Durban – A family from Reservoir Hills in Durban will sleep easier after the black mamba that was living in the roof of their home was captured.
Snake rescuer Nick Evans was called to the home on Monday but had no luck in locating the snake. Instead, he found its home on the roof awning.
He says he returned to the home on Wednesday after the family said they could hear it something in the ceiling in their bathroom, and in another room.
Evans says he climbed up on to the bathroom section of the roof along with the homeowner’s son and it didn’t take long for the snake to start making some movement.
“Initially it was the lower end of the roof, then they heard it near the top. I looked up, and saw the mamba’s tail pop out of a hole against the wall.
“I grabbed the tail, and the mamba came out of a gap on the wall. It got stuck on the barbed wire, which got me panicking slightly, but fortunately untangled itself and reversed back in.”
Evans says it was a game of tug-of-war, “although I obviously couldn’t pull too hard”.
He said he then tried moving roof tiles, which made him nervous as it meant the head was going to be closer to his hands.
“Eventually, I managed to pull one back, quicker than I thought, and the mamba was there with an open mouth!
“I started shoving my tongs in there, trying to irritate the snake into reversing, or seeing if I could grab it. Eventually, it reversed out on to the roof, and I pinned it down. A male of about 2.4m in length,” he said.
