Durban - Pupils from Olwasini Junior Primary School in Amahlongwa on the KwaZulu Natal South Coast can finally have lessons in their classrooms.
On Friday, a black mamba was rescued from the ceiling in one of the classrooms by herpetologists from Crocworld Conservation Centre in Scottburgh after three days.
“The school staff identified the snake and contacted us to retrieve it, but it took three days before we were finally able to get hold of the snake,” explained Crocworld Conservation Manager, Martin Rodrigues.
“We went on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday from mid-morning and then again on Friday. The snake was hiding in the actual brickwork near the ceiling, inside the wall. It would be spotted but we couldn’t find the hole it was getting in through. On Friday, the school staff saw it and were able to keep an eye on it while we were called to attend.”
Martin Rodrigues (General Manager: Crocworld Conservation Centre) with the black mamba.
The delicate retrieval of the snake meant that the Crocworld members had to break through part of the wall without harming the snake. However, Rodrigues said, once access was finally made, the snake rescue was fairly straight-forward.
The area where the black mamba was removed.
Mpume Mvubu, the principal of Olwasini Junior Primary School, explained that staff had noticed the presence of the 2-metre black mamba on the roof of the school:
“We called the police and Crocworld Conservation Centre to rescue us! On the third day, they broke the wall, and the snake was hiding deep inside. I’ve never experienced this. It was a crisis for the school – this is a fast snake and very dangerous. I thank Crocworld for their help, we will call them again if there is another snake."
On Friday afternoon Durban snake handler Jason Arnold had a tough time rescuing a 2,4 metre black mamba from an outside toilet in Osindisweni.
Durban snake handler Jason Arnold with a 2,4 metre black mamba he rescued from a toilet in Osidisweni.
Picture: Supplied
Arnold said residents spotted the snake but he had a tough time getting to the area because of the shootout on the N2 on Friday with would be robbers.
"When I finally got to the area, the snake had escaped from the toilet into a pile of rubble. It took me about 35 minutes to remove the rubbed single-handedly and found the snake at the bottom the pile."
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