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PICS: Monster-size black mamba (more than 3m) bagged on KZN South Coast

This black mamba is Sarel van der Merwe's biggest catch to date this season.

November 15, 2022
Shona Aylward 1 minute read
The lengthy specimen nabbed earlier this week.
Snake catcher, Sarel van der Merwe waited more than three months to bag this ‘big boy’ in Gamalakhe.
“I’ve being trying for about three months to remove this particular black mamba from this property,” he said.
Sarel said this catch certainly got his adrenaline pumping, to say the least.
Sarel van der Merwe says this mamba was super strong to handle.
“As I was looking in the store room, the mamba came in from the roof and went to hide in a corner.  The store room was suddenly too small for the snake, me and my grab stick, so I fell backwards,” he explained.
The snake tried to escape past Sarel but he managed to seize it quickly.
He added that he was very glad to be able to leave behind a relieved and happy family.
The very messy store room where the mamba was retrieved.
Sarel stressed to keep your place clean, so that you don’t get rats, which in return attracts snakes.
A close-up of the very messy storeroom.
It seems Gamalakhe is a popular place for black mambas. This is the second one he has removed (from a grape vine) in about three days.
“It appears that you buy a house and get a black mamba for free in Gamalakhe,” he chuckled.
Sarel van der Merwe holds the large black mamba which he caught in Gamalakhe.

So far, it has been a busy season.

The green mamba on top of a curtain rail in a bedroom at Pumula.

Most recently, Sarel together with the help of his assistant Emma-Jane Cox retrieved green mambas from the top of a dish rack in Sea Park, a curtain rail in a bedroom at Pumula and he even went searching for a green mamba on a calabash farm, to name a few places along the coast.

Yes, a green mamba on the dish rack!

After chatting to Sarel about this story earlier today, he phoned back to say, he was dashing off to Umzumbe to rescue a green mamba.

Sarel van der Merwe searching for the green mamba in the calabash farm.

Never a dull day for the coast’s popular snake catcher.

Snake season is certainly here!

Save his number: 082 6831604.

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November 15, 2022
Shona Aylward 1 minute read

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shonaaylward

Shona Aylward is a vastly experienced journalist working as a senior reporter. Aside from her extensive community involvement and story writing, she is also involved in creative page layout, and the various media platforms. Shona began her career with Caxton at the Southlands Sun. Previous to this she worked in the marketing industry for surf magazines. Shona is a renown 'greenie' and champions environmental causes. She is also Mom to a number of dogs and cats, and the occasional uninvited snake. When she can find some spare time, it's usually to the beach that she heads.
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