Snake catcher snatches ‘feisty’ black mamba under young girl’s bed in KZN

In what he said was “the stuff of nightmares for all parents”, snake catcher Nick Evans on Friday received a call to get a black mamba out of their daughter’s bedroom.

The “frantic” call came from Cato Ridge, in KwaZulu-Natal, where the venomous snake was in the room at the same time as the young girl.

“[The snake] probably didn’t know the child was there till it was fairly close. I think it just wanted a cool resting place during the heat of the day, or was scared in by people outside,” said Evans.

Although terrified, someone managed to get the child out of the bedroom as the mamba went under the bed.

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Evans said when he entered the bedroom he could hear the mamba moving under one of the beds.

“Being such a large snake, you can hear them sliding along the floors,” he said.

When he looked under the bed, he saw it curling up beneath a brick holding the bed up.

“I decided to move the bed back [and] then quickly climbed over the bed. I was now above the mamba and had a gap to grab it. I then pulled it up onto the bed with my tongs,” he said.

According to Evans, onlookers had gathered by the window to see what was happening. As he pulled the mamba out, they quickly stepped back.

“It was a feisty snake, thrashing around, but I soon managed to pin it down,” he said.

According to the Poison Information Helpline of the Western Cape (PIHWC), October to April is snakebite season.

Dr Carine Marks, director of the Tygerberg Poison Information Centre, has the following advice in the case of a snakebite:

• Get the patient to a medical facility as soon as possible
• Phone ahead to notify them of the snakebite victim’s arrival
• Immobilise the patient if possible
• If alone, keep calm and do not walk too fast or run as it speeds up the distribution of the venom
• Do not suck the bite site and do not apply a tourniquet
• If you are more than two hours away from medical assistance, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation may be necessary
• Try to get a good description or photo of the snake.

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