While many people would be terrified about spotting, not one but four black mambas in a day, this was certainly not the case for Durban snake catcher Nick Evans.
Durban: While many people would be terrified of spotting not one but four black mambas in a day, this was certainly not the case for Durban snake catcher Nick Evans.
Evans boasted on his social media about rescuing four black mambas in and around Durban in one day.
“Yesterday was an absolutely crazy day. I caught four mambas, the most I’ve caught in a day,” Evans wrote on Facebook.
The first black mamba, a pregnant female that was 2.3m long, was found off Varsity Drive in Reservoir Hills.
“This black mamba was seen on the side of the road, trying to get into a hole in a recently dug up, and refilled trench, for fibre lines,” said Evans.
He said an officer from Blue Security stayed on the scene, keeping an eye on the snake, until he arrived.
Together with his friend Nick Saunders, they managed to rescue the mamba who was looking for a place to lay her eggs.
“Fortunately, the snake hadn’t really moved during our rush there. It was really struggling to get down the hole, although most of the body was down now.
“After more and more digging, she eventually started reversing. Nick held onto the tail, and as the head appeared, I pinned her down.
“She’ll be released after she lays her eggs. When her eggs hatch in a few months’ time, they too will be released.“
The next catch was at a home in Heron Street, Kharawastan, Chatsworth.
Evans said the homeowner’s security company sent him a video and he found out that it was black mamba slithering up the driveway.
He said that when he arrived, he thought the snake went under a massive shipping container, but soon saw the tail sticking out from under a pile of bricks.
“It was a female, weighing nearly 3kg, measuring just over 2.6m in length. It was extremely difficult holding her down. I have never struggled to hold a mamba down like I did this one. Immense beast.”
The third and fourth black mamba was found in Northcliff Road in Queensburgh.
Evans said he received a call from the homeowner about a snake in her driveway.
When he arrived, he found the snake lying still.
“As I got closer and closer, I started to wonder if the snake was either injured, or dead. I noticed the caller’s kids by the car, door’s open. Had they just driven down, and accidentally hit it? Then, as I neared the snake, I noticed its eye was faulty. It looked dead. Had it been dead a while? It was confusing. Well, I was right next to it, and grabbed it with my tongs. Then, and only then, did it burst into action! It didn’t put up a big fight really.”
As he was about to the leave, the homeowner asked him to check out the skin in the garden and identify it.
“What I actually found was a black male mamba basking in the sun.
“As I got with about two meters of it, it started to move.This was a large mamba, strong too. It was desperately trying to get away, but it wasn’t long before I managed to pin it down.”
He jokingly questioned if the snakes had been ’living’ together.
“Were they ‘living’ together? There’s a chance they never left each other after mating, in the winter.”
He concluded: “This was one of the most amazing calls I’ve had, it was my lucky day.”
IOL
