The 2 metres long black mamba was rescued under the N2 bridge near the NPC cement factory. Sunningdale snake catcher, Jason Arnold said black mambas were on the move as mating season had begun.
While thousands of commuters were making their way home on Friday over the N2 bridge near the NPC cement factory, many were blissfully unaware of Sunningdale’s Jason Arnold rescuing a large black mamba.
The venomous snake had sought refuge in the one of the bridge gaps on the southbound carriageway, and was spotted by workers in the area, reports Northglen News.
READ MORE: Black mamba caught in Centurion woman’s yard
Since Friday last week, Arnold has had five mamba call outs including Old Bush Road in La Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal, where a large 2m mamba was spotted in a resident’s garden.
Arnold said from now until the end of June, mamba activity would increase as it was the mating season.
“Snake activity patterns change dramatically over the course of a year. Throughout the cool months, snakes are relatively inactive but they try and eat as much as they can before winter. Mambas (green and black) however, breed in winter and I get quite a lot of call-outs for them.
“Generally, you will find male black mambas out searching for a mate. Mambas are generally active all year round, because there’s always food for them, no matter what time of year it is. Male mambas locate a female by following her scent trail and you’ll often see two males wrestling each other for dominance,” he said.
Arnold has urged residents to call in a professional if they have spotted a mamba rather than trying to confront it.
“In the case of the N2, workers were busy drilling into sections of the bridges between the north bound and south bound carriageways when they spotted the mamba in one of the gaps in the bridge. They didn’t feel safe working so they called me in to remove him,” he said.
Contact Arnold on 082 745 6375 for all snake-related queries and emergencies, or follow his Facebook pages, Universal Reptiles or Africa Venom.
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