Black mamba rescued from Albert Luthuli Central Hospital

A PROFESSIONAL snake catcher from the Bluff, Warren Dick, tended to a call at about 14:30 on Wednesday, November 24, to remove a snake from the residence quarters at Albert Luthuli Central Hospital.

“I received a call from a woman who stays and works at the hospital. She said they had a black mamba living under a staircase next to one of the resident’ s flats,” said Warren.

According to him, because snake catchers get calls about black mambas every day, which end up being house snakes, he didn’t believe her.

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“She said she had pictures to prove it. It took a while for the pictures to be sent to me, but once I got them it was clear that it was indeed a black mamba and it looked like a big one. It had been seen there daily for nearly a week. Being so close to where people live, the snake had to safely be relocated before it got killed or someone perhaps got bit.”

“I headed to the hospital to search for the snake at about 15:45. Hoping for a quick easy catch, my heart sank when I looked into the gap under the staircase. Over time rainwater had been running under the staircase and washed out a lot of sand, making a tunnel.”

“At this point the groundskeeper came to talk to me. He was the one who initially saw the snake and was convinced it was still there. The only way to get it out was to dig it out. Permission was given to excavate and myself and the grounds keeper dug in hard clay and rocks under the staircase for about an hour. I then carefully stuck my head in the space and looked around, I could not see anything.”

“I asked my friend and fellow snake catcher, Duncan Slabbert, to assist me,” he added.

According to Warren, Duncan arrived just after 17:00. He came to the same conclusion as he did, however, a spade and garden fork were not working. They needed a pick. It then started raining heavily, so we decided to call it off for the night.

“The snake was likely not going to go anywhere in the cold and wet, so the plan was to return early the next morning. The groundskeeper also said that he would bring a pick and some of his staff to help us.”

“Duncan and I were there by 06:30 and a quick scan around the area revealed nothing. The groundskeeper had to leave for a meeting soon after arriving on site at 07:10. He left us with three staff members, a pick and a shovel to help excavate. Before we started digging, Duncan had one last look in the tunnel and saw the tail of the snake disappear into the darkness.”

He added: “The guys started digging about halfway down the staircase, on the grass embankment, more or less where we thought the tunnel might end. Once the trench was deep enough, we started moving sand out from under the stairs. At this point one of the guys decided to try figure out where exactly the tunnel was coming from the top.”

“He laid down and looked into the first hole we made. Low and behold he could see the snake there. Duncan then had a look and could see the snake. While laying on his back, with the upper part of his body under the stairs, he reached into the tunnel with his snake tongs, almost maxing out how far he could reach.”

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“He felt he had managed to grab some part of the snake and started to make heist in getting out, standing up and gently pulling the snake up with him. Not knowing which end of the snake he had and fearing his grip would slip, he yelled for me to help with my tongs. At this moment the head of the snake popped out of the hole. I then succeeded in pinning it down with my tongs and safely grabbed it behind the head.”

Duncan took the snake home for Nick Evans to measure and take DNA for his ongoing research on black mambas. Nick confirmed that the snake was a gravid female, meaning she was looking for a place to lay her eggs. That explains why she was hanging around that spot for so many days.

The snake measured 2.1m and will be kept until she lays her eggs, after which she will be safely released away from humans. Her young will also be released when they hatch in a few months time.

“I am thankful that the caller phoned, giving us the chance to save this beautiful, misunderstood snake and her babies. A big thank you to Duncan, the grounds staff and the hospital. It was a great team effort,” he concluded.

Don’t ever under any circumstances free handle any snake that you don’t know, unless you have had proper training. For the safe relocation of snakes in the Durban area call or WhatsApp Warren on 072 211 0353.  

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