Durban – A Westville resident contacted Durban snake catcher Nick Evans to assist him to remove a black mamba from inside his VW Polo.
Evans said when he arrived at the house, where he had previously rescued black mambas, he found that the snake was in the undercarriage of the car.
Before his arrival, Evans said he had received a picture of the snake and he could tell that it was not a large mamba, which meant that this would be a difficult rescue based on his experience.
He therefore contacted his friend Rob Prece, owner of Dubcorp, a vehicle repair shop in Westville North, to see if he could help.
“Rob has helped me a few times with mambas in cars. It was at the end of a working day, time to go home, but as usual, he didn't hesitate in offering to help.”
Evans said he drove the Polo while the owner followed behind in a family member's car.
“On Roger Sishi (Blair Atholl) Road, he called me to say ‘I can see it!’. The mamba was coming out from the underside of the car, on the right side! I was so close to Dubcorp, I just carried on, a bit faster than I was going.”
He said when he arrived at Dubcorp, he was a bit nervous to get out of the car as the snake was by the driver's door.
However, he said when he got out there was no sign of the snake.
“After checking the engine compartment, and finding nothing, the staff at Dubcorp hoisted the car up, so we could look from below. We looked and looked, but nothing. The owner, who was driving behind me, was adamant it hadn't come out. I believed him. Snakes can find all sorts of frustrating spaces to hide in.”
Evans said after a lengthy search, and having taken a few things apart, they were about to call it a day
“Suddenly, I heard a scream from Rob. He spotted it, rather close to where his hands were! It was in the radiator! First time seeing a mamba there.”
He said the mamba was in a difficult position, and required someone to coax it out for him.
Evans said Rob bravely offered to poke it and irritate it for him with a wire.
“It took a little while, but eventually, it worked. Just enough of the head and neck showed, and I pinned it down. It wasn't a great angle for me, but I managed.The mamba was very warm to the touch, and exhausted.”
The mamba is a 1.95 metre female which was released away from cars, he added.
