VIDEO: Snake catcher’s “dream call-out” goes viral

LOCAL snake catcher, Nick Evans, founder of the KZN Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, captured two Black Mambas in combat on camera, which he phrased as his “dream call-out”.

The 2.5-metre long snakes were spotted rolling around by a team of workers clearing a patch of bush at a development site in Westborough Avenue in Westville recently.

“As soon as the caller said that to me, I knew what they were- Mambas! I assumed two males fighting. I told him to get the workers away from the snakes, and to keep an eye on them. I could hear the workers going crazy over the phone.”

When Nick arrived, he found the snakes about 15 meters away, just behind some bushes. They were spotted out in the open, but had since rolled down the gully. He sneaked up to the snakes as stealthily as I could.

“They were, two big Black Mambas, in full combat. Male mambas will fight over a female. They do not fight till the death, just till one gives up and moves off. I’ve seen a few pics and videos of it, but it is quite a rarely seen occurrence. This behaviour is often mistaken for mating. Mating snakes are never this physical and lively,” said Nick.

He assessed the situation, and decided to quickly take a video of this moment. The snakes seemed too focused on each other to notice him. They were entwined, completely wrapped around each other. They were throwing each other down to the ground, from side to side. A real clash of the giants.

Nick decided to make his move before the snakes decided to bolt into the bush. He walked closer, but the two males paid no attention to him. They were in a trans, fully focused on their battle. They were heading for a wood pile, and an old concrete structure.

“Not knowing quite what to do with two Black Mamba’s in front of me, I decided to just go for one and see what happens. Only when I reached for one with my grabstick, did they stop, and appeared to have gotten a fright, probably thinking “Uh-oh, here’s trouble!”. I grabbed hold of one with my grabstick, and the other snake made a break for it,” said Nick.

The exhausted snake didn’t put up much of a fight. Nick quickly restrained it behind the head and placed it into a bucket. He went back for the other snake. He heard the second snake moving 10 metres away down in the dry stream bed and charged off through the bushes and caught up to the snake. Like the first snake he captured, the second one was too tired to move quickly away. He managed to restrain it.

Nick then spoke to the workers about what to do when they encounter a snake and to always leave them alone. “After that, from wanting to chop the snake into pieces, they were now all touching it and posing for a photo with me, as I had it safely secured in my hands. You could see that their whole perceptions of snakes had changed. Now they will rather call than kill, mission accomplished,” said Nick.

After DNA samples were taken, the snakes were then released back into the Palmiet Nature Reserve.

For snake rescues and removals around the greater Durban area, contact Nick Evans on 072 809 5806. For educational work, you can email him at nickevanskzn@gmail.com.