Saudi snake catcher breaking stigmas with Baha conservation group

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Some snake species are diurnal, such as the Arabian cobra, the braid snake and the hissing snake, while others are nocturnal, due to their slow movement and inability to climb. (Supplied)
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Updated 15 August 2021
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Saudi snake catcher breaking stigmas with Baha conservation group

  • Animal behavior expert captures the slithery creatures in an attempt to protect and conserve them

MAKKAH: For a little over 30 years, residents of Baha in the southwest part of Saudi Arabia have sought the help of a local cobra catcher who shares a unique bond with the slithery creatures, while also trying to protect them through conservation and awareness efforts.

Hamza Al-Ghamdi, an animal behavior expert and a longtime conservationist, has caught snakes in the region for “as long as I can remember” due to his unique charm and technique.
He captures snakes in an attempt to protect and conserve them, and in the process tries to correct the damaging stereotype that all snakes are dangerous, venomous and will leave a human dead within 30 minutes.
The truth is, “snakes are shy and would rather escape than confront people,” Al-Ghamdi told Arab News.
A native of the southwestern mountainous region, he said that there are 45 species of snakes from seven main families in the Kingdom. Some are rare, while others can be found easily, but the distribution of species around the Kingdom depends on climate, terrain and the availability of prey, he added.
“Some of the most venomous snakes found in the Kingdom are the Arabian cobra, a venomous snake that is endemic to Arabian Peninsula, the puff adder and the horned desert viper, and there are also those that are mildly venomous, such as the hissing snake and braid snake,” said Al-Ghamdi.
The average size of the Kingdom’s snake species ranges between 55 and 75 centimeters in length, Al-Ghamdi added. He stressed that common fears surrounding snakes are “exaggerated” and called on people to protect and conserve them, especially through education and handling lessons, which can change people’s opinions of the slithery creatures.


He said that smaller snakes are “clever camouflagers,” often ignored by humans due to their size or color, leading some to believe that they are earthworms. “There are also two species of boas that are known as the burrowing serpent, as well as the atractaspidae family that includes the most dangerous venomous snake — a small black but deadly one.”
He said that snakes are often found in agricultural areas, and near bodies of water and poultry farming sites, especially pigeon farms. They are attracted to the smell of their prey, which include mice, baby pigeons and bird nests. But Al-Ghamdi said that cats enjoy killing snakes near residential areas, with the two animals being “sworn enemies.”

IhopeI manage to create an exhibition to present these species in our region, in order to promote awareness for visitors, spread knowledge to interested people and preserve these rare species.

Hamza Al-Ghamdi

His connection with snakes is a special one found in many snake catchers, he said, telling Arab News how he has an “emotional communication” with them, and how his time caring for them helped him reach “higher levels of concentration while performing tasks.”
Al-Ghamdi said that some snake species are diurnal, such as the Arabian cobra, the braid snake and the hissing snake, while others are nocturnal, due to their slow movement and inability to climb.
And statistically, snakes pose a tiny threat to the Kingdom, he added, with snake bite numbers being relatively low and usually limited to people who carelessly try to catch them — often men and children. “I was bitten several times while handling snakes throughout 30 years and catching more than 500 cobras in that time,” he said.
Al-Ghamdi believes that cobras are some of the most “highly evolved and fascinating creatures.” He said that attempting to kill a snake puts people in danger, and as predators, they will defend themselves if threatened. “They’ll snap and continuously try to bite if they feel you’re trying to kill them.”
Only about one in five of the world’s snake species are venomous, with most snakes encountered by people being harmless and in fact beneficial, playing an important role in balancing the ecosystem. Predators by nature, snakes help protect agriculture by catching and killing rodents, which are major culprits in destroying crops and causing damage.

HIGHLIGHTS

• A native of the southwestern mountainous region, Hamza Al-Ghamdi said that there are 45 species of snakes from 7 main families in the Kingdom. Some are rare, while others can be found easily, but the distribution of species around the Kingdom depends on climate, terrain and the availability of prey.

• The average size of the Kingdom’s snake species ranges between 55 and 75 centimeters in length, Al-Ghamdi said. He stressed that common fears surrounding snakes are ‘exaggerated’ and called on people to protect and conserve them, especially through education and handling lessons, which can change people’s opinions of the slithery creatures.

Though he continues to try to educate nearby residents, there is still a common misconception that all snakes are harmful to humans. On the contrary, Al-Ghamdi said, they prefer to flee over risking a potentially dangerous encounter.
“I established a nonofficial group to hunt snakes that Baha citizens inform us about in their homes or farms, and we create awareness-raising videos about the importance of these species, especially the Arabian cobra that only lives in the Kingdom, Oman and Yemen. It is a distinct species that must be preserved,” he added.
“I hope I manage to create an exhibition to present these species in our region, in order to promote environmental awareness for visitors, spread knowledge to interested people and preserve these rare species. We often warn against handling snakes and underestimating their capability, and recommend leaving them alone. If snakes find an escape, they will flee and simply leave you alone without attacking.”


Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris

Updated 04 April 2025
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Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris

  • Bouffard said the damage to the known sites as well as treasures potentially hidden in unexplored Palestinian land “depends on the bomb tonnage and their impact on the surface and underground”

PARIS: A new exhibition opening in Paris on Friday showcases archaeological artifacts from Gaza, once a major commercial crossroads between Asia and Africa, whose heritage has been ravaged by Israel’s ongoing onslaught.
Around a hundred artifacts, including a 4,000-year-old bowl, a sixth-century mosaic from a Byzantine church and a Greek-inspired statue of Aphrodite, are on display at the Institut du Monde Arabe.
The rich and mixed collection speaks to Gaza’s past as a cultural melting pot, but the show’s creators also wanted to highlight the contemporary destruction caused by the war, sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
“The priority is obviously human lives, not heritage,” said Elodie Bouffard, curator of the exhibition, which is titled “Saved Treasures of Gaza: 5,000 Years of History.”
“But we also wanted to show that, for millennia, Gaza was the endpoint of caravan routes, a port that minted its own currency, and a city that thrived at the meeting point of water and sand,” she told AFP.
One section of the exhibition documents the extent of recent destruction.
Using satellite image, the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO has already identified damage to 94 heritage sites in Gaza, including the 13th-century Pasha’s Palace.
Bouffard said the damage to the known sites as well as treasures potentially hidden in unexplored Palestinian land “depends on the bomb tonnage and their impact on the surface and underground.”
“For now, it’s impossible to assess.”
The attacks by Hamas militants on Israel in 2023 left 1,218 dead. In retaliation, Israeli operations have killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated the densely populated territory.

The story behind “Gaza’s Treasures” is inseparable from the ongoing wars in the Middle East.
At the end of 2024, the Institut du Monde Arabe was finalizing an exhibition on artifacts from the archaeological site of Byblos in Lebanon, but Israeli bombings on Beirut made the project impossible.
“It came to a sudden halt, but we couldn’t allow ourselves to be discouraged,” said Bouffard.
The idea of an exhibition on Gaza’s heritage emerged.
“We had just four and a half months to put it together. That had never been done before,” she explained.
Given the impossibility of transporting artifacts out of Gaza, the Institut turned to 529 pieces stored in crates in a specialized Geneva art warehouse since 2006. The works belong to the Palestinian Authority, which administers the West Bank.

The Oslo Accords of 1993, signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, helped secure some of Gaza’s treasures.
In 1995, Gaza’s Department of Antiquities was established, which oversaw the first archaeological digs in collaboration with the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF).
Over the years, excavations uncovered the remains of the Monastery of Saint Hilarion, the ancient Greek port of Anthedon, and a Roman necropolis — traces of civilizations spanning from the Bronze Age to Ottoman influences in the late 19th century.
“Between Egypt, Mesopotamian powers, and the Hasmoneans, Gaza has been a constant target of conquest and destruction throughout history,” Bouffard noted.
In the 4th century BC, Greek leader Alexander the Great besieged the city for two months, leaving behind massacres and devastation.
Excavations in Gaza came to a standstill when Hamas took power in 2007 and Israel imposed a blockade.
Land pressure and rampant building in one of the world’s most densely populated areas has also complicated archaeological work.
And after a year and a half of war, resuming excavations seems like an ever-more distant prospect.
The exhibition runs until November 2, 2025.
 

 


US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands

Updated 03 April 2025
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US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands

  • The Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean was slapped with 10% tariffs on all its exports

WASHINGTON: The world’s remotest corners couldn’t hide from US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs onslaught Wednesday — even the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands.
The Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean was slapped with 10 percent tariffs on all its exports, despite the icy archipelago having zero residents — other than many seals, penguins and other birds.
Strings of ocean specks around the globe, including Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Comoros off the coast of Africa, were likewise subjected to 10 percent new tariffs.
Another eye-catching inclusion in the tariffs list was Myanmar, which is digging out from an earthquake that left nearly 3,000 people dead, and whose exports to the United States will now face 44 percent in new levies.
Britain’s Falkland Islands — population 3,200 people and around one million penguins — got particular punishment.
The South Atlantic territory — mostly famous for a 1982 war fought by Britain to expel an Argentinian invasion — was walloped with tariffs of 41 percent on exports to the United States.
The Falklands’ would-be ruler Argentina only faces 10 percent new tariffs.
According to the Falklands Chamber of Commerce, the territory is ranked 173 in the world in terms of global exports, with only $306 million of products exported in 2019. This included $255 million in exports of mollusks and $30 million of frozen fish.


Australia PM Albanese falls off stage during election campaign event

Updated 03 April 2025
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Australia PM Albanese falls off stage during election campaign event

  • Albanese was posing for photos following his speech when he stepped back and lost his footing
  • Albanese promptly got back on his feet and gestured to the crowd with two hands that he was fine

SYDNEY: Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared to fall off a stage on Thursday during a campaign event for May’s national election, but quickly recovered and insisted he was “sweet” afterwards.
The leader of the center-left Labor party, 62, was posing for photos following his speech at the Mining and Energy Union Conference held in New South Wales, when he stepped back and lost his footing, drawing gasps from the audience.
Albanese promptly got back on his feet and gestured to the crowd with two hands that he was fine.
Video footage from the event showed Albanese had tumbled off the stage, although he shrugged off the incident when asked about it during a radio interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“I stepped back one step. I didn’t fall off the stage ... just one leg went down, but I was sweet,” he said.
Albanese is currently on the campaign trail for an election on May 3. The Labor party is running neck-and-neck in opinion polls with the conservative Liberal-National opposition led by Peter Dutton.


Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuit weeks after $50m ruling

Updated 02 April 2025
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Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuit weeks after $50m ruling

  • The suit, filed at the city’s superior court, claims one of the cups in her order was not properly secured
  • The negligence suit seeks unspecified general and special damages

LOS ANGELES: Starbucks was facing another lawsuit over a spilled hot drink Wednesday, just weeks after a court ordered the coffee giant to pay $50 million to a man who was injured by a cup of tea.
A lawsuit lodged in California claims Sabrina Michelle Hermes was seriously hurt when hot liquid tipped into her lap at a drive-through in Norwalk, near Los Angeles, two years ago.
The suit, filed at the city’s superior court, claims one of the cups in her order was not properly secured when it was handed to her, and the drink sloshed out onto her legs, a hip, a knee and her feet, causing severe injuries.
Starbucks “owed a duty to exercise reasonable care with respect to the preparation, handling and service of hot beverages so as to prevent them from spilling onto and injuring customers such as plaintiff,” the suit says.
The negligence suit seeks unspecified general and special damages, including reimbursement for past and future medical costs and lost earnings.
A spokesperson for Starbucks told AFP on Wednesday the company would be contesting the claim.
“We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks,” the spokesperson said.
“We are aware of Ms. Hermes’ claims and firmly believe they are without merit. We look forward to presenting our case in court.”
Last month a jury in Los Angeles ordered the firm to pay $50 million to delivery driver Michael Garcia, who suffered burns when a super-sized drink spilled in his lap at a drive-through.
Garcia’s lawyers claimed the server who handed him three large drinks in February 2020 did not push one of them into the cardboard cupholder properly.
Starbucks said at the time of the ruling that it would appeal the award, which it said was “excessive.”
A landmark legal ruling against McDonalds in New Mexico in 1994 established something of a precedent for Americans suing fast food companies when 79-year-old Stella Liebeck was awarded over $2.8 million after spilling hot coffee on herself.
Although the award was reduced on appeal, the case was often cited as an example of the need to reform US tort laws.


Slovakia allows culling 350 bears, riles conservationists

Updated 02 April 2025
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Slovakia allows culling 350 bears, riles conservationists

  • Fico’s government has also declared a state of emergency in most Slovak districts over “undesirable” bear presence
  • The Slovak parliament already eased the rules for bear culling in May 2024

BRATISLAVA: The Slovak government on Wednesday approved the shooting of 350 bears citing danger posed to people, a move conservationists slammed as unlawful.
The decision follows several bear attacks on people, including the discovery of the remains of a man in central Slovakia probably killed by a bear on Sunday.
“We can’t live in a country where people are afraid to go to the woods,” Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters.
Fico’s government has also declared a state of emergency in most Slovak districts over “undesirable” bear presence.


The Slovak parliament already eased the rules for bear culling in May 2024, allowing exemptions from a ban in several districts.
But the country must follow an EU directive that allows culling only of problem bears damaging property or attacking people, and only if there is no other solution.
A total of 93 bears were shot in the EU member country of 5.4 million people in 2024, while 36 died in car accidents, the daily Dennik N said earlier.
But journalists from the Jan Kuciak Investigative Center said hunters probably never killed bears that had attacked people, based on a study of 50 cases from 2024.
Environment Minister Tomas Taraba said on Wednesday there were more than 1,300 bears in Slovakia, and that 800 was a “sufficient number,” as the population keeps growing.
But conservationists criticized the government, saying Wednesday’s decision was in violation of international obligations and that the environment ministry knowingly breached the law.
They called on the ministry to instead teach people how to stay safe in nature.
“Instead of ineffective solutions, we need to strengthen prevention — education, provision of garbage removal, regulation of baiting of game or informing the public about safe movement in nature,” the Aevis Foundation said on Facebook.