THE rescue of the fortnight was not a snake, this time, it was a dog that had an encounter with the snake possessing the most dangerous bite in Africa.
Where did this occur?
Dawncliff, Westville
What happened?
At 10am on 12 June, Jasper, a terrier cross, sniffed out a small snake in the courtyard of his owner’s home. Instincts kicked in, and he attacked it. His owner, Morag, saw him run off with the snake. The courtyard has a green, plastic roof giving the snake a green appearance so she thought it was a harmless green snake.
Just over half-an hour later, she found and sent me a photo of the severed, snake’s body, asking for an ID. I was horrified as I could tell it was a Black Mamba. I immediately phoned Morag. To my surprise, little Jasper seemed fine, according to her, not displaying any symptoms. Had he received a dry bite where no venom is injected?
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Surely not, not while hurting and killing a mamba. Had he avoided a bite altogether? I could not believe that. I told her to rush Jasper to her nearest vet. Minutes later, Morag noticed Jasper wasn’t looking himself but he hopped in the car and even walked into Maryvale vet by himself, but then collapsed.
What happens to dogs which have been bitten by a mamba?
Unfortunately, by the time the owner gets the dog to the vet, it has usually passed away or does so on arrival. The fact that Jasper, a small-sized dog, was alive by the time he got to the vet, was encouraging.
This mamba was a juvenile but they possess that deadly venom from the moment they hatch, enough of it to kill a man. This specimen must have only managed to inject a small amount of venom into Jasper.
The fast-acting neurotoxic venom quickly takes effect, although bizarrely, it didn’t appear to act quickly in Jasper’s case. It causes difficulty in breathing, and paralyses.
What was done to try and save Jasper?
I arrived at Maryvale Vet minutes after Jasper was brought in and he looked dead. Dr Graeme Young was having to breathe for him, using a tube. I phoned around for anti-venom. Westville Hospital had two vials for me, which I raced off to fetch (there’s 10ml in a vial). Hillcrest hospital also had (take note of that), but we wouldn’t have time to get Jasper there.
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I arrived back at Maryvale, where DrYoung administered the anti-venom intravenously. But we needed more.
I phoned my friend, Dr Kevin McEwen, a snakebite specialist who works at St Augustine Hospital’s trauma unit. He told me to collect two more vials from him. After Jasper received these vials (three hours after the bite), he started breathing by himself, albeit slowly. He stopped breathing twice, but Dr Young brought him back.
Dr Young monitored him and 4am the next morning, Jasper was sitting up by himself. He had miraculously survived.
Credit to Dr Young and Dr McEwen, and of course, to Jasper’s fighting spirit. This really was a miracle recovery.
Is it the mamba’s fault?
No, not at all, nor is it the dog’s really. Dogs generally can’t help but attack snakes that they see, it’s instinctive. A mamba, at first, will try to get away, but as soon as a dog grabs it, it will retaliate, defending itself the only way it can – by biting. Sadly, the mamba is almost always killed and the dogs almost always pass on shortly after the incident.
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Mambas play an important role in controlling rodent and Dassie numbers. Please know that Black Mambas do not go out of their way to bite people or dogs. These shy snakes will try their best to avoid conflict.
For snake removals/emergency rescues you can contact Nick Evans on 072 809 5806, or for snake awareness/educational work, e-mail nickevanskzn@gmail.comor visit www.kznamphibian reptileconservation.com.
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