Mamma mamba caught in Pinetown
The pregnant black mamba was seen slithering across a yard in Farningham Ridge.
NICK Evans, a local snake expert, was called to catch a black mamba seen slithering in a Farningham Ridge yard.
By its description, he believed it would be a black mamba. He contacted Duncan Slabbert to meet him at the home. Stuck in rush hour traffic, Evans arrived at the home at the same time as Slabbert.
“We were led around the back of the house. It was all paved. There, a couple of metres from us, was a black mamba against the wall,” said Evans. “We approached it cautiously. It was well aware of our presence, raised off of the ground slightly, telling us to get lost.”
The snake is about 2.1m in length.
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“Duncan walked around to get in front of it, so it had nowhere to go. I walked up to it and grabbed it with the tongs. It thrashed its head around, but I had a good grip and it reversed back into the tongs, allowing me to secure the head,” said Evans.
With the deadly reptile secured, he noted the tail end was swollen and looked pregnant. He took it to Dangerous Creatures at uShaka Marine World to be x-rayed.
“Sure enough, the x-rays showed a whole bunch of eggs bunched up in the body! How exciting!” he exclaimed.
He said the snake would be kept safe until she lays the eggs, then will release it.
“This way she won’t have to worry about finding a suitable laying site, and the eggs stand a better chance of hatching,” he said.
Contact Nick Evans on 072 809 5806 or email nickevanskzn@gmail.com
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