Nick Evans removed a gravid (pregnant) black mamba from a retaining wall in Paradise Valley. | Nick Evans
Durban — It is Durban snake rescuer Nick Evans’s view that catching black mambas is a better way to spend Black Friday than dealing with the drama of the chaotic shopping malls and traffic.
On Black Friday, Evans removed a gravid (pregnant) black mamba from a retaining wall in the Paradise Valley area where it was going to lay its eggs.
“She’s not the biggest, only around 2.2m,” Evans said.
He said it took him a while to get to Paradise Valley because of Black Friday traffic.
Evans said that two days earlier, his friend Duncan Slabbert caught another gravid one in that wall, which was just shy of 2.9m.
“It’s a massive retaining wall with many holes and tunnels - ideal for egg-laying,” Evans said.
Meanwhile, Evans and veterinarian Dr Carla Goede recently rescued a pregnant black mamba on a cliff edge below houses in a rural area near KwaNdengezi.
The duo peered over the cliff edge and saw the mamba basking, worryingly close to its hide-out. It was lying over the burnt mattresses thrown down and burnt to chase the snake away.
Evans planned to rush at the snake, catch it off guard and grab it before it got into its hideout.
“Despite the treacherous terrain, it worked! I got the 1.5m African Snakebite Institute tongs on the tail end, and called for Carla to quickly hand me a 1.1m ASI tong, which I then used to grab the mid-body. It was a powerful, and visibly gravid (pregnant) snake to hang onto,” Evans said.
“The front half had got around a branch, using that for leverage to try to pull out of my grip. Fortunately, Carla got a hold of its neck with the tongs and lifted it onto a rock where she could pin the head down. I worked the tongs along the body, getting it around the branch, and held the tail back from her, as she secured the head.”
Evans said climbing up to get it in the bucket was the next challenge. It was not easy, but they managed, he said.
“It is being housed in a safe, dark, laying box, to avoid stress. She will be released after laying, and the babies will be released upon hatching (probably in February),” Evans added.
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