Hungry black mamba eats seven finch-type birds

A black mamba filled its belly with seven finch-type birds after making its way into a cage. Picture: Supplied

A black mamba filled its belly with seven finch-type birds after making its way into a cage. Picture: Supplied

Published Feb 27, 2022

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DURBAN - A black mamba filled its belly with seven finch-type birds after making its way into a cage.

So said snake catcher Nick Evans who started his Saturday with a mamba call.

He said the reptile had found its way into a ‘bird room’ near Pinetown, west of Durban.

“Unfortunately for the residents, it ate seven of their little, exotic, finch-type/size (I forgot the name) birds. They were all in one long, narrow cage,” Evans said.

“It had initially killed four others in another cage, but could not get them through the bars. It eventually managed to get into this cage.”

Evans said he would not say the mamba was being greedy, but the birds were small, which meant they were small meals and the snake needed a lot.

“Fortunately for me, the snake was not able to go anywhere, and it was an easy catch. I am so grateful the owners still called. One may expect a scenario like this could cause a lot of anger and may drive people to killing the snake,” he said.

“But the owner was very understanding. He lives on the edge of a nature reserve and knew this would be an issue in living in such a beautiful area.”

Evans said more people were developing a better understanding of snakes. It has taken a lot of hard work and they will continue.

Last month, Sarel van der Merwe, a south coast snake catcher, caught two green mambas which had eaten three finches, in the morning and afternoon, after slithering into a cage.

Daily News

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