Durban — A swarm of bees, a cow and a rhombic night adder were all removed from a septic tank in the Eastern Cape.
Earlier this week, the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) commented on a recent issue that involved the rescue of a cow by the King William’s Town SPCA.
“A cow had fallen into a septic tank and could not get back out. In addition to the cow being stuck in the sludge in an awkward position, what made the rescue even more challenging was the fact that King William’s Town SPCA staff also found bees in the septic tank, as well as a snake – a rhombic night adder – that had fallen into the tank,” said the NSPCA.
The staff initially lit a fire so the bees could be smoked out, and then worked cautiously to get rid of the snake. The snake was duly captured safely and released into nature.
The NSPCA said that, owing to superstitions about snakes and bees, many onlookers had refused to help the King William’s Town SPCA staff to remove the cow.
This did not discourage them, and they continued to labour away until the cow was successfully rescued from the tank.
The cow escaped without any injuries and was rinsed off and returned to the kraal safely.
The NSPCA congratulated the King William’s Town SPCA for all their hard work in ensuring the safe removal of all the animals involved.
Last year, the Daily News reported on a similar incident in KwaZulu-Natal. In Hammarsdale, there was an incident involving a dog that had been submerged in sewage and trapped in a septic tank.
The Kloof & Highway SPCA responded to a call informing them that a dog was trapped in a factory’s septic tank. The pressure from the tank was just enough to support the dog. According to field officer Doctor Mthombeni, any additional pressure and the dog would have drowned.
The SPCA said that, owing to his quick thinking, Mthombeni immediately used some rope and his control pole to support the weight of the dog. This was done just in time, as the top layer of the sewage then broke and the dog was covered in sewage as it fell down.
Daily News