Snake catcher saves Africa’s most deadliest
Not only is Sarel a brave man, but he is always full of jokes.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2023/12/405732263_185647640_73337.jpg)
The heat is on for snake catcher, Sarel van der Merwe.
During the summer season Sarel is probably the most wanted man on the South Coast – only for catching snakes – let’s set the record straight!
If it’s not green mambas – it’s black ones. Both are highly venomous and it takes a brave person to catch these fast-moving snakes.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2023/12/406403600_185704487_50196-520x390.jpg)
He travels far and wide – and if he is not dodging frustrating road works to get to call outs – he is playing hide-and-seek in strange places to rescue the reptiles.
Last month, he retrieved a black mamba from a storeroom in Hibberdene. Sadly, two dogs lost their lives in a scuffle with the deadly snake.
The black mamba is Africa’s deadliest snake. Untreated, its bite has a fatality rate of 100%.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2023/12/402925137_185227602_04956-520x390.jpg)
During the month, he also caught a black mamba inside a storage room in Murchison, and also removed another from a home in Izingolweni.
Catch of the day on November 26, was retrieving a green mamba in Shelly Beach. “The snake caught her lunch in a tree, close to the home owners’ bird feeder,” he said.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2023/12/402094246_185071727_09648-520x390.jpg)
Then he also seized two green mambas in two separate incidents inside a kitchen.
“I caught the second female green mamba in a kitchen cupboard in Umtentweni. Just shows, that women enjoy being in the kitchen,” chuckled Sarel.
A few days later, he nabbed a green mamba in Southport. “This time it was a male,” he joked.
Not only is Sarel a brave man, but he is always full of jokes!
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2023/12/401764372_184844208_42979-520x390.jpg)
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Fever’s Facebook page