Black mamba and puff adder caught in Highway area
Snake catcher, Nick Evans found the one snake in a Kloof garden while the other was found in the boot of a car in Westville.
NICK Evans, from KwaZulu-Natal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, recently caught a large puff adder and a black mamba in the Highway area.
On Monday morning Nick was called to a residence in Starr Road, Westville. He was at the neighbouring house two prior to this call out to catch a black mamba.
“The domestic worker opened the boot to take out a basked and, when she moved it, she discovered a snake. She described it as being more than half a metre in length and brown,” said Nick.
His initial thought about its species was house snake, but when he saw the reptile, he confirmed it to be another black mamba.
“It slithered down and disappeared into the compartment where the spare tyre is kept in the boot,” said Nick.
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He was tasked with driving the car to Duncorp off Blair Atholl Road, where it would be stripped to find and safely remove the snake. “I was more worried about the car than I was about the mamba in the car,” laughed Nick.
“The seats were removed and we eventually found the mamba in the bodywork of the car. Because it is such a small snake, it can get into the small holes in the bodywork. The snake was later cornered caught. It was an angry snake, but he had been poked at for about an hour and a half, so he was annoyed and very grumpy,” said Nick.
On Saturday, 14 February he was called to a home that borders the Kloof gorge. The family reported a large yellow and black snake in their garden.
“They thought it may be a constrictor because of its size,” said Nick.
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He was sent a photo and confirmed it to be a puff adder.
“It is one of the biggest puff adders I have ever seen. It is about a metre long, which is a good length for a puff adder, but it is so thick,” said Evans.
“The home owners knew it was there because they saw the dogs acting strange. They went to check it out and saw the snake,” said Evans.
He described it as an easy catch as it was in the garden, against a wall. He plans to take it for an ultra sound or an X-ray to see if it is pregnant. “Puff adders give birth to live young,” he said.
Both snakes will be released.
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