Durban – A 2.3m black mamba was evicted from a hardware store in the uMlazi area in Durban recently after staff spotted its 2.6m shed skin hanging from the roof above a till point.
Evans said the owner had sent him a picture of the shed skin and he was able to identify the snake mostly due to the size of the skin. It belonged to a black mamba.
He said he assumed that the snake had left and asked the owner to call the next time he saw it because of how busy a store is.
“Well, minutes later, he saw it! It was in the middle of the shop, in the roof. It slithered to one side, and lay along the top of the wall.”
Unfortunately Evans had forgotten to take his ladder with and he was given a chair to use.
He said the mamba was in the corner above a toilet.
“I started reaching for the mamba, and trying to get the tongs around it, but it was wedged in between the plastic of the roof, and top of the wall.
I poked and prodded, before it started getting agitated. It slithered across the top of the wall, to my left, exposing enough of its body for me to get tongs on it. And, well, that was that. I brought the head down a bit, towards me, let it reverse into the tongs, and grabbed it.”
Moments later Evans said he dodged a bullet.
“It then projectile poo’d, luckily onto the floor and not onto me.
“It was a bit more foul-smelling, and looking, than the average mamba.”
He said the mamba was around 2.3m in length while the skin was 2.6m. The skins stretch and are always longer than the snake.
“The shop owner was grateful that business could resume as normal. I am so glad he called.”
