NICK Evans, alongside the team at the Westville Veterinary Hospital, attempted to save the life of a seriously injured Black Mamba at the weekend.
While schooling his wife on the Die Hard movie franchise, Evans was called out to retrieve the 2.4m venomous reptile that was found in a domestic worker’s room in Clare Estate.
“The mamba was on top of a cabinet, with just a few centimeters of the neck showing. I was told if it went back, it could get into the wall and would make life very difficult,” said Evans.
He approached the mamba slowly in the hopes to grab it.
As he neared it, he noticed specks of blood and quickly asked if anyone had tried to kill the snake. The onlookers said they had not.
He reached in with his tongs and was able to grab hold of it.
“The snake started thrashing around as they usually do. As it did this, I noticed blood. The snake was impressively powerful. I managed to get my hand behind the head and pull it out. As I did so, blood just poured out of a gaping cavity in the belly,” said a shocked Evans.
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He said the snake had been stabbed twice.
Knowing it needed urgent medical attention, he rushed to the 24-hour veterinary hospital.
The team opted to perform surgery on the snake to give it a fighting chance.
“The doctor and nurses took such great care of the snake, while I restrained it. They flushed out the wound and gave the snake antibiotics. They consulted with Dr. Kerry Easson, who has dealt with many snakes before. Upon closer inspection, they noticed the object had split open the gut, and that needed to be stitched up,” said Evans.
Once the wounds were bandaged up, Evans placed the reptile back into a container and took it home.
When he checked on the snake on Sunday morning, it was dead.
“A massive thank you to the [team] for dedicating their time and effort to try and save the snake! So grateful, I’m just sorry it didn’t work out in the end,” said Evans.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
