Cape Town - A Milnerton family got the shock of their lives when they discovered a 60cm golden yellow Cape Cobra on their property.
The snake is believed to have been under a small wooden board for some time.
Homeowner Sibo Morapela said she was stunned to hear she had a snake in her Phoenix home.
“Everything seemed very strange. I am still baffled about how it got here.
“When I got home I found police vans and a lot of people standing outside my yard.
“I saw the snake and then went onto the internet to check what kind of snake it was, and I saw a cobra but I didn’t know for sure that it was a Cape Cobra.”
Morapela said she called different snake handlers.
“I called a company which I knew could take the snake away but I was told they don’t go into the Joe Slovo area.
“Eventually someone came and removed it.
“He confirmed that it was one of the most venomous snakes.
“I decided to go back online, it was then when I realised that my children and the preschoolers next door could have been killed by this snake.
“The shock has subsided now, but this is something that was new to me, I had never heard anyone say they saw a snake in the area.”
Snake handler Tyrone Ping said when he received the call he jumped to the rescue.
“She had called four or five people and no one was willing to go and help.
“We put ourselves at risk, so sometimes we got to unfavourable areas.
“When I arrived at the house there were about 100 children, and four police vans and they had their guns drawn.
“I asked if the guns were for the people but they said it was for the snake. The cobra was sitting on an old rat’s nest, it ate all the rats that were there.
“The Cape cobra is most venomous, if bitten one can die after an hour, without medical help.”
Ping said this type of snake is one of a few that are well adapted.
“They can be anywhere where there is food. They will come to the suburbs for water. They will use drainage pipes, they will move through. I took a cobra in Buitenkant, they are about anywhere and everywhere.
“I’ve been dealing with snakes for 25 years and wrote a book about the guide. They play an important purpose in the environment.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za
Cape Argus