Durban – A snake rescuer removed a black mamba that was found in a shipping container filled with cardboard at a business.
Durban snake catcher Nick Evans said that on Tuesday morning an employee opened a shipping container filled with cardboard, to collect some, at a business premises in Mariannhill when he saw a large black snake inside.
Evans said that he was about to go into a meeting when the call came in, but he advised the business to close the container, trapping the snake inside until he arrived.
“When I did, and when the container was opened, I noticed they weren't over-exaggerating when they said it was ‘filled with cardboard’,” Evans said.
He said this was the worst nightmare for someone like him. The snakes usually make life extra difficult, by going right to the back of the room, or in this case, the container.
Evans said that one staff member joined him inside the container, helping to unpack it, while the rest stayed outside, pulling the cardboard out that they passed to them.
He said that after unpacking a lot of cardboard, the first bit of action that he thinks he gave everyone a fright was when his foot went through a rotten section of the floor.
“That was more hazardous than the mamba!” Evans said.
“Eventually, after removing a lot of cardboard, I caught a glimpse of the mamba in the middle of the pile, with my JETBeam South Africa torch. I briefly saw the tail, but it soon disappeared. More cardboard removal was needed!” Evans said.
“Finally, we uncovered more of the mamba. In fact, I thought there were two mambas initially, especially considering it was mating season.
“I reached in with my African Snakebite Institute tongs and managed to grab the tail-end of a mamba. I pulled it out, and grabbed the tail with my hand, moving the tongs back into the space, to be ready to grab the head-end,” Evans said.
“As I pulled more of the mamba out, I could see it was just one, which was slightly disappointing.
“I pulled it right out, lowered it to the floor, and pinned it down. Horrible fluids came out of its backside, which smeared over my arm, hoping I'd release it,” Evans said.
He said fortunately he was used to this method of self-defence of theirs.
Evans said it was a well-fed snake, around 2.2 to 2.3m in length.
He said the snake probably lived a good life in the shipping container. However, it was time for it to find a new home away from people.
Evans thanked the company for calling him rather than trying to kill the snake.
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