Chad Keates Archives
On the 19th of April, I was the keynote speaker for the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA) Grahamstown AGM, that took place in Eden Grove lecture theatre, at Rhodes University. In the first part of my talk, I discussed the reptiles that could be found in and around Grahamstown, and how to identify them. I also talked about snakebite treatment, snake myths, and what to do if you encounter… Read More
On the 26th of April, I ventured westwards to Haarlem, on the Eastern border of the Western Cape, for a snake awareness talk. The snake awareness workshop, that was set up by Matthew Sephton of Living Lands, was attended by Honeybush tea farmers working in the Langkloof area. These tea farmers often encounter snakes while working, and I was brought in to teach them how to discern between venomous and non-venomous species… Read More
Death-shamming, death-feigning, playing dead, and thanatosis are all words that describe the process whereby animals pretend to be dead in the hope of being left alone by a perceived threat. When encountered, the Rinkhals (Hemachatus haemechatus) will often take every opportunity to escape. When cornered they will lift nearly half of their body off the ground and spread a large hood in an attempt to intimidate the perceived threat. Once hooded, the… Read More
On the 17th of April, I presented an afternoon snake talk for high school learners of Nombulelo Highschool, at their school, on the outskirts of Grahamstown. The talk, which comprised of both a PowerPoint presentation and a live snake demonstration, was a great opportunity to engage with the students about reptiles, and dispel some of the myths that surround snakes in the area. The PowerPoint presentation was challenging because of the language… Read More
On Sunday the 18th of march I hosted a private snake ‘walk and talk’ for the nature club of Graham High School. Although it was intended as a two part event, only the talk took place because of the bad weather conditions. Due to the cold weather, and the intermittent thunderstorms, we were unable to go out and explore the wilder parts of Grahamstown, in search of reptiles and frogs. Nevertheless, the… Read More
The painted reed frog is the most widespread species of reed frog in Southern Africa, with a distribution that stretches from mid Western Cape, along the coast, to the top of Mozambique. Painted reed frogs are generally quite small with a maximum body size of approximately 33mm. Although restricted to the reeds and similar vegetation, along the fringes of waterbodies, the species is widespread and can be found in grassland, savannah, forest… Read More
On Saturday the 17th of March I hosted my third critter walk. The event was well received with approximately 35 people attending on the day. The day started out with a short snake demonstration, in which I showcased some of the snakes I had captured the week before on callouts, and was followed by a two hour ‘critter walk’ on a nearby farm. Whilst the weather was not great to start with,… Read More
On Thursday the 1st of March I presented my masters research to the department in the form of a spoken presentation in the Zoology Department tea room. Although I still have a fare way to go before I complete my thesis, the talk was an awesome opportunity for me to show-off what I have done thus far. The abstract for the talk is printed below. Why ‘splitters’ are winners: a snakes tale… Read More
On Sunday the 25th of February I was a guest on the radio show ‘The Book and the Brain’ on RMR 89.7FM. The show which ran for just over 20 minutes discussed snakes and my research within the field of herpetology. The show focussed particularly on species’ of snakes found within Grahamstown, and the controversy that surrounds them. The show, which I was thrilled to be a part of, was great fun… Read More
Late last year I was contacted by a journalist from the Daily Dispatch Newspaper in Port Elizabeth, seeking information on snakes. To make a long story short, I made it into the newspaper…again, and I couldn’t be more stoked. It is crazy to think how far I have come since when I started. The fact that people view me as a reputable source of information is a great honour and I feel… Read More
Grahamstown, and its surrounds, plays host to high level of animal diversity. The complexity of the habitat coupled with favourable climatic and environmental conditions has resulted in ideal conditions for many species of frog. In and round Grahamstown, there are just over 15 species of frog. This list contains all the frog species that I have found here. Some are not on the list because I do not have decent photos of them yet…. Read More
Chad Keates 