National Geographic Wild’s Snakes in the City starts filming next season in Durban

It’s heating up and the rains are here... which means snakes are waking up from their winter slumber and are hungrily heading out to forage for food. No need to panic though. Snakes in the City stars, Simon Keys and Siouxsie Gillett are back in Durban and all set to respond to calls to rescue, remove and relocate snakes as they film the next season of National Geographic Wild’s internationally acclaimed reality series.

After ten months back in the UK, where the couple are based, Simon and Siouxsie are ready to get cracking on this season’s filming. “We love being in South Africa, and with our passion for snakes and reptiles, it is always a delight to be out and about helping to rescue and relocate them. Every day presents us with new adventures and challenges as we go about doing what we love and landing up in some unbelievably strange positions and in unlikely places to find our slithery friends. Most of all we love educating people and changing their attitudes about snakes, showing that they play an important role in the environment. We hope we are saving the reptile population one snake at a time,” they say.

Siouxsie Gillett loves being in SA to film Snakes in the City

“Snakes in the City continues to grow in popularity and we are thrilled that it has such a wide global reach. The diversity of the snake population, harmless, venomous and everything in between, along with the wide variety of locations in Durban, and  Simon and Siouxsie’s quirky, passionate and dedicated approach makes for compelling viewing,” says Graeme Duane, Creative Director: Earth Touch, the Umhlanga-based production house that produces the series. 

Simon Keyes ready for action and back in Durban to film the next season of Snakes in the City

The dynamic team is available to capture and remove snakes from properties in and around the greater Durban area, north to Tongaat, south to Illovo Beach, and inland to Botha’s Hill, subject to availability. The season will be filmed within strict South African government specified Covid-19 guidelines and regulations. There is no charge for a call-out, and the caller, with permission and depending on the conditions of the call-out, may end up on the television series.

If you spot a snake in your home, workplace or neighbourhood, call the Snakes in the City hotline on 063 234 6932.

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Snakes in the City - have a snake you need rescuing?

Call 063 234 6932 - Greater Durban Area - until 4 November 2020

There is nothing that motivates an adventurous spirit more than being in lockdown for months during the COVID19 pandemic, and passionate reptile-lovers and conservationists Simon and Siouxsie of National Geographic Wild’s globally popular reality series Snakes in the City, are no exception.

Back in South Africa, after returning home to the UK just before international borders closing earlier this year, this dynamic, adrenaline-loving couple hope to soon continue with the filming and are on standby to rescue, remove, or relocate snakes in and around Durban.

“We are loving being back as the Spring rains start to turn the KwaZulu-Natal countryside a gorgeous green, and the weather is warming up, bringing out the incredibly diverse range of snakes,” enthuses Siouxsie. “It was quite difficult for us, with our adrenaline-filled lifestyle, to bunker down for all these months, but we are very blessed to have got through it, and are over the moon about starting the filming process again.” 

“We look forward to meeting the many different people in and around Durban, many of whom, have a fear of snakes, and have no idea what to do when encountering them,” says Simon. “Filming our rescues, removals, and relocations, enables us to educate people about snakes, and that they are a vital part of the eco-system and, for the most part, are harmless. It truly heartens us when we manage to convince a person that killing a snake is not an option and that they are not as terrifying as they think.”

The series, which reaches a global audience, is produced by local production house Earth Touch, will be filmed using strict SA government COVID-19 guidelines and regulations. “We have developed a best practice and protocol plan that the whole crew and cast have been thoroughly briefed on, to make filming safe for the team, as well as the members of the public with whom they will come into contact whilst filings,” explains Graeme Duane, Creative Director: Earth Touch. 

Simon and Siouxsie are available to attend to a snake that needs to be rescued, removed or relocated, from properties of people living in the greater Durban area, including as far south as Illovo Beach, inland to Botha’s Hill, and north to Tongaat. There is no charge for a call out, and depending on the circumstances, the caller may (with permission of course) end up on the international reality TV series. 

The number to call is 063 234 6932.