Black Mamba and Snake Catcher End Up in Tense Tug of War

A snake catcher in South Africa engaged in a tug of war with a black mamba while trying to remove it from a house.

Nick Evans—who owns a snake removal business in the Greater Durban area—returned to a property in Reservoir Hills after being unable to locate a black mamba residing in the roof. Evans said on a Facebook post that he had searched for the snake a few days previously, however, it did not emerge. This time, the family could hear the highly venomous reptile slithering across the ceiling boards.

Black mambas are the longest venomous snakes in Africa. They are highly venomous, and a bite is lethal if untreated.

It is not uncommon for black mambas to slither into properties at this time of year, which is spring in South Africa. As cold blooded animals, snakes become more active in hot weather.

Evans said on Facebook he climbed up to the roof with the "brave and helpful" son of the homeowners.

Other family members shouted from below that they could hear the snake moving. The two then climbed to that area of the roof, and spotted the black mamba's tail poking out of a hole.

"I grabbed the tail, and the mamba came out a gap on the wall that drops down behind me [...] below the barbed wire at [the] back. It got stuck on the barbed wire, which got me panicking slightly, but fortunately untangled itself and reversed back in," Evans said.

"It then became a lengthy game of tug of war, although I obviously couldn't pull too hard, otherwise I could do some serious spinal damage to it. I could hear its head moving beneath me in the plastic."

Johan Marais, of the African Snake Bite Institute told Newsweek: "The black mamba is a shy and nervous snake that avoids people if given the choice. It accounts for less than two dozen bites a year in South Africa, resulting in about 6 fatalities.

"To give you some idea, snake catchers in the Greater Durban area remove over 100 black mambas a year from residences and bites are virtually unheard of. People should keep their gardens clean and remove building rubble. Rodents attract snakes."

The snake catcher said on Facebook he tried moving the tiles of the roof but knew the snake's head would not be far from his hands.

"Eventually, I managed to pull one back, quicker than I thought, and the mamba was there with an open mouth!" Evans said. "I started shoving my tongs in there, trying to irritate the snake into reversing, or seeing if I could grab it. Eventually, it reversed out onto the roof, and there, I pinned it down."

The male snake was nearly 8 feet long.

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