Bay, was successfully released back into the deep sea recently. 

This year, 35 yellow-bellied sea snakes - a record number - have been found stranded on South African beaches and those found only have a 20% survival rate.

Heinrich Ninaber, known as the local snake catcher in the Dana Bay community, told Mossel Bay Advertiser he had received a call from a man, Theuns Blom, who had come across the snake while walking between Second and Third beaches on Friday, 20 September. 

Ninaber went with Blom to find the snake and was surprised when he found it still on the beach, in shallow water under rocks. "Usually the seabirds try to get to the snake, so we were lucky it was still there," he said. 

Ninaber carefully captured the snake and contacted the curator of herpetology at Bayworld in Gqeberha, Dr Werner Conradie, who told him how to look after the snake until it was ready to be released back into the deep sea. 

Conradie told the Advertiser there is a network across the Eastern Cape and parts of the Western Cape for helping stranded marine animals and it was through this network that he and Ninaber made contact. 

VIDEO: Supplied

Fully aquatic 

Conradie said yellow-bellied sea snakes are fully aquatic snakes and one of the most widely distributed snakes in the world, living in warm oceans in the deep sea. 

They are largely surface dwelling and float among seaweed. He said they don't often dive, but can. They are mostly found in the Pacific and Indian oceans and prefer waters that do not go below 20 degrees Celsius. Conradie said because they are fully aquatic, their bodies are different to snakes living on the land.

 "They are thin and almost flat. They are developed for swimming, so when they are pushed on to land, they don't have any way to get back to the ocean, unless there is a very high tide. They cannot tolerate rough seas and land. 

The sea snake is highly venomous. Photo: Heinrich Ninaber

Database 

"We keep a database of these sea snakes and while we don't know exactly how they come to the shores, the pattern shows that they wash up on land mostly after bad weather. 

"It is thought they cannot tolerate the cold temperatures that come with storms and go into shock and then are pushed out to shore." He said global warming could also play a role in the yellow-bellied sea snakes ending up on beaches. 

"There may be a decrease in water temperatures and they are cut off from warm waters by extreme bad weather and then are pushed to the coastline." 

The snake does not tolerate cold waters, rough seas or being on land. Photo: Heinrich Ninaber

Record 

He said there had been a record number of these snakes found along the South African coastline this year. The previous records were five reported in 2021 and five in 1992. This year, 35 have been reported with 80% having died within 24 hours of them being rescued. 

"These snakes are often very dehydrated when they are found. Although they live in deep sea water, they still drink fresh water, mainly from rain. When they are found, we advise that these snakes are submerged in enough fresh water to cover their bodies, which is what I told Heinrich to do for the snake he found." 

Conradie said Ninaber had to warm up the water to about 24 degrees Celsius, as that is the temperature in which the sea snake lives. 

Photo: Heinrich Ninaber

"The sea temperature at Dana Bay is too cold for them," said Conradie. After 24 hours in fresh water, the snake was moved to an enclosure filled with sea water at the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex. 

"The aim is to hydrate and stabilise these snakes and once they are strong enough, usually after between 24 and 48 hours, they can be released, but they must be released back into the deep sea," said Conradie. 

On 24 September, Ninaber fetched the snake from the museum and on 25 September, with the help of his friend, Wesley Mathee, a skipper for a fishing charter company, they went out to sea to release the snake. Mathee said they released the snake 17km from the coast. 

Conradie said that anyone who finds a sea snake should call their local snake catcher. Mossel Bay residents can call Ninaber (082 453 1787) or they can call the Bayworld stranding hotline (071 724 2122). Photos: Heinrich Ninaber 

‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’