Chad Keates Archives
On Wednesday the 14th of February I delivered two back-to-back snake awareness talks at Victoria Girls High School (VGHS) in Grahamstown. The talks, which touched on snake anatomy, behaviour and ecology, were very well received by both classes. Although many of the girls were frightened by the sight of a live snake, most of them took the opportunity to interact with the live snakes on display. Thanks goes to VGHS, and more… 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
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
On friday the 17th of November, myself and Luke Kemp hosted a ‘Herpetofauna of Grahamstown talk in the Rhodes Zoology and Entomology tea room for members of the department. The talk discussed all the reptiles and frogs that can be found in Grahamstown and gave tips on how to distinguish morphologically-similar species. The talk also discussed basic snakebite treatment and was capped off with a short demonstration with live specimens. All in… Read More
On Monday the 27th of November I was asked by Prof Adrian Craig to do a snake demonstration for students from Hoerskool P.J. Olivier who were visiting the Rhodes Zoology and Entomology Department for the day. The short talk, that was also attended by Dr Shelley Edwards of the Zoology and Entomology molecular lab was a massive hit, with most kids excitedly jumping at the opportunity to handle live snakes. All in… Read More
On the 30th of August I attended a BioBlitz with EWT (Endangered Wildlife trust) near Hogsback, Eastern Cape. The aim of the trip was to find as may reptiles and frogs as we possibly could, with the main aim of finding the critically endangered Amatola Toad (Vandijkophrynus amatolicus). I am excited to say that we did in fact find the rarest frog in South Africa. We also managed to find several other… Read More
Recently myself, along with Luke Kemp, presented a reptile awareness talk at Diocesan School for girls (DSG). It was a great talk and the Grade five students that we presented too were very enthusiastic and keen to learn about, and interact with the reptiles and frogs that we brought along on the day. Photo credit Diocesan School for Girls.
Two weeks ago, Luke Kemp and I hosted a reptile awareness ‘talk and walk’ just outside of Grahamstown and we are happy to announce that it was very well received by the larger Grahamstown community, with just over 30 people attending the event. The event was hosted with the intention of exposing the residents of Grahamstown to the amazing reptile diversity that our area has to offer and while we did not… Read More
This list is in no particular order and is based on what I have seen inside or very close to Grahamstown. Boomslang (Dispholidus typus typus) Size: 1.2-1.5m. Habits: Diurnal snakes which are found in a large variety of habitats, most commonly in trees and shrubs, but may descend to the floor to bask or find food. Diet: Chameleons, frogs, tree-living lizards, birds and occasionally rodents. Danger to man: The boomslang possesses a very dangerous haemotoxic venom… Read More
I have lived in Eagle Canyon Since its inception all the one back in 2005. A lot has changed since then and while many species have been forced out by the continuous development, due to habitat loss, many species have remained and can still be found to this day. Although the large expanses of open veld are all but absent from the estate, there still are a few spots where wildlife thrives,… Read More
Today I received my samples back from their holiday in Amsterdam, and I am happy to announce that all but one sample worked. The samples from today coupled with the samples I received last month amount to 75 successfully sequenced samples to date. These samples, which comprise four genes, make up a large proportion of my sample set and thus represent a massive step forward in the completion of my thesis. But… Read More
I am roughly six months into my Master’s and this is my second post on the subject. Although I am not overly proud of my Msc coverage on the website, I am rather ‘chuffed’ with my research progress to date. My genetic samples are ‘amplifying’ and better yet, they are translating into clean, usable sequences, that I can move forward with. To put the previous sentence bluntly, my genetics are working and… Read More
Recently Luke and I (Chad Keates) went on a herping adventure to the Western Cape. We stayed two night in Wilderness and one night in Oudtshoorn, and the function of the trip, as usual, was to find as many reptiles and frogs as we could. Whilst dwarf adders and ghost frogs remained high on our list, the main function of this trip was to find dwarf chameleons. South Africa is home to… Read More
Recently I was contacted by a Rhodes journalism student who was in the process of completing an article about snakes for the Grocotts Mail. Although strange to admit, given my current path as a MSc zoology student focusing on snake genetics, I was once in her shoes, completing my hours at the Midrand Reporter in pursuit of my second year Rhodes Journalism and Media Studies credit. Although I am very much a ‘science kid’ now, I… Read More
Following our trip to the Transkei , Werner Conradie, Luke kemp and I departed for the biennial Herpetological Association of Africa (HAA) conference in Hluhluwe, Kwazulu Natal. We spent the night of the 22nd of January in my cousins beach house in Umhlanga and the next day we departed for Hluhluwe after a quick stop at Ushaka International Airport, to pick up Professor Bill Branch (World-renowned African herpetologist) and Ninda Baptiste (Angolan herpetologist)…. Read More
Chad Keates 