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Superlong Mambas congregate at Escombe address

Highway's 'snake man', Nick Evans, recently caught not just one, but three Mambas, all in the same area of Escombe.

NICK EVANS is known to have a soft spot in his heart for mambas. Where other people run screaming, he rushes towards sightings of this much maligned snake.

He recently caught not just one, but three Mambas, all in the same area of Escombe. The snakes it seems were attracted by a female black Mamba which the male snakes wanted to mate with.Evans described the capture of an almost three metre long black mamba in the area recently.

“There were two males, wrestling in someone’s back garden in Phillips Road, Escombe,” said the excited snake catcher.

“They saw me getting close. I was trying to get close to film! But they’re too alert, and knew it was time to go. I grabbed one as it tried to get into a crevice. Once I got it in a bucket and came back for the second, it had vanished. I couldn’t have been away for longer than 30 seconds. I was disappointed to say the least!”

Mating season

“Winter is the time of year where the majority of Durbanites think that there are no snakes around,” said Evans speaking to the Queensburgh News recently.”I’m afraid to say that this is not true.”

“While many snake species do go quiet, due to there being few frogs around, and cold temperatures, some are still active,” he explained.

“It is actually the breeding season for mambas, black and green,” he said with a smile, hastily adding, “but don’t panic!”

Evans explained that during the months of May and June, female mambas leave a scent trail in their wake. These scent trails made up of pheromones are detected by males who pick up the scene with their forked tongues.

“The sense of smell in a mamba is quite remarkable,” he exclaimed. “My best example is in 2019, I caught a female in a compost heap in a garden in Reservoir Hills. The compost heap was burnt, as was the entire garden, as well as some of the neighbour’s. Yet, despite that, over the space of two weeks, three male mambas came slithering through the ash, directly to the spot where we caught the female. The scent was still there. How they can do that, I don’t know.”

Phillips Road

Evans said recently he was called to the same road in Escombe where a female in the cliff had attracted five males. “It’s a smell we can’t detect, but they certainly can,” he explained.He described how males fight for mating rights.

“If males bump into each other, on the scent trail or near the female, they will fight for mating rights, which is what was seen in neighbouring properties in Phillips Road,” he described.

“Generally, they don’t bite each other, nor do they fight to the death. It’s a wrestling match till one gives up, and moves on. It’s spectacular to watch!”

He said that after the wrestling match the winning male claims the female, and the paid will go into a secluded area to mate. However, Evans also explained that females don’t just mate with one mate.

“Female snakes can mate with more than one male in a season, and the clutch of eggs can be from two or three males,” he explained.

“Eggs are laid in late spring, and hatch just over two months later. The young measure 50-60cm, and grow incredibly fast,” he said adding that hatchlings are rarely seen. “I only see between 1-3 a year.”

Angry snakes?

Evans said, contrary to popular myth. mambas do not become more dangerous during mating seaons. “They’re just as scared of us as ever. So no need to worry about that,” he reassured. “Mambas do not become more aggressive at this time of year towards humans or dogs.”

Distribution

Black Mambas are common in Roosfontein, Paradise Valley and North Park. So homes bordering these beautiful reserves may encounter mambas. Homes not bordering the reserves or large patches of bush generally don’t see mambas.

“The easiest way to identify a Black Mamba is the size,” explained Evans who works for KwaZulu-Natal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.

“Adults, which the most common size seen, average in lengths of 2.2m-2.5m+-. They’re around wrist thickness too, so they’re big! They’re grey in colour, fast, and good climbers too.”

“Green Mambas are generally a coastal species. However, what’s been fascinating, is that a population has established in North Park Nature Reserve. When, exactly, no one knows. Maybe they’ve always been there, maybe they’ve been pushed inland over time with coastal development,” he mused.

“But they are doing rather well in the reserve, although still not a common site.”

However Evans said that during last year’s egg-laying season, he and other snake catchers caught three pregnant females around the reserve and in homes nearby.

Research

“We’re taking DNA samples from these snakes, which will hopefully give us more information on them in the future. So if you suspect you see one, in the North Park region, do try get a pic if you can, and send to me please,” he asked.”As is the case with Black Mambas, we rarely see small Green Mambas, less than a metre long. They are a lot smaller than Black Mambas, with lengths averaging from 1.3m-1.6m+-. They’re far thicker in build than the common, harmless, Spotted Bush Snake, and are green all over, with no black markings or pale belly.”

 

 


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