DURBAN – Nick Evans, Durban snake catcher, scored a personal best on Thursday, when he rescued five black mambas in a single day.
Evans said he received his first call at about 11.30am.
“Just 10am, I got the first call. I was at a property in Westville and Warren Dick went out on my behalf but was struggling to extract it,” Evans said.
He said when he arrived, he found that the snake was under a Wendy House. It was placed on bricks and this made seeing the mamba difficult.
“While trying to get the mamba out, I got a call also from Westville. I could not believe it when the caller explained where she lived – it was literally opposite the property where I currently was!
“I ran across the road to investigate, while Warren continued to try and get the mamba,” he said.
The homeowner spotted the snake when they had gone to fill a water bottle in the domestic worker’s bathroom.
Evans said the snake had slithered in through the widow.
He said the woman did well to get out of the room quickly, seal it and shut the window from the outside.
“I opened the door slowly. It must have known I was coming because it went down a hole, alongside a pipe. I grabbed the tail just in time and slowly but gently started pulling it out. Fortunately, it came out quite easily and I pinned it down.
“This happened to me recently, for the first time, where two mambas were in the same road, at opposite properties, at the same time,” he said.
Evans said he went back to help Dick at the first home when he received another call.
“The Wendy House mamba had curled up under the middle of it and wasn’t moving. I asked Warren to keep at it while I rushed to Westville North.
“The mamba had been seen by the gardener, who along with the domestic worker, was keeping an eye on it,” he said.
Evans said the snake was high up in a tree, next to the garage.
“There were dogs on the property, so if it came down, there could be a problem. I climbed up the tree and the mamba didn’t move. I wanted to grab it as soon as possible. If it tried to flee from me, the easiest way would be to move down into the next few small trees and shrubs and into the neighbour’s garden.
“I didn’t know if they had dogs, but if they did, and if they attacked the mamba, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight.
“I grabbed the mamba at about a quarter of the way down, the easiest part to reach. I usually do this when they’re on the ground. But here, the damn thing just wrapped its tail around branches and it wouldn’t budge,” Evans said.
He said after lots of nudging and help from the gardener, he was able to rescue the snake.
“It wasn’t the easiest tree to climb going up, now I had one less hand. The gardener, an absolute star, managed to set up a ladder for me that I managed to get onto. He was such a massive help!
“Soon enough, I was back by the Wendy House, helping Warren. We were both fed up with this mamba by now, as were the bystanders.
“Workers at the property put two sticks together, to make a long one. With that, I was able to reach in and prod the mamba. The plan was to coax it out to Warren, on the other side.
“Well, it came towards me. As it neared the me, it was too scared to come out by me, and turned. I was not letting it go again.
“I reached in, and grabbed it with the tongs, and pulled it out. I called Warren over to finish the job he had been at since the start, which he did, swiftly,” Evans said.
Later in the day, Evans rescued two more mambas.