Durban - Durban snake catcher Nick Evans managed to rescue two venomous snakes in the Westville area despite the extreme heat on Sunday.
Evans said during the first call out, a family had returned home and noticed their dog staring at something in the corner of the courtyard.
He said behind a gutter pipe was a black mamba.
“Thankfully, the owners acted quickly before either animal could get hurt, and locked the dogs inside.”
Evans said when he arrived, he could see its head.
“The body was under the concrete. I was worried about how big the space under there could be. I asked for a hose to flood it out. I have only needed to do that once or twice with a black mamba, it worked well, and works on pretty much all snakes. This one didn't come easily, though.”
He said the space filled up with water and began overflowing.
“The mamba had gone back under, and wasn't visible for about two minutes. Then, its face appeared. For a few, frustrating minutes, it just sat there, staring at me - probably thoroughly enjoying its bath.
“Eventually, it slowly started coming out. I managed to hook it out of there with the tongs, and pin the mamba down. It was around 2m in length.”
The day did not end there for Evans as while he was leaving the area, he had to make a U-turn when another suspected mamba was seen at another property under a large pet rat enclosure, on a verandah.
“I looked under, with a suspicion it would be a Mozambique spitting cobra, and it was.”
Evans said he managed to pin the snake down without being spat at.
“It's actually not too long, around 1.2m, but so chunky! A very well-fed animal. They mostly eat toads, but will eat other snakes and rodents too. I think even the snakes are looking forward to a break from this intense heat!”
