Durban – Hours after a black mamba was rescued from underneath the engine of a vehicle in the parking area of a popular Westville restaurant, it succumbed to its injuries.
Snake rescuer Nick Evans said the owner of a popular Westville eatery called him recently for assistance after a big snake was spotted in the front of her restaurant.
He said the establishment is situated close to the Palmiet Nature Reserve.
Expecting a house snake, Evans said he was surprised when he received a video of the snake and it turned out to be a black mamba.
“It was a large looking black mamba moving towards a Ford Ranger. Not what I expected, especially in the weather we were experiencing; it was pouring,” he said.
Evans said while en route to the restaurant he received several calls about the same snake. He said his wife also received calls from her colleagues and also made her way to the restaurant.
“When I arrived, it had gone under the bakkie, as I expected yet dreaded. I thought I might have to call my friends at Dubcorp to help me find it, but thankfully I spotted it as I stuck my head under,” he said.
He said a fellow snake rescuer, Nick Saunders, who had arrived at the restaurant for dinner, had also stepped in to assist.
“The main worry was the sharp end, which kept appearing and disappearing. Eventually, though, we got it out,” said Evans.
Unfortunately, Evans discovered that the mamba had been run over.
“I could see it was finished. It died hours later. A massive disappointment and shame. Its body has been donated to research, so its death isn’t in vain,” he said.
Evans believes the mamba could have come from the Palmiet Nature Reserve.
“It isn’t far. It could have come across, I suppose – maybe (through) a storm water drain, as a friend suggested, or in a car. I told the owner it could have come in her car, being situated on the Palmiet Reserve,” he said.