Durban - Imagine relaxing in your lounge after another hot and balmy day in Durban when you spot a snake slithering out your door.
That was the experience of a Westville North family who, unbeknown to them, had a slithery visitor with them while they cooled off from the day’s heat in their lounge on Tuesday night.
A family member who went to the kitchen spotted the snake exiting the lounge, going out the front door and quickly called famed Durban snake catcher, Nick Evans.
“When I was called, the residents described the snake as a thick green snake. If they lived on the coastline, I'd imagine it would be a Green Mamba, but not in Westville. They insisted it was a thick snake, and it looked green,” Evans said.
He said that when they turned the outside light on they noticed that the snake was greyish in colour which led him to believe that it was Black Mamba, that are quite common in Westville.
Evans said he and his wife, Joelle rushed to the house and when he shone his torch to where the snake had been pointed out to him he saw the orange and black colours underneath the snakes neck - indicating that it was the highly venemous Mozambique spitting cobra.
“I went back to the car to fetch my visor, while Joelle stepped further away. She's quite phobic of the venom that Mozambique spitting cobras spray. I'm no fan either. Although we're both in awe of that amazing defensive ability,” Evans said.
“Wearing a visor to catch a cobra is challenging on warm, humid nights, as the visor mists up! This is obviously not something you want happening while trying to pin down a highly venomous snake. Thankfully, I managed, and I didn't get spat at! A beautiful, decent sized specimen, over a meter long,” he said.
“Afterwards, the homeowner explained exactly what happened. Just on the other side of the lounge, which is what you step into when you enter the home, is another doorway. The snake seemingly entered that doorway, slithered through the lounge, and that's when it was spotted. A lady had been lying on a couch positioned right near that open back door. It probably slithered under or alongside the couch. Good thing her feet were up”.
Evans said that the snake had probably entered the house to find a cooler place hiding place after the hot day Durban experienced on Tuesday.
"It does go to show that although the snake could have 'attacked' her, it didn't. It had probably entered to find a cooler hiding place after the hot day, and then got scared out by humans walking around,“ he said.
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