Fatal ending for injured black mamba
The two meter long snake was carefully caught, handled and taken to Crow, where its injuries were closely examined.
THE wildlife heroes of the Centre of Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) responded to an after-hours call where an adult black mamba had been severely injured, after someone had accidentally cut it with a grass cutter while doing gardening work.
“Thankfully our full snake team was on the case: Clint Halkett-Sidall our director, Shawn Hefer from Reptile and Wildlife Rescue (RAWR), a local snake catcher and James Wittstock from Crocworld Scottsburgh. The two meter long snake was carefully caught, handled and was brought to the centre, where our nurses had a closer look at the injuries. Unfortunately the wound went straight through to the organs and the humane thing to do was to euthanise it. We also discovered that the snake was a female and gravid (or pregnant) with four eggs. Neither mum nor her eggs could be saved, sadly.
“We’d like to give a special thanks to James who drove all the way from Crocworld in the South Coast to come hold the snake and help us handle it,” said Crow communications officer, Alex Kogl.
Kogl added that Black Mambas, though greatly feared, are actually pretty shy and refrain from any human interaction. “They are named after the pitch black appearance of their mouth and are one of the most venomous snakes on earth. Mambas occur naturally in Durban and are more out and about during the summer months, often hiding out in long grass or near water sources like pools and streams. One of the ways to keep mambas at bay is to always keep your grass short, making sure there are no snakes in the grass before turning on the cutter though,” she explained.
For snake removals get in touch with Shawn from RAWR on 071-509-5359.
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