DURBAN - Snake rescuer Nick Evans said he caught a black mamba which he described as a "magnificent beast“ under the bonnet of a vehicle in Reservoir Hills on Monday.
Evans said at first the mamba was seen crossing a road and entering a property in the area.
“The driver alerted the residents, who saw the mamba hiding in a space by their gate. It then went back out their driveway, crossed the road again and dashed into another property,” he said.
He said the mamba was last seen going under a little Hyundai i10.
Accompanied by his wife Joelle, Evans said when they arrived he noticed that there was a large patch of bush just beyond the car.
Evans said while he believed that the snake went into the bush, the man who lives across the road was adamant it was under the car.
“Joelle crouched down to look under the bonnet with a torch. I was going to do the same. As I walked past her, between the car and her, I thought I heard the sound of a mamba moving, but brushed the thought aside, thinking I must have brushed up against the car. Wrong. It was a mamba! Joelle spotted it on the engine,” he said.
He said they opened the bonnet with tongs and saw the big mamba.
“I grabbed the section in front of me with tongs before it went deeper into the engine compartment. I then managed to get tongs on the neck region and bring it out, slowly. It was a powerful snake, and it felt a bit like a wrestling match. When the head reversed back into the tongs, I quickly grabbed it.
“Again, I was shown how powerful it was. I didn't hold it out for too long, to show the neighbourhood, as it kept resisting,” said Evans.
Evans added that while he had not yet measured the mamba, he estimated that it was about 2.5m.
“It is a magnificent beast! I have yet to measure and weigh it. It's not the longest, I'd say less than 2.5m, but is extremely healthy to say the least. It has probably been kept well fed off the feral kittens. Black mambas cannot resist kittens,” he said.
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