Black Mamba Caught After Eating Kittens: 'A Beast'

A "beast" of a black mamba that had been feasting on kittens has been caught by a snake catcher in South Africa.

Nick Evans—who owns a snake removal service in the Greater Durban area—was contacted by a woman "screaming" and "shouting" after she spotted a "big black snake."

The resident had seen the huge snake before, feasting on pet kittens. Evans knew it must be a black mamba before he had even seen it, he said on a Facebook post.

Black mambas are highly venomous snakes native to southern Africa. Their bite has a fatality rate of 100 percent if left untreated.

The snakes usually prefer to hide from humans, rather than bite. But they will attack if they feel provoked. The species is also incredibly fast, and can travel at speeds of up to 12.5 miles per hour.

Evans asked a friend who was nearby to go and stake out the situation. However, many people began panicking at the sight of the highly venomous snake, and scared it off. The snake disappeared but Evans knew the snake would come back "with the smell of kittens still there."

Sure enough, the snake slithered back the next day and Evans set off to help.

"Unfortunately for me, it was in a massive woodpile, with a few bushes around it. Next to it was a shed full to the roof of things. And it was the hottest time of the day," Evans said in a Facebook post.

Evans asked residents to keep an eye on the other side of the woodpile to make sure it didn't escape.

After moving the woodpile around the snake catcher finally caught a glimpse of the mamba and realized it was huge.

"It was massive! Its body was so thick it barely fitted in there. It was impossible to get tongs on it," Evans said.

The snake catcher knew he had to make the gap wider so the serpent could be freed. As soon as the creature noticed him however, it started trying to escape, tucking itself further into the middle of the woodpile.

Evans and a volunteer kept moving wood planks aside.

"It was all getting frustrating. I decided to force a plank into this gap, use it as leverage to lift the whole top-half up, while my assistant put more planks in, to widen the gap. We repeated this process. Soon, the mamba knew it was in big trouble, and tried to get out, but that only solved my problems."

From here, the snake catcher was able to secure the tongs on the animal's neck.

The snake began to wrap its tail around the wood but Evans managed to reach for its head and restrain it, eventually lifting it out from its hiding place.

The snake was nearly 9 foot long and weighed over 6 pounds. Evans said it was a "beast of a mamba."

Black mambas are one of the longest snake species in Africa. They can grow to about 14 feet.

It is not uncommon for black mambas to be attracted to an area if there are cats around. The snakes can smell them from far away.

Kittens are one of the species' favorite foods. According to Evans, they are an "easy, filling meal" for a snake of this size.

The Durban area has a high number of feral kittens living in suburban areas, meaning it is not uncommon for the snakes to slither into properties, in search of their prey.

Evans works to educate Durban residents on how best to deal with the venomous snakes if they are spotted.

He urges people to call a professional rather than try to get rid of the dangerous snakes themselves.

"The residents had killed a mamba a few weeks ago, beating it to death with sticks. They were terrified and didn't know what else to do, I don't resent them for that at all. I explained to them that they were extremely lucky not to have been bitten, because that's exactly how bites happen. A mamba has no desire to bite a human, but beating it with a stick changes things. I told them how this one was constantly trying to get away from me," Evans said on Facebook.

Once Evans catches a snake, he releases it back into its natural habitat, away from people.

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