Pretoria -
Ever wondered who was behind the creation of the Twitter account @PtaBlackMamba? Is it a man or a woman?
Is he tall? Is she short? How old is he? Where does she live? What does he do for a living?
He was the voice of Houdini, the infamous black mamba of the Pretoria zoo, who was recently found after it went missing from its enclosure almost a month ago.
On Tuesday, the Pretoria News met up with the mysterious tweeting “mamba” – who entertained everyone who cared to follow his tweets.
Few people would have expected @PtaBlackMamba to be an American man with a doctorate in education.
The man behind the mamba, who chose to be known only as Pete – and preferred not to be identified due to the nature of his job – has been living in Pretoria for only 20 months.
He is originally from New York but considers South Africa to be home.
“I read about the mamba’s escape and I knew this had to be done,” he said about creating the Twitter account and giving the mamba a personality of its own.
He told the News about a similar Twitter account that was set up for the Bronx Zoo’s missing cobra more than a year ago.
The account of the cobra had gained more than 190 000 followers on the social media site.
“It was liberating to make jokes and poke some fun at the people in Pretoria,” he said, ever-ready to tweet from his iPhone.
Pete said he did not expect so much reaction to the account that gained more than 700 followers.
“South Africans have a very good sense of humour. It was an interesting way to interact and communicate with the people,” he said, adding he felt a little more South African after creating the account.
Pete said he was aware of other Twitter accounts claiming to be the real black mamba from the zoo.
To counter attacks from the other “snakes” accusing him of being an impostor, he gave the virtual mamba its own personality.
Since the account’s activation, many of the mamba’s followers were rooting for its liberation and freedom, he said. Other followers raised concerns for their safety or their fear of encountering the lethally venomous snake.
Of his witty and sometimes daring tweets, Pete said he only tweeted about topics that were already in the media and out in the open.
He was careful not to make the zoo seem incompetent in their search for Houdini, he said.
“The fun part was responding to what people tweeted me. They gave me most of the material to work from,” he said.
He had to use an online translator to understand tweets posted in Afrikaans.
“I figured a mamba in Pretoria would have to speak and understand Afrikaans,” he said.
Even though he is the virtual mamba, Pete said he knew very little about snakes, and specifically black mambas.
“I am not a snake person at all, but it was easy to play on people’s fears and the danger element surrounding a mamba,” he said.
When Houdini turned up, slithering along the wall of the service area of the reptile park at the zoo, Pete said he was a little sad. “It was fun while it lasted,” he said.
When asked if he would continue tweeting as @PtaBlackMamba, he said he would if the opportunity presented itself.
He admitted some of his colleagues knew he was the virtual mamba and they were not surprised. “They said it sounded like something I would do,” he said.
Pete said he was a joker and a trickster even when he is not hiding behind the “mamba”.
“I live for making jokes. It is good to find humour in life,” he said.
Pete said that since his arrival in South Africa he had only been to the Pretoria zoo once – in August 2011.
He had never seen Houdini in the flesh.
He agreed to meet zoo staff following their request to meet his real life counterpart, Houdini.
“I think it would be funny,” he said.
Craig Allenby, marketing manager at the zoo, invited Pete to the zoo yesterday.
“We would love to meet him and commend him on his humour relating to the situation,” he said.
Houdini was found on Sunday and is being kept in a darkened container until staff declare it fit to return to his enclosure.
Famous “mamba” tweets:
* @PtaBlackMamba: I hear the Pretoria News has an article stating that the Pta zoo is inviting me to meet myself. Does it mean they’ll give me a mirror?
* @PtaBlackMamba: I believe my situation can be summed up in the words of General Douglas MacArthur: “I have returned.”
* @PtaBlackMamba: Of course I’m not eating the food they’re giving me. If it were good, do you think I would have left in the first place?
* @PtaBlackMamba: I’m the William Wallace of black mambas! “Tell my enemies that they may take my life but they will never take my freedom!”
* @PtaBlackMamba: I’ve got my smart phone. They can’t take that away from me, nor my #FREEDOM
* @PtaBlackMamba: So JuJu is now a card-carrying member of the DA? And here I am thinking I’m the only snake in the grass…
* @PtaBlackMamba: I am offended that @natzoo hasn’t mentioned my disappearance on their Twitter feed. Maybe if I’d gotten more love, I would have stayed.
* @PtaBlackMamba: At least he had his day in court! I was unceremoniously thrown in a bucket. (He said of the Oscar Pistorius case.)
Pretoria News