Black Mamba caught in Dawncliffe garden
Two male Black Mambas were allegedly seen fighting in the yard.
AT the end of what Nick Evans, a local snake expert, described as an ‘awful week’, he was called out to Westville to retrieve a Black Mamba.
The homeowner initially called Evans to report that one of the highly venomous snakes had been spotted in her yard but had disappeared into nearby bushes. He asked the homeowner to contact him immediately if it was spotted again. Only a few hours later he received a call to say that two of them were seen in her yard.
“They had to be Black Mambas, probably a pair of males fighting! I’ve been longing to see this all winter. I suppose it’s like my winter’s tradition, except I hadn’t yet seen it this year. Winter is mamba mating season,” said Evans.
He raced to the home, that borders on the Palmiet Nature Reserve, and, even though it only took a few minutes to arrive at the property, he had already missed the action.
At the scene, he was informed that one of the Black Mambas went up into the trees while the other could be seen on an alien invasive shrub.
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“It could see me,” said Evans. “It started moving towards some rocks, with bush below. I dashed down the hill. Although it was incredibly slippery, so all I really did was slide down. I missed it by a split second.”
The gardener started shouting while Evans made his way up the bank and that was when he saw a Black Mamba looking at him through a bush near the top of the bank.
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“It turned and dashed back, I tried getting up to it, and just as I reached to grab the tail with my tongs, I slipped, and went sliding again,” said Evans.
He tried to locate the snake as quickly as possible. Soon he was back on the lawn when the movement was heard in the nearby bushes.
“It flew out of the bushes and went sliding down the bank, with me in hot pursuit, again. As it went down in the rocks, I grabbed the tail with my tongs and pulled it to within hand’s reach. Once the tail was in my hand, I pulled it up further, and got the tongs on the neck. I made sure I had a steady footing, before grabbing and securing the head with my hand,” said Evans.
Evans said it was the female mamba the two male snakes were fighting over. The female snake has been safely relocated.
For snake removals, contact Nick Evans on 072 809 5806.
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