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- Chameleons
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- Geckos
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Snakes – Lowveld Livings

Home | In the Media | Snakes – Lowveld Livings

Snakes – Lowveld Livings

Johan Marais is a naturalist, conservationist, herpetologist, and photographer and has been involved with reptiles for over forty years. Johan has done extensive field work with leading herpetologists and has written a number of books on reptiles – his books have sold over half a million copies to date. He has contributed to a variety of magazine and newspaper articles, television and radio programmes, and is well-known on the corporate talk circuit. He is also often called upon to present talks on snakes and snakebite in Africa at international symposia and is a Basic Life Support instructor.

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About

Johan Marais is a naturalist, conservationist, herpetologist, and photographer and has been involved with reptiles for over forty years. Johan has done extensive field work with leading herpetologists and has written a number of books on reptiles - his books have sold over half a million copies to date. He has contributed to a variety of magazine and newspaper articles, television and radio programmes, and is well-known on the corporate talk circuit. He is also often called upon to present talks on snakes and snakebite in Africa at international symposia and is a Basic Life Support instructor.

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Still 3 spots left for Sunday's Venomous Snake Han

Still 3 spots left for Sunday's Venomous Snake Handling Bootcamp with Johan Marais - Herpetologist and Naturalist!

Learn some more advanced snake handling techniques and practice live snake removal scenarios under expert guidance!

Bookings can be done online here: https://bit.ly/44HwjtE or email us on courses@asiorg.co.za for details.

#snakecourse #africansnakebiteinstitute #johanmarais #snakehandling #venomoussnakehandling #westerncapesnakecourse #whatsoncapetown

Classic Pink Floyd - Relics: A Bizarre Collection

Classic Pink Floyd - Relics: A Bizarre Collection Of Antiques And Curios. 1971.

Empty shopping mall - looks like Covid times. With

Empty shopping mall - looks like Covid times. With our failing economy and one of the most corrupt governments in the world it is time for us to act. Vote on 29 May - you can make a difference.

Always good to run into Doc Faffa. NAMPO 2024.

Always good to run into Doc Faffa. NAMPO 2024.

Mozambique Spitting Cobra (Naja mossambica) from n

Mozambique Spitting Cobra (Naja mossambica) from northern Gauteng. Highly venomous.

#snake #snakes #snakesofinstagram #instasnakes #serpent #reptilelover #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

Mier Kalahari Legless Skink (Typhlosaurus gariepen

Mier Kalahari Legless Skink (Typhlosaurus gariepensis) from near Twee Riviere, Northern Cape.

#lizard #lizardsofIG #lizardsofinstagram #instalizards #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

Quick visit to the Opposite Lock/Tough Dog stand a

Quick visit to the Opposite Lock/Tough Dog stand at NAMPO.

#4x4 #adventure #adventuretravel #journey #roadtrip #offroad #southafrica #travel #travelgram #traveller #travelphotography #borntoroam #exploremore #travellocalsa #meetsouthafrica #thisissouthafrica #journey #africansnakebiteinstitute #oppositelockza #toughdogsuspension #intervolt #lightforce #mylightforce #taklaproducts #frontrunnersa #bushtechcanopies #bfgoodrich #toyota #toyotalandcruiser #snakes

Making the best of my visit to NAMPO. Another pint

Making the best of my visit to NAMPO. Another pint donated.

#donateblood

Brown Egg-eater (Dasypeltis inornata) from the Blu

Brown Egg-eater (Dasypeltis inornata) from the Bluff, Durban. Harmless.

#snake #snakes #snakesofinstagram #instasnakes #serpent #reptilelover #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko (Afrogecko porphyreus) fro

Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko (Afrogecko porphyreus) from Soetfontein near Pearly Beach, Southern Cape.

#geckosofig #gecko #geckosofinstagram #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #instageckos #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

My life with reptiles has brought me lots of joy.

My life with reptiles has brought me lots of joy. Incredible trips, fascinating finds and lots of new discoveries. During these journeys I have also met interesting people and many of them became good friends. I met the late Mike Jaensch (right) back in 1979. Mike and his wife Heidi came out to South Africa soon after he qualified as a mechanic. A hard-working salt of the earth man who was passionate about snakes. He always had a collection of rare snakes that he managed to breed with year after year. Mike lived his life with passion and was animated when he told stories, so much so that he could not do so sitting down.

I first met the late Donald Strydom in 1980 while he was still in high school and worked part time for us at Transvaal Snake Park. After school Donald relocated to Hoedspruit where he started a snake park.
We had lots of good times and many memorable field trips, some to Namibia, Madagascar, the USA and Mexico.

Special people that are often in my thoughts.

Limpopo Flat Gecko (Afroedura transvaalica) from M

Limpopo Flat Gecko (Afroedura transvaalica) from Mapungubwe, Limpopo Province.

#geckosofig #gecko #geckosofinstagram #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #instageckos #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) with white mou

Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) with white mouth from near Louis Trichardt, Limpopo. The inner lining of the mouth in most Black Mambas is usually black but there are exceptions.

#snake #snakes #snakesofinstagram #instasnakes #serpent #reptilelover #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

All the animals in this photo were killed by domes

All the animals in this photo were killed by domestic cats, who are responsible for killing an estimate 2.4 billion birds per year in the USA, and more than 12 billion small mammals.

The native bird population has been declining for decades.

A photo from this series recently First Place in the Human/Nature category of the prestigious BigPicture Natural World Competition.

There are many options to reduce cat predation on native wildlife, including "catios", leash training, limiting time outdoors during peak hunting time, collars that help alert birds to the cat presence (e.g. BirdBeSafe), and making your next cat an indoor cat.

Cats are not "bad", I LOVE cats, but they need better management. Thanks for reading.

*The animals in the photograph were brought to WildCare animal hospital in 2019 after domestic cat attack, and did not survive. The bodies were catalogued and preserved for one calendar year. 232 animals are in the photograph.

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380

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Some keen observers of the 'Caught by Cats' photo asked if there were other species that also came in. Indeed, bats, snakes, moles, gophers, rabbit, and more. It just happens that the photo that was recognized in the BigPicture Competition was a tighter crop on the layout of the animals. This first one is an in-camera double exposure. I hesitated to post more on this subject but the winning photo has had 30,000+ views on Facebook - seems to be striking a chord with people. Thank you again to @wildcarebayarea and Melanie Piazza, Director of Animal Care (pictured in some of the images). #wildlife #wildlifephotography #wildlifeconservation #wildliferehab #wildliferescue @WildCare

www.jakwonderly.com

Braai time......

Braai time......

Back in the saddle after a zillion years. Still wo

Back in the saddle after a zillion years. Still working out where the gears are but good to be back on my mountain bike.

Happy mother's day. A very special day, especially

Happy mother's day. A very special day, especially if you are spending it with loved ones. My father adored my mother and loved spoiling her, not just on mother's day but every day that he was with her.

Male Southern Rock Agama (Agama atra) from Addo El

Male Southern Rock Agama (Agama atra) from Addo Elephant Park, Eastern Cape.

#lizard #lizardsofIG #lizardsofinstagram #instalizards #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

Mole Snake (Pseudaspis cana) from Lydenburg, Mpuma

Mole Snake (Pseudaspis cana) from Lydenburg, Mpumalanga. Non-venomous.

#snake #snakes #snakesofinstagram #instasnakes #serpent #reptilelover #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

Today would have been Bill's 78th birthday. Always

Today would have been Bill's 78th birthday. Always in our thoughts.

Snakes and Snakebite talk to the Jurgenauts at Bas

Snakes and Snakebite talk to the Jurgenauts at Bass Lake Lodge near Roodeplaat Dam.
#Jurgenauts
@jurgenauts
#snakecourses #snakeawareness #snakehandling #snakehandlingtraining #education #conservation #snakebite #venomoussnakes #venomoussnakehandling #snakeeducation #healthandsafety #snakecatcher #snakeremoval #snakerescuer #firstaidforsnakebite #snakesofig #snake #snakesofinstagram

Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) at uShaka Marine Worl

Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) at uShaka Marine World.

It is near impossible to identify most snakes from

It is near impossible to identify most snakes from the tracks that they leave but there are exceptions, like large pythons and Puff Adders. This is the track of a Black Mamba.

#snake #snakes #snakesofinstagram #instasnakes #serpent #reptilelover #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilesofig #herping #herpetology #southafrica #wildlife #wildlifephotography #canonsa #canonphotography #canon #macrophotography #upclose #nature #naturephotography #animals #animalsofig #animalphotography #animalphotos #conservation #education

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CONTACT

Phone: +27 82 494 2039 Email: johan@asiorg.co.za

© Johan Marais 2021 | Terms & Conditions | Built by CLC

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