Two black mambas caught in one week no problem for Sarel
He said due to the strong wind that day the snake had sought refuge in the house of a local woman.
It has been a busy time for the South Coast’s legendary snake catcher Sarel van der Merwe.
He’s been called out to rescue/catch not one but two black mambas, both females, within the space of a few days.
The first was at KwaMadlala, inland of Port Shepstone, where a terrified group was trying to hit the snake with sticks to frighten it off.
“They were too scared to go through with actually trying to kill it,” said Sarel.
He said due to the strong wind that day the snake had sought refuge in the house of a local woman.
Sarel was then called to Murchison District Hospital on Monday this week where an even larger large black mamba had taken up residence at the nurses’ hostel.
And this one was angry.
Some workers and security guards had spotted the snake and thrown stones at it in an effort to scare it away.
They succeeded only in seeing the snake escape unharmed into the basement.
Even someone with Sarel’s vast skill and experience admitted that going into the basement in search of a deadly mamba was a nerve-wrecking.
“There were a lot of old beds lying around and I carefully removed most of them, before finally spotting the mamba under a cardboard box under the staircase.”
Swiftly, Sarel nabbed the snake, estimated to be around three metres in length, and brought it up the stairs where he could bag it safely.
If you need a snake removed, contact Sarel at 082 6831604.
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