Black mamba found next to a shack dweller’s bed on top of a cupboard, hunting a rat

Local snake rescuer Nick Evans looked high and low inside a shack at an undisclosed informal settlement for a black mamba which residents inside was still inside, when he saw something move on top of a cupboard.

Evans said when he received the call for assistance, he was informed that the mamba was under the bed.

He recalled that he had been to the same shack a few months ago before and the mamba had evaded him

.”I looked under the bed - no mamba. We flipped the bed and moved it outside. I turned my attention to a cabinet next to the bed. I checked behind, no mamba. I took out all the clothes in it, and out jumped a rat,” said Evans.

According to residents, the mamba had been chasing the rat, he said..

Evans admitted to getting a big fright when the rat jumped out as he was focused on finding the mamba.

He added that the mamba was not in the cupboard either and assumed that it may have escaped through the gaps in the corrugated iron walls.

However, the residents were sure that the snake was still inside as they had enlisted people to watch the outside.

“I tried moving the cabinet, and the top piece moved, and exposed the mamba. What a strange place to find one. Usually, they're behind, inside or under a cabinet. This was quite a surprise,” said Evans.

Evans said he warned residents who had joined the search to get out.

“I grabbed the mamba's tail, as it tried getting away. I couldn't see the front half, but that's because it found a hole going into the cabinet. I leaned right, and saw the head-end in there. I reached around with the tongs, grabbed it, and once the head reversed into them, I secured it with my hand,” he said.

He said the mamba was not large and measured 2.2 metres in length.

A 2.2 metre black mamba chased a rat into a shack dweller’s room. Picture: Nick Evans.