SNAKE catcher, Nick Evans, has been kept busy retrieving snakes and made a second visit to the Queensbugh area where he managed a tricky rescue of two Mozambique Spitting Cobras from a substation pipe.
Recently Nick captured the largest cobra he has caught in Northdene.
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A security guard at an electrical substation, in Queensburgh was alarmed when he spotted a large snake next to the building on Tuesday, 17 October. “The way the guard described it, made me sure it was a Black Mamba or large Mozambique Spitting Cobra. It was the latter, but there was a twist to this sighting, said Evans.
The snake went into what appeared to be a hole but was later discovered to be old plastic pipes that led into the substation.
“We then had to wait for staff from the municipality to bring the keys and unlock the substation, but the substation was divided into three rooms and we had the wrong key. We couldn’t get keys to the other two rooms from the municipality,” said Nick.
Nick couldn’t reach the snakes due to the risk of electrocution.
“However, when I lifted up the three pipes, I found three more stacked underneath. The pipes had the cables running through them, and they couldn’t be moved. I also couldn’t see the snakes, because the outside end was buried, and the other end was at the entrance of the tunnel, where I couldn’t get in to see. And I discovered there wasn’t one snake, but two. Obviously a pair that had joined to mate. I couldn’t believe my luck,” said Nick.
He said trying to get them out was not easy as he didn’t want them shooting past and into the tunnel.
“I needed to chase them out the other side, which lead outside. Using my tongs I reached in from the substation side, and put a stick down the pipe. I tried to prod them out, but they weren’t budging. I tried using the end of a broomstick, an old pipe, and branches. Eventually I used the handle-end of my hook stick, which was wider in diameter than what I had already tried using. This worked well, and one popped out. I quickly grabbed it, safely secured the head, and got it into a bucket. One down, one to go. The remaining snake didn’t come easily. I sat for another 15 minutes or so trying to get it out,” he said.
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Nick had to wait a little longer for the other snake to pop its head out for him to grab it, which it eventually did.
“I quickly, but gently, grabbed it with the tongs. I gently pulled it out a little, just so that I could get a safe grip of it with my hands. I did, and it was all over. Phew! I had been there for two and a half hours!,” he said with relief.
“Just before I released them, I checked to see if it was definitely a male and female. It was indeed a pair. It’s breeding season for most snake species now, including the Mozambique Spitting Cobra. The day after this incident, I caught another pair together in Riverhorse Valley,” he said.
Nick said the Mozambique Spitting Cobra is highly venomous, and is capable of biting as well as spitting.
“But like all snakes, if you leave it alone, you’ll be fine. If you do not want a snake on your property, call for advice rather than killing it.
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