Durban - When you hear the name Nick Evans, immediately images of him catching cobras or retrieving rock pythons come to mind however, this week. Evans recalled how he was called out to rescue a monitor lizard.
"When I was called about a monitor lizard in a large fig tree the other day, I tried to explain to the concerned caller that there was little hope of catching it. But she really wanted me to try, as her dogs had just tried attacking it, and she feared they could get it when it came down," he said.
"I was very surprised to find that, upon arrival, the monitor's tail was within reach. So I climbed up a ladder, thinking it would start moving, but it didn't. Then I thought it was injured. All that was in reach was the tail, so I grabbed it. I knew that could be a bad idea, but it was the only choice I had at the time. Then all hell broke loose," he said.
Evans said he had to jump off the ladder with the lizard in hand, as it tried to swing its body up to bite him.
Nick Evans with the monitor lizard
Picture Facebook
"It was full of energy! Once on the ground, it kept trying and I was spinning around and around, twisting the tail a bit to throw it off course. At one point it got a tooth in my little finger," Evan said.
He said he felt like he was going to collapse, owing his head cold.
"Thankfully the lizard tired out and I got my chance to grab it behind the head, before collapsing down next to it. A beautiful adult specimen, which was released immediately afterwards, where there were no dogs," he said.
The 1.5m black mamba rescued from the shrub in Moseley
Picture: Facebook
Evans said earlier in the week, he removed a black mamba from a fence in the Moseley area. Due the snake hiding out in a shrub, it was not the easiest catch, Evans said.