Wildlife is known to be attracted to cities as a result of the ecosystem services associated with synanthorpization. This however often results in conflicts between human activities and wildlife. Accidental encounters between snakes and people in urban areas is a problem Windhoek shares with many cities around the world. Globally, this conflict leads to numerous human envenomations, a serious and neglected health concern according to the World Health Organisation. It is estimated that between 4000 and 30,000 people die from snakebite envenomation annually in sub-Saharan Africa alone. Surrounded by farm and natural land, the capital city of Namibia experiences regular snake occurrence in and around houses, gardens and industrial sites. We investigated reported occurrences of snakes in the city over three years in order to assess possible temporal and spatial trends, and identified possible reasons for such trends. Between August 2015 and July 2018, 509 snakes of 17 species were removed from homes, gardens and industrial sites in the city. Puff adder (Bitis arietans) (32%, n = 163) and western barred spitting cobra (Naja nigricincta nigricincta) (27%, n = 135) dominated removal incidents. Of the other species, only brown house snake (Boaedon capensis) (11%, n = 57) and boomslang (Dispholidus typus viridis) (10%, n = 52) accounted for 10% and more of removals. The number of monthly reports of B. arietans occurrence showed a strong positive relationship with monthly total rainfall while N. n. nigricincta presented a moderately positive relationship with rainfall. The highest number of incidents were reported in January (18%, n = 92) when combining monthly data over the three years. Reports of snake occurrence incidents were highest in the affluent eastern and southern suburbs, possibly as a result of garden irrigation and larger open spaces between buildings, although the study could not measure whether reporting diligence was consistent across all suburbs. Although 76% (n = 388) of snake incidents involved venomous species, no snakebite incidents were reported during the period.

众所周知，由于协同作用，野生生物被城市吸引。然而，这经常导致人类活动与野生动植物之间的冲突。温得和克与世界许多城市共同遇到的问题是，蛇与城市地区的人们偶然相遇。在世界范围内，这种冲突导致了无数人为敌，这是世界卫生组织（WHO）提出的严重而被忽视的健康问题。据估计，仅在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，每年就有4000至30,000人死于蛇咬。纳米比亚的首都被农场和自然土地所环绕，在房屋，花园和工业场所及其周围经常发生蛇类袭击。为了评估可能的时空趋势，我们调查了三年来该市蛇的报告发生情况，并确定了这种趋势的可能原因。在2015年8月至2018年7月之间，从该城市的房屋，花园和工业场所清除了17种物种的509条蛇。粉扑加法器（Brie arietans（32％，n  = 163）和西方禁止随地吐痰的眼镜蛇（Naja nigricincta nigricincta）（27％，n  = 135）是清除事件中的佼佼者。在其他物种中，只有褐家蛇（Boaedon capensis）（11％，n  = 57）和臂章（Dispholidus typus viridis）（10％，n  = 52）占清除的10％以上。B. arietans发生的月度报告数量与月总降雨量有很强的正相关关系，而N. n。则是。nigricincta与降雨呈正相关。一月份报告的事件数量最高（18％，n = 92），则合并三年中的每月数据。富裕的东部和南部郊区发生蛇类事件的报道最多，这可能是由于花园灌溉和建筑物之间较大的空地所致，尽管该研究无法衡量在所有郊区中报告的勤奋是否一致。尽管有76％（n  = 388）的蛇毒事件涉及有毒物种，但在此期间没有蛇咬事件的报道。