He is dubbed "The Snakeman" in and around the Soekmekaar area, following his fascinating skill of handling venomous snakes that frighten his villagers, farmers and their livestock.

Mr Samuel Malihase (49) of Nthabiseng in the Soekmekaar area has been handling snakes since he was still a young man.

Malihase said that, before he developed his passion for handling snakes, he enjoyed wildlife as a hunter. Once in the bushes, the snake handler said that he can feel and sense the dangerous reptile with the long narrow body without legs.

When he notices a snake, Malihase says, he doesn’t stand still, but moves backwards slowly. He will rather aim straight for the snake, not to kill it, but to catch it and take it to a local snake park in Soekmekaar.

Malihase is very aware of the fact that venomous snake bites can lead to death or permanent injuries to the affected area, but he claims to Mirror that he is not using magic or antidote when catching and handling the snakes.

When villagers and farmers find a snake, they call him. "When I arrive at the scene, I get everyone away from the snake. Even if the snake shows that it is ready to fight, I don´t even try to kill it. I will go straight for it. I strategise and, when it attempts to bite me, I duck and suddenly catch it next to the head," he says.

While adders, cobras and mambas are considered extremely dangerous snakes, Malihase says that he usually enjoys catching them. "If a particular farmer or villager is being terrorised by a snake, they call me. When I arrive, I ask them to show me where the snake is hiding and when I catch it, I don´t kill it and I take it back to the bushes if I am not taking it to the snake park," he said.

Malihase added that certain snakes, when they sense him, fake death by standing still, while others prefer to sail away.

He says that his unusual act has earned him a good relationship with farmers whose livestock have been terrorised by pythons in the area. "I have a good relationship with farmers as a result of my snake catching," he says.

Malihase is capable of catching and handling venomous snakes, but he confirms that he is always cautious and changes his tactics while catching the deadly mambas and cobras. "When I want to catch a mamba or cobra, I put spectacles and a cotton wool over my head, using two sticks," he said.

"I am worried when people, especially in the black communities, kill snakes. I understand that they associate finding a snake in their households with witchcraft, but they should know that some snakes are not venomous and they enjoy living where there are people," he says.

He says that snakes come to households looking for their prey (rats). Recently, Malihase fascinated his community when he caught a 7,5-metre long python weighing 13kg on a plot affectionately known as Johan 2000 in the Soekmekaar area.

Malihase claims to have caught nine pythons, four cobras and two mambas. The snake handler adds that he will never walk with a torch during the night in fear of snakes. "As long as my passion for wild animals, and particularly snakes, exists, I will keep on catching snakes because that´s what I enjoy most," he said.