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Nick Evans with the green mamba.
Facebook / Nick Evans- Snake Rescuer
- A green mamba caused chaos at a KwaZulu-Natal construction site.
- Snake hunter Nick Evans was called to the rescue.
- Evans says that the snake’s habitat is rapidly being destroyed by developments in the area.
A green mamba caused some consternation at a construction site in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday.
KwaZulu-Natal snake expert Nick Evans said he was very excited when he got the call to rescue the green mamba.
The snake was seen at a construction site in the Sibaya area, which Evans had visited twice in the past to remove green mambas on scaffolding.
“I stopped what I was doing, got in the car and moved. Once I got off the M4, I drove past all these new apartments and properties, and more were being built.
“This was once the main habitat of the green mamba. Today, this is what most of their habitat looks like. Now they have to move in patches of forest between buildings. Then situations like this happen,” says Evans.
The green mamba was in a small space between the ClearVu fence and the ceiling on the lower deck.
Pandemonium
“I would love to have seen the pandemonium that occurred when it was first discovered,” says Evans jokingly.
“The gentleman who had called me, and his colleagues, had done the right thing: to keep everyone away from the snake, but at the same time, keep an eye on it, in case it moves, it always makes my life easier.
“I got on a scaffold, so I was level with the snake. To be honest, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable. I was stuck in that little space and could go inside. I would have to make him run to get to it in that case. .
“It looked like it was going to be difficult, but it turned out not to be the case. I grabbed the tail with my hand and as always the mamba didn’t like that. I wanted it to move and show its head or neck, so I could grab that with my pincers. I knew once I had the head, the body would probably fall off. And that’s more or less what happened.
The green mamba was in a difficult situation.
“The mamba was reversed, in my pincers, and I grabbed the head quite easily, and that was it!
“I think the crowd of construction workers was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more action,” says Evans.
He described the snake as an “absolutely beautiful specimen.”
“About 1.6 meters long, healthy, and that color … It will be released on the weekend after I collect the relevant data.”
Evans says it’s always sad to see green mambas in situations like this, “but it will continue to happen as the coastline develops further.”
“I just hope that those who discover them can be as green as this construction team was. They are a great group, whom I thank for calling me and keeping the situation under control.”
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