South Coast Fever

Snake catcher saves Africa’s most deadliest

Not only is Sarel a brave man, but he is always full of jokes.

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.

This green mamba was at the window of an Uvongo house, and with the delay in traffic due to roadworks in Marine Drive, Sarel nearly missed it.

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%.

Sarel van der Merwe with his friend, Paul Crook and the male green mamba caught in Southport.

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.

Sarel van der Merwe with a green mamba he retrieved from an estate in Margate.

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!

Sarel van der Merwe removing a green mamba from a kitchen cupboard in Tweni.

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