“It Was Ready to Take a Picture”: Snake Standing Upright at Night on Roadside Leaves Mzansi Spooked

• A Facebook video shared on 8 August 2026 showed a large snake raising its head upright from roadside grass in Reitz at night
• Passing motorists stopped their vehicles and shone torchlight on the snake, which appeared to observe what was happening around it calmly
• South Africans flooded the comments with strong reactions, with many debating whether the snake should be left alone or removed

A nighttime snake sighting on a roadside stopped motorists in their tracks. Facebook user Dai Doll from Retiz shared the footage on 8 August 2026, and it quickly had Mzansi talking.

The grainy, handheld clip shows a large snake nestled in the long, dry grass on the side of the road. What caught people off guard was not just the snake's size, but its posture. Its head and a good portion of its upper body were raised upright, still and watchful, as if studying the commotion unfolding around it.

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Torchlight cut through the darkness as bystanders gathered, and several vehicles pulled over for a closer look. Despite all the attention, the snake held its ground, unbothered.

Python or not? Mzansi can't agree

The poor video quality made it difficult to identify the species with certainty, and that sparked its own debate in the comments. Many viewers were convinced it was a python. Others were more focused on the shaky footage than the snake itself.

According to wildlife experts, most snakes are most active at dusk and night, when they prefer to hunt. Raising the head is common behaviour in larger snakes when they sense movement or light nearby. It is not a sign of aggression, but curiosity or alertness. Experts generally advise that the safest response to any snake encounter is to keep a distance and leave it alone.

Mzansi spooked by the roadside sighting

South Africans were vocal about what they saw on the Facebook page, and not everyone was alarmed:

@Phindile Khoza said:

"Ready to attack."

@Thobile Mdlalose wrote:

"And it was ready to take a picture."

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@Phiwa Sekwanele shared:

"Poor thing, it doesn't understand what's happening."

@Malokisa Khorommbi noted:

"But it is in the bush."

@Muzii Masingæ added:

"Just a wild python minding its own business."

Watch the snake footage here.

The consensus among many viewers was to leave the snake be rather than disturb it, a reminder that most snake encounters on South African roadsides are more unsettling for the humans involved than for the animal itself.

More on SA snake encounters

• Briefly News recently reported on a snake expert who debunked a dangerous first-aid myth that could make a puff adder bite far more deadly.
• A snake rescuer left South Africans horrified after finding a giant reptile coiled inside a toilet bowl.
• Meanwhile, a Cape Town snake handler's calm bond with a deadly cobra left Mzansi in disbelief as he worked to safely relocate it.

Source: Briefly News