Local principal catches snake, gets bitten

The school also immediately contacted a snake handler, who immediately carried out a thorough check of the school and no other snakes or nests were found.

FILE PHOTO: Ekurhuleni’s senior environmentalist, Christopher Mthombeni, with a cornsnake, which he caught at one of the local community parks in Edenvale.

The principal of Parkdene Primary School, Gert Jordaan, is recovering after being bitten by a venomous snake on January 31.

A black mamba bit Jordaan at the school and he was rushed to an undisclosed hospital where he underwent treatment and was kept under observation for 48 hours.

The school confirmed that the snake, identified as a juvenile black mamba, was found on the school premises.

“Our headmaster caught it and by doing so was bitten. No learner or other staff member were injured in any way,” said the deputy principal, who only identified herself as Ms S Tonkin.

The Department of Education was notified of the incident.

All learners were evacuated.

“We are monitoring the school for any such a re-occurrence for the safety of our learners going forward,” said the deputy principal.

“All is under control and the school is running normally.

“We are unaware of where the snake came from. This is the first time in our school’s history that a reptile has been found on our school premises.”