Black mamba scares truck driver
Beware as we slithering into snake season in Zululand.
WITH summer almost upon us and snake season just around the corner, more and more snakes have been spotted, keeping Mtunzini’s snake catcher, Wayne ‘Beastman’ Rawlinson very busy.
In the last month, Rawlinson has been called to help catch a boomslang, vine snake and forest cobra and this week he received a call from a rather shocked truck driver who had seen a black mamba disappear underneath the truck’s console.
‘The driver stopped the truck on the side of the road between eShowe and Ginginglovu, and there was no way he was getting back into that cab until he had seen the snake being removed,’ laughed Rawlinson.
After a search around the cab, the snake was spotted and Rawlinson was able to safely catch and remove it.
‘The mamba was just over two metres, but they are known to grow quickly, so it is not as old as people may think.’
The black mamba is one of Africa’s most feared and respected snakes. Evoking reactions of fear, respect or awe, often merely by being mentioned.
It is named for the colour of the inside of its mouth, which is black and is clearly displayed when it is threatened. The snake has a matte, brownish-gray body with a light belly. Its preferred habitat includes termite mounds, hollow tree trunks, granite hillocks and moist savannah and lowland forests.
The female lays between 10 to 25 eggs and never returns to the hatchlings. They are independent immediately.
‘They are not likely to go into homes, although this may happen more frequently due to any sort of property development that disturbs the bush. It is not a social animal and not territorial,’ explained Rawlinson.
‘It may stay within a certain area, but will not defend that area. Zululanders will be seeing more and more snakes in the coming months with November to March being peak snake season, especially after the first summer rains.’
