It’s ‘snake two’ time
Irritated 2.2m black mamba ‘has a go’ at snake catcher
IT was anything but a slow Thursday for renowned snake catcher Peter ‘Daring’ Daniel.
An early morning call saw him head off to a home in Loodvislyn, Meerensee where a woman had gone into her garage and soon ran out screaming after she encountered a large snake.
Peter responded immediately, despite not having a container as it had just been borrowed to transport an olive grass snake.
“I wasn’t overly concerned though, as I thought it was probably just a harmless brown house snake, judging by the description I was given. But when I got there, I saw it was a forest cobra.
“The catch was easy but I had to sit in the back of the bakkie holding it while Robin Seiler from Gather Coffee drove me home so I could put it into the big enclosure,” said Peter.
“It was a 1.8 metre female and looks gravid.”
Soon after came a crisis call to remove a black mamba from the mill at Felixton.
“It was under a conveyor belt that was running so they had to switch it off for me.
“When I did eventually get down to where it was, I could only grab hold of its tail, the only part of it I could see,” said the intrepid hero.
“I held on for about 15 minutes hoping it would get tired, and then I saw its head. I think it was irritated that I wouldn’t let go and came to check me out, then started to have a go at me.
“This gave me the opportunity to get the tongs on it and neck it.
“But being full of grease and dirt, it was difficult and it kept sliding out of my grip, no matter how tightly I squeezed.
“Eventually I was given a bucket and managed to get it inside. It was a 2.2m long male.”
Both snakes will be released in a suitable environment.