2m black mamba and 1.5m cobra caught in KZN

Founder of the KwaZulu-Natal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and snake catcher Nick Evans has caught two highly venomous snakes in the Westville area in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday.

He was called to a property in Shepstone Place as the family’s description of the reptile represented that of a black mamba, reports Highway Mail.

The family said they often looked up at the roof for snakes as they have seen snake skins.

“This time they saw this large snake and, by their description, I was pretty sure it was a mamba. I got there and I could see its face popping out the side of a beam,” said Nick.

He climbed onto the roof and removed a few tiles and caught the snake.

“It was curled up but, before it moved, I grabbed it. I caught it fairly easily. Usually, when they are in a roof, it takes forever,” said Nick.

The black mamba was slightly more than 2 metres in length.

Soon after a highly venomous Mozambique Spitting Cobra was spotted in a property on Carlton Avenue in Dawncliffe and Nick immediately rushed to the scene.

“It’s a very large snake. It was cruising around the garden and, as I got there, its tail disappeared down a drainpipe,” he said.

He initially attempted to flush it out with a hosepipe but was forced to remove cement and break through a pipe to reach the snake.

.

“I was given the okay from the landlord to remove some of the cement and broke a hole into the pipe and removed a big, old cobra,” said Nick.

He took DNA samples, sexed and measured the cobra before he released it. Nick marked the snake’s length as 1.5m and averaged its age between 15 to 20 years old.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.