WATCH: TREEmendous mamba catch in Richards Bay
This one had apparently 'hitch-hiked' aboard a car that had come from Meerensee.
In an act of incredible bravery, a local snake catcher risked his life to remove a massive, highly venomous green mamba from a Meerensee home last Saturday.
Calling it ‘an epic day’, Peter Daniel had just returned from removing a juvenile vine snake – also extremely venomous – when he received the emergency call for a green mamba near Felixton – an unusual occurrence since they are not normally found more than 8-10km from the coast.
This one had apparently ‘hitch-hiked’ aboard a car that had come from Meerensee.
However, it disappeared from sight and after two hours the search was abandoned.
But it was back to Meerensee after another green mamba SOS call.
‘When I got there it had disappeared into a hole in a tree and had eaten some birds,’ said Peter.
‘They brought me a six-metre ladder and I made my way up the tree but still had another almost three metres to go to get to it, with the homeowner adamant it must be captured.
‘He brought me a chainsaw and I cut a section of the tree away to get access to the hole.’
What followed – and the video tells the story – was a hair-raising catch that saw Peter precariously balanced on the branches well above the ladder, probing into the hole with his grab stick.
He eventually managed to get a grip behind the mamba’s head and made the treacherous descent to the ground while holding the adult and well-fed snake.
While Peter is very matter of fact about the incident, it earned tremendous praise from veteran snake catcher ‘Fearless’ Fred Lubbe, who described it as ‘a brilliant, dangerous catch’.
‘I was sweating for your part,’ he told Peter. ‘Seeing where you tonged it, it had plenty of space to move its head.
‘I salute you; it wasn’t easy and it could not have been done by anyone without experience, courage and knowledge of handling a mamba.’
High praise indeed from someone who has ‘been there, done that’.
