Durban — A family fetched South Coast snake catcher Sarel van der Merwe, whose car is at the mechanic, so that he could remove a juvenile black mamba that was weaving its way in the engine bay.
Van der Merwe said the catch for the day on Wednesday was a juvenile black mamba in the engine compartment of a Toyota Yaris.
He said the owner of the car was visiting his brother-in-law on a farm in Umtentweni and was about to return to Port Edward when he spotted the black mamba going into the engine area of the car.
Van der Merwe said he received the family’s phone call at about 1pm. He said he could not help them because his car was at the mechanic but they could fetch him if they wanted.
“They phoned me back at 4pm… and said they had organised a car and the snake was still there. There had been watching it for four hours.”
He said they were willing to fetch him. He did not charge for the call-out.
Van der Merwe said that when he got to the call-out address, he opened the car door and could see part of the snake.
“I saw the head and mouth opening,” Van der Merwe said.
“I said it’s a juvenile black mamba but 100% a black mamba.
“Then I went to the engine side and we put water in one side, and he popped up and he was all over the show. Up the engine, disappear, all over,” Van der Merwe said.
“Then, suddenly, he disappeared completely that you couldn’t see him.”
Van der Merwe said he knelt next to the car. At that point, someone shouted: “It’s by the tyre!” This was exactly where Van der Merwe was kneeling.
“I grabbed him by his tail; his head was still inside, by the shocks.
“So I grabbed the tail and I irritated him until he let go and I pulled him out. Easy like that,” Van der Merwe said.
He said he would release the black mamba on Friday.
Van der Merwe added that the clients were good to him, having fetched him from his home and transported him back. They were also good to themselves because the visitor did not want to return to Port Edward with a black mamba in the car.
“So we helped each other,” Van der Merwe said.
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