NICK Evans, a local snake rescuer, stepped in to help save the life of a furry feline from a deadly Black Mamba near the Howard College campus recently.
Evans was called to the home to remove, what the homeowner described as, a 1.5m long ‘grey snake’ in their back yard.
“The caller was very calm. I asked for a photo, which he agreed to send. I could not believe my eyes when the photo came through as it was of a Black Mamba eating a kitten!” said Evans.
“I think I was so shocked in this scenario, because of how calm the caller was. The kitten was a feral, not the family’s cat.”
He noted the highly venomous reptiles are known to feed on kittens and he has witnessed a feral being eaten by one before.
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When Evans arrived at the scene, the mamba, which measured in at 2.1m, was pulling the kitten into a corner and was struggling to eat its catch.
He said they watched from a doorway so as not to disturb the Black Mamba.
“We wanted to let it finish its meal. The kitten was well dead anyway. After about an hour, the mamba made no progress. It was just dragging it around, trying to work it’s jaws further along the body,” said Evans.
At that moment, another kitten was spotted. It ran over the feeding mamba and spooked it.
The snake began spitting out the dead kitten, while the second feline found a place to hide.
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“I approached the mamba and reached in to grab it, now that it did not have a mouthful of kitten. I realised the other kitten was hidden right next to it – the mamba’s body was almost against it,” he said.
“I started pulling the mambas head-end out, desperately trying to keep it from biting the kitten. If the kitten moved in front of the mamba, it would have struck out, because it was in a world of panic itself.”
The kitten made a run for it while Evans pinned down the Black Mamba before he placed. The snake catcher went in search of the second kitten, in the hopes that it had not been bitten.
“I scooped it up and, thankfully, it was absolutely fine. It was so adorable,” said Evans.
The live kitten was taken to the Kloof and Highway SPCA. For snake removals, contact Nick Evans on 072 809 5806 or email nickevanskzn@gmail.com.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
