A person in South Africa was sitting on the toilet, minding his own business, when he looked up to see a large, chunky black mamba staring him down.
Snake catcher Nick Evans, said on Facebook that he attended the “rather exciting” call at a house in the Seaview area.
Evans and fellow snake catcher, Grant Cavanagh, had already made one trip to the property earlier in the day but could not find the snake. Then at around 7 p.m. the same day, Cavanagh called Evans to say the snake had returned.
Black mambas are highly venomous and their bite can kill a person in under 30 minutes. The species are typically shy and reclusive, unless directly provoked.
“I was thinking how I was going to do this. I couldn’t hold up the board and catch the mamba at the same time. It looked a bit big to flip over, plus, if I did that, the mamba may flee,” he said. “Grant volunteered to stand below, and hold the masonite up with a broom, while I restrained the mamba. I reached toward the startled mamba, and dragged its head towards me, so I could restrain it. It took a short while to reverse back into the tongs, but it eventually did. I passed the tail down to Grant, as I climbed down with the head.
Black mambas are the longest snakes in Africa and can reach lengths of up to 14 feet. This snake was relatively small for the species, measuring around 7.5 foot, although “it was certainly well-fed,” Evans said.
“Everyone there… was excited to see it, although the family was more excited about it being taken away,” he said.
Evans responded to another call about a black mamba later that night in the Savannah Park area.
This black mamba was also “well-fed and powerful,” but proved to be a simpler catch than the previous one.
