Durban - A snake catcher on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal crawled through a sauna-hot ceiling, shifted a kitchen cupboard and travelled for hours to rescue two black mambas and one green one.
Sarel van der Merwe said his Wednesday was very busy, and by the time he got home he was tired and dirty.
“You should have seen how dirty I was when I got home. I had driven for kilometres and kilometres,” Van der Merwe said.
He said that first up was the green mamba in Melville in Port Shepstone.
Van der Merwe said the snake was in the roof, and it was as hot as a sauna in there. And all the time he had to watch his step so as to not fall through the ceiling.
“I was on my stomach and I crawled to the corner to grab it,” Van der Merwe said.
“It was very hot in there, very hot. I really battled.”
He said he caught the green mamba, climbed out of the ceiling, and then bagged it.
He said he could not bag it in the ceiling because he was afraid he would fall through it.
Van der Merwe said that later he went alone to capture a black mamba in a house in Boboyi.
“I looked all over, and when I entered the kitchen I heard hissing. They make that sound when they feel threatened, angry or annoyed,” Van der Merwe said.
He said the snake was under a cupboard, so he had to shift the furniture to reach it.
“It popped its head out and I removed it with the grab stick and took it outside for bagging,” Van der Merwe said.
He said he then took an hour’s drive to Umzumbe to catch another black mamba that had been discovered in a house.
He said it was not easy to find the residence, as there was no cellphone reception in the area.
“I wouldn’t have slept there – the snake was above his bed,” Van der Merwe said about where he had found the snake when he got into the house.
“It was a very easy catch. I got him with the very long grab stick, took him outside for photos, and then bagged him inside.”
Van der Merwe said: “I got home late, but as I had caught three mambas in one day, I was very happy.”
“It was a good day.”
WhatsApp your views on this story at 071 485 7995
Daily News