Snake City (also known as Snakes in the City) is a wildlife documentary television series that stars snake-catchers Simon Keys and his partner, Siouxsie Gillett.
The show takes place in Durban, South Africa and has become valued for the series entertainment and educational perspective on catching and releasing life threatening snakes such as cobras, pythons and black mambas.
The series features music by the Stereo MCs.
Snake City
Genre : Wildlife documentary/Travel documentary/Family
Starring : Simon Keys, Siouxsie Gillett
Country of origin : South Africa
No. of seasons : 5
No. of episodes : 31
Production
Running time44 minutes
Release
Original network : Nat Geo (regular series)
Original release : November 7, 2014
Background
Gillette has a Herpetology degree and zoo background while Keys has worked with snakes all of his life.
The two met when Keys started working at the UK reptile store that Gillette managed.
After relocating to Durban, Keys and Gillette started a snake rescue service. They began charging a minimal fee for snake wrangling as many times they are called out to rural areas where people do not have money to pay for the service.
To make ends met, Keys also worked as a diver and tattoo artist.
Record temperatures and storms in South Africa have brought about an abundance of snakes in urban areas.
In Summer months, they receive close to one hundred calls a week.
Personal
In the past, Keys and Gillette also worked at a snake sanctuary in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. Gillette has an allergy to snake venom that can elevate the potency of a bite.
■ Herpetology (파충류학)
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν herpetón, meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoologyconcerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras). Birds, which are cladistically included within Reptilia, are traditionally excluded here; the scientific study of birds is the subject of ornithology.
Thus, the definition of herpetology can be more precisely stated as the study of ectothermic (cold-blooded) tetrapods. Under this definition "herps" (or sometimes "herptiles" or "herpetofauna") exclude fish, but it is not uncommon for herpetological and ichthyological scientific societies to "team up", publishing joint journals and holding conferences in order to foster the exchange of ideas between the fields, as the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists does.
Many herpetological societieshave been formed to promote interest in reptiles and amphibians, both captive and wild.
Herpetology offers benefits to humanity in the study of the role of amphibians and reptiles in global ecology, especially because amphibians are often very sensitive to environmental changes, offering a visible warning to humans that significant changes are taking place. Some toxins and venoms produced by reptiles and amphibians are useful in human medicine. Currently, some snake venom has been used to create anti-coagulants that work to treat strokes and heart attacks.
Etymology
The word "herpetology" is from Greek: ἑρπετόν, herpeton, "creeping animal" and -λογία, -logia, "knowledge". People with an avid interest in herpetology and who keep different reptiles or amphibians often refer to themselves as "herpers".
"Herp" is a vernacular term for non-avian reptiles and amphibians. It is derived from the old term "herpetile", with roots back to Linnaeus's classification of animals, in which he grouped reptiles and amphibians together in the same class. There are over 6700 species of amphibians and over 9000 species of reptiles.
In spite of its modern taxonomic irrelevance, the term has persisted, particularly in the names of herpetology, the scientific study of non-avian reptiles and amphibians, and herpetoculture, the captive care and breeding of reptiles and amphibians.

