Puff adders are an uncommon sight in the area.
Durban – Renowned snake catcher, Nick Evans had a busy start to his week,
being called out to a rare catch for him and what could have easily turned out
to be a case of mistaken identity.
On Monday, Evans was excited to have been called out to
rescue a puff adder, in the Inanda area, which he said was a very uncommon sight
for him.
He also described the call out as a “treat”.
It turns out, Evans had been talking about puff adders prior
to his call out and rescue. He said he should probably talk about the snakes
more often.
Evans said a homeowner near Inanda heard his dog barking at
something in the garden, and when he went to investigate, he spotted the pretty
snake slithering into a thick patch of plants.
“When he sent me a photo, asking what it was, I got super excited! I don’t see
many puff adders at all. The few calls that I do get are generally quite far
west, from Cato Ridge and further inland. So to have one pretty close to home
was great!” he exclaimed.
He said it was a pretty easy catch as it was curled among
the leaves and became camouflaged.
“I scooped it out, put it in the open, and just admired it.
It got a bit lively, admittedly, but dealing with puff adders is relatively
easy. Well, compared to a mamba or cobra for example,” Evans said.
He said it was an impressive size too.
Evans said he was also called out to a property in Winston
Park where “a large grey or brown snake” was going up a tree.
“It was not welcomed to stay, particularly if it turned out
to be a black mamba (although in that area I was sure it was a Boomslang),”
said Evans.
He said they shook the branches as much as they could but
they could not get the snake to move in order for them to see it and began
thinking the snake had gone down the tree when the homeowners were not looking.
However, then he heard that the tree was going to be chopped
down and took advantage to find the snake.
Evans said he would have felt more terrible had the tree
been an indigenous one.
“We got to the last branch, still without a glimpse of the
snake. As I lowered it to the floor, a decent-sized female Boomslang popped
out! We quickly grabbed her before she shot off. Healthy snake, potentially
gravid/pregnant too,” said Evans.
Daily News
