Poopy surprise for Highway snake catcher
Nick Evans initially believed the snake to be a pregnant black mamba.
LOCAL snake expert, Nick Evans was called to Verulam recently to rescue what he believed was a large, possibly pregnant female black mamba.
He was in store for a real shock.
“I received a call from a homeowner who said his gardener opened up a septic tank at one of his properties, where no one is currently staying, and found a large snake,” said Evans.
The description he received of the snake was that it was ‘as thick as an arm’ and black in colour.
His first thought was a black mamba, unless the caller was exaggerating.
Upon arrival, he was led through an extremely bushy garden at the back of the property to the septic tank.
The septic tank was both drained and dry.
Using a spade, the gardener wedged it open and inside was the black mamba.
“I immediately said, ‘It’s pregnant!’ Most of the back half was swollen. When a snake has eaten, it’s generally swollen in the mid section. This was swollen from the mid section, all the way to near the tail,” said Evans.
The previous mamba he caught was also fond in a septic tank, a perfect place to lay its eggs.
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The gardener held the lid open for Evans as he extracted the mamba, which was about 1m in length.
He secured it, but the mamba had a dirty trick up its proverbial sleeve.
“Once I pulled it out to admire the ‘eggs’, it started emptying its bowels. I get pooped on all the time by mambas. You know when you’re trying to grab the end of the hose, when it’s switched on? That’s what I was trying to do. Suddenly, the ‘pregnant’ snake wasn’t looking so large. There were definitely no eggs in there, and it was a male,” said a surprised Evans.
He also said that for once he was relieved to have been wearing boots and not his usual slops during the rescue.
Contact Nick Evans on 072 809 5806 or email nickevanskzn@gmail.com.
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