Durban snake catcher Nick Evans recently alerted the public that it was snake season and his recent rescues have further highlighted his alert.
On Friday, Evans shared a few recent rescues.
He said that being spring and experiencing some warm weather, all snakes are active now and he has been getting calls for various snake species.
“Mozambique spitting cobras, vine snakes, a puff adder, Natal black snakes, brown house snakes, night adders, everything. Interesting times!” Evans said.
He said that spotted bush snakes, Durban’s most common snake species, have been out in force. They are not venomous and not one to worry about. They are very often seen going into ceilings, where there is no point calling a snake-remover, as these snakes are rarely caught up in there.
Evans said he had two mamba calls in Westville, west of Durban.
“Missed one and caught one today (Friday), in a kitchen.”
“There was an incident of a man being spat at by a Mozambique spitting cobra but he was rushed to hospital. He's fine,” Evans said.
He said it sounds like the man may have provoked the snake but there was no confirmation of that.
Moving onto pets, Evans said that a dog killed a night adder and luckily the dog avoided being bitten.
He said there were a few cases of cats bringing in snakes.
“Remember, I'm always interested in recording cases of bites on people (or spitting incidents). And any cases involving pets and snakes. For my database. Hoping for a quiet summer in that regard though,” Evans said.
“I am also interested in sightings of breeding behaviour in the greater Durban area, of any snake species.”
Daily News