HIGHWAY snake catcher, Nick Evans caught his sixth Black Mamba of the week on Sunday, 7 June.

Evans shared on his Facebook page, Nick Evans- Snake Rescuer, that he received a call from his friend, an elderly woman, residing in Westville (bordering the Palmiet valley).

He said he could hear something was wrong. ‘Nick, there’s a Black Mamba in my laundry room’.

“She didn’t need to say anything more. I was there in 10 minutes. She explained that she was sitting on a chair, reading at her table just outside her kitchen door.

“She said something caught her eye, and she looked down. There was the mamba, slithering literally right next to her feet. The snake could have so easily bitten her, and if their over-exaggerated reputation were true, it would have. But these snakes don’t want to bite people, and this was a great example,” explained Evans.

Seeing it going into her kitchen, the lady took a walking stick, and nudged the head away, keeping it out of the house.

The snake went and hid behind a cupboard.

ALSO READ: Chirping with Kloof Conservancy – Southern Black Flycatcher

Evans said when he arrived, the snake was not where she thought it was.

“I looked around the room. Nothing. Then, I noticed a small gap going under a cabinet. I looked under, and found it.

“I phoned my friend, Roger Hogg, Palmiet’s bird photographer, who lives in the same road. He came over with Rory O’Connor. The cabinet could not be pulled back, so I tried poking the mamba, in order to coax it out. It was having none of it! It just would not budge.

Then, Roger offered to lift the cabinet up towards him, giving me a chance to pull the mamba out. As he lifted, the snake quickly darted under the cupboard next to the cupboard, to quick for me. This would be tricky, now, because if we moved the cupboard, we could potentially injure or kill the mamba,” he said.

Evans said Roger stepped onto the cabinet, and slowly pulled the cabinet towards him, lifting it up.

“The mamba was safe, and now I took my chance properly. I pulled it out with the tongs, and restrained it.”

He added that he was extremely grateful to Roger for his courageous help. “And to my friend Pat for calling.”

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.

Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.