WATCH: Young black mamba found hiding next to a washing machine in Westville

A 'cheeky' young black mamba found shelter next to a washing machine in a Westville home. Snake rescuer Nick Evans says despite the snake’s small size at less than 60 centimetres long, it was still highly venomous

A small juvenile black mamba was rescued from its hide-out next to a washing machine at a house in Dawncliffe Westville. Picture: Screen grab of video.

Published Jun 22, 2022

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Durban - A juvenile black mamba, which is believed to have hatched in February, was found hiding in an area where a washing machine is kept at a house in Dawncliffe in Westville on Monday.

Snake rescuer Nick Evans described the young snake as “cheeky”.

He said the small sheltered area where the snake was found was a great hide-out.

“The owner was lucky his dogs weren’t the ones who found it! That was a relief. Even at this age, they are highly venomous, with the same potency as adults.”

Evans said he seldom finds mambas of this size. This snake was less than 60cm, he said.

“They hatch around February/March. So since that time this year, I’ve had 5 calls for ones this size so far, and 2 were killed by cats.”

He said juvenile mambas generally grow quickly.

“At this size, they’re always more grumpy than adults. In saying that, they’re just more terrified.”

Evans said the small mamba was released away from people.

“Hopefully, it grows to adulthood! At this (current) size, it will need to worry about birds, mongoose and Monitor Lizards.”

THE MERCURY