Series Review
Durban's famous reptile wranglers return for 'Snakes in the City' S5
A black mamba and a boomslang are just some of the often deadly reptiles removed from suburban KZN homes in the new season of this Nat Geo Wild reality show, writes Claire Keeton
Simon Keys is as intimate with snakes as Medusa, but his slinky reptiles are twisted around his neck, not his smooth head. On any given day the presenter of the hit show Snakes in the City could have a live venomous snake wrapped about him along with his snake tattoos, permanent companions which wind up to his jaw from elaborate body art.
At least his wife and co-presenter, herpetologist Siouxsie Gillet, shares his passion for snakes and that's how they got entangled. The sum of their energy and bravery, plus danger, contribute to the popularity of Snakes in the City.
Captures are authentic on this Nat Geo Wild reality show, filmed around Durban, whose fifth season started on October 15.
The snake wranglers are removing city snakes, not their country cousins, and this gives the show its edge. These are snakes living in people's couches, or roofs, or other places alarming to their human hosts.
In slither Keys and Gillet to the rescue. They come prepared with goggles - to stop the venom of spitting cobras - protective gloves and other kit to capture the deadly snakes, at risk to their own lives.
WATCH | A forest cobra is rescued from behind a freezer in Snakes in the City..
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