Two highly venomous snakes caught in Westville
Nick Evans, the founder of the KwaZulu-Natal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, can only be called out for emergencies where venomous snakes are involved.
SNAKE catcher, Nick Evans, caught two highly venomous snakes in the Westville area yesterday.
He was called to a property in Shepstone Place yesterday as the family’s description of the reptile represented that of a black mamba.
The family said they often looked up at the roof for snakes as they have seen snake skins.
“This time they saw this large snake and, by their description, I was pretty sure it was a mamba. I got there and I could see its face popping out the side of a beam,” said Nick.
He climbed onto the roof and removed a few tiles and caught the snake.
“It was curled up but, before it moved, I grabbed it. I caught it fairly easily. Usually when they are in a roof it takes forever,” said Nick.
The black mamba was slightly more than 2m in length.
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Soon after a highly venomous Mozambique Spitting Cobra was spotted in a property on Carlton Avenue in Dawncliffe and Nick immediately rushed to the scene.
“It’s a very large snake. It was cruising around the garden and, as I got there, its tail disappeared down a drainpipe,” he said.
He initially attempted to flush it out with a hosepipe but was forced to remove cement and break through a pipe to reach the snake.
“I was given the okay from the landlord to remove some of the cement and broke a hole into the pipe and removed a big, old cobra,” said Nick.
He took DNA samples, sexed and measured the cobra before he released it. Nick marked the snake’s length as 1.5m and averaged its age between 15 to 20 years old.
The Black Mamba has not yet been released as it needs to be microchipped.
Nick Evans is on call for emergencies only.
He has a permit and will respond to call outs that involve highly venomous snakes found around the home. Residents can contact him for advice and to help with snake identification. Contact Nick on 072 809 5806.
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