Durban — A black mamba that was found curled up between a mattress and a bed base in Welbedacht, Durban, was removed by snake rescuer Nick Evans.
On Thursday, Evans went to an informal settlement in Welbedacht for a suspected black mamba between a mattress and a bed base.
“Yes, a strange, unpleasant place for a snake to be,” Evans said.
Recalling the rescue, he said he parked on the roadside and was led down a pathway, down an embankment to the tin shack that the bed was in.
“The view was quite spectacular… Although as you can also tell, it’s a good snake habitat!”
Evans said community members had gathered around.
“One brave man offered to lift the mattress for me, using a long piece of wood, allowing me the use of both hands to catch the snake – a big help!” Evans exclaimed.
Describing what he found, he said there were wooden beams placed between the mattress and the base, for extra support. This created a space between the two, a space big enough for rats to get in, and in turn, a black mamba.
“My brave helper hoisted up the mattress slowly and soon revealed the curled-up mamba. I grabbed it with the tongs, and secured the head, while begging the guy not to drop the mattress, promising him I won’t put him in danger,” Evans said.
“Impressively, he held his nerve!”
Evans said he had another call to respond to and with the crowd and the chaos, he did not get around to chatting much and finding out who lived there.
“I think I heard that they were cleaning the room, and found it when they lifted the mattress. But I wonder how long that mamba had been in there for? I think the mamba could have been in there while someone slept on that bed the previous night. But I cannot confirm that,” Evans said.
“Quite something though, if it was the case.”
Evans added that as usual, the mamba just wanted to hide away.
“I am grateful to the community for calling me, and it seems they’ll call again in future!” Evans exclaimed.
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Daily News