Chad Keates Archives
From the 25th to the 29th of August 2018, myself and Luke Kemp herped in Cape Town, and it’s surrounds. We went towards the end of winter because unlike most trips, we were after the endemic frogs that call the Cape their home, and they love the cold, wet weather that the winter months have to offer. We ventured far and wide, and our travels saw us herping Silvermine, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens,… Read More
Last year I was featured in an article by Oppidan Press, written by Kate Matooane. the article focuses on my ‘critter walks’ and the impact that they have on the people who attend.
Southern Africa plays host to just over 150 different species of frog. In the Eastern Cape you can find approximately 32 different species of frog. All but five species have been listed below. These include The Giant Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus), Natal-leaf Folding Frog (Afrixalus spinifrons), Hogsback Chirping Frog (Anhydrophryne rattrayi), Sharp-nosed Grass Frog (Ptychadena oxyrhynchus) and Hewitt’s Ghost Frog (Heleophryne hewitti). For more information on each species, click on their names. African… Read More
On Sunday the 5th of February I hosted the first critter walk of 2019. Unlike previous critter walks, this one was geared towards collecting food for the Grahamstown branch of the SPCA. The event was well received, with quite a few people coming on the day and donating dog and cat food. The day started out with a short snake demonstration, in which I showcased some of the snakes I had captured… Read More
From the 2nd to the 6th of October 2018 I joined Werner Conradie (Head Curator of Herpetology at Port Elizabeth Museum) for a herping expedition to western Kwazulu Natal. We joined a crew of scientists from all over the country in an effort to find as many animals as we could, as part of large scale forest-focussed project, headed by Stellenbosch University. Whilst other scientific groups were tasked with finding snails, birds,… Read More
On wednesday the 14th of November I hosted the last snake demonstration of 2018 in front of the Rhodes University, on Barratt lawns. The demo was incredibly well-attended with over fifty coming along on the day. At the snake demo I showcased all the snakes that I had removed from Grahamstown properties the week before. Because of the warm weather that preceded the demo, the talk was also well-attended. So much so… Read More
Towards the end of last year I hosted a Birthday Critter Walk for a young Grahamstown boy and all his friends. Whilst some kids like like to go to the cinema, or to the Go Kart track for their birthdays, that doesn’t seem to hold for the youth of Grahamstown, whom have an insatiable appetite for nature. The day was a great success and whilst we weren’t able to find any cape… Read More
I am proud to announce that I am no longer a Masters of Science student (MSc), as I have recently upgraded to being a PhD candidate. What this basically means is that I forgo masters and go straight to doctorate level. The work that I have been doing, in completion of my MSc, will now be adjusted, modified and expanded upon, to create a PhD dissertation that I will hopefully submit the… Read More
On the 19th of October I was very fortunate to receive the inaugural D&J Ranchhod Bursary in honour of the late Mr Dale Ranchhod, a long-serving member of the Zoology & Entomology Department. I received the certificate from Mrs Jasu Ranchhod at a formal function held in the Department foyer. I was nominated for the award by members of the academic staff making the award an incredible honour. After the formal ceremony… Read More
I am honoured to announce that this year I received the Laura Starke Memorial Bursary Award for the second time. Unlike many bursaries that focus on academic merit, this bursary is special in the sense that it takes more than ones’ academic achievements into account when selecting a candidate. For this reason I am incredibly grateful to receive this award because it represents the acknowledgement of the sum of my efforts within… Read More
On Wednesday the 10th of October I attended the Prize giving for the WESSA Heritage Day Photo Competition at NELM (National English Literary Museum). The photo competition was open to the public and had three categories, namely: scholar, amateur and professional. I was fortunate enough to win the amateur category with my photo of the juvenile boomslang perched in a tree (Photo below). Thanks goes to all the organisers of the event… Read More
The the 9th of September, I attended the WESSA/ Grocott’s Mail #CelebrateNaturalHeritage Bio-Bash and Photo Walk at the Makana Botanical Gardens. The day was designed to teach the youth of Grahamstown about the amazing wildlife that surrounds them. It also aimed to ignite some creative flair through encouraging artistic expression through photography. My colleagues (Anthony Evlambiou, Bruce Roestoff and Cara Trivella) and I helped out by guiding the students through the gardens… Read More
On the 12th of October I accompanied EOH (Coastal and Environmental Services) to Peddie to do an informal talk on snake awareness for workers of the Eastern Cape Roads Service. In Peddie, work is underway to improve the road infrastructure of the area. Unfortunately, human-snake conflict is high due to the remote and wild settings the workers find themselves in. I was called in to help mitigate the conflict by teaching the… Read More
Chad Keates 