Black Mamba Found Slithering Towards Home

A black mamba has been spotted slithering right toward a home in South Africa, but any danger was averted.

Nick Evans, a snake rescuer based in the Greater Durban area of South Africa, said that this reptile had been found near a home in Dawncliffe, Westville, on June 11. Evans works to remove snake species from populated areas. He said in a Facebook post that it has been a fairly quiet period for black mambas recently, so this catch was "exciting."

Black mambas are extremely venomous snakes native to southern Africa. Their bite has a fatality rate of 100 percent if left untreated. The snakes are also incredibly fast—they can slither at speeds of 12 miles per hour.

As South Africa is now in its period of colder weather, snakes are less active. However, they still slither into properties occasionally.

The homeowners were first alerted to this black mamba by their dogs. The pets spotted the snake slithering along a fence toward the home "from the bush below," Evans said in a Facebook post.

"Nervous at the sight of dogs and humans, the mamba moved into a large Bougainvillea, while the owners locked their dogs away," Evans posted.

Although they are highly venomous, black mambas are actually shy and reclusive. This means they usually prefer to flee rather than attack, as happened in this instance.

Evans wrote that residents should always lock pets away when a black mamba is on the property, as they can provoke the snake in some instances. This could result in a deadly bite.

After the snake fled, Evans found it sitting in a bougainvillea—a type of very thorny bush. "Bougainvillea are one of my worst plants to find a snake in. Apart from being dense, they're full of thorns," Evans said. This can make catching the snakes very tricky.

"Fortunately, I spotted the snake at the top of the shrub, making its way into the neighbors roof, so I didn't need to search in the shrub," Evans added. "Luckily for me, I had my African Snakebite Institute tongs with me, allowing me to reach it just in time."

Evans used his tongs to ease the snake out of its hiding place.

"I managed to get it onto the staircase I was on, and pinned it down," Evans said.

He added that this mamba was just under 6 foot long. This is quite small for the species, which grow on average up to 7 feet. However, black mambas have been known to grow much larger.

The snake was quite "sluggish," Evans said, and added that the reptile had an old injury that was just about fully healed.

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