WARNING: CONTAINS IMAGES OF AN INJURED BLACK MAMBA.
Durban — It was a sad ending for an injured black mamba discovered by a garden service team that also tried to help it.
Durban snake rescuer Nick Evans said most rescues have a happy ending but not all.
On Friday afternoon, the staff of a garden service company was driving on a road below the University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus, cutting through the Palmiet Valley, when they noticed a large snake on the road, prompting a call to Evans.
“I arrived soon after and could just see a massive tail sticking out of the long grass on the side of the road. As I got nearer, I thought it had to be a heavily gravid (pregnant) mamba,” Evans said.
He said he found it strange that the truck was right next to it, why had it not moved? He walked up to the snake and became more confused as to why it did not flee.
Evans said he did not notice any injury initially, just an enormous tail.
He said it was that time of the year when we would start seeing gravid mambas, but it was too early to see them this chunky.
“I pulled it out with the tongs, and as I did so, I saw the reason for the swollen tail, and it was not eggs,” Evans said recalling the rescue.
“I secured the head and checked out the wounds. They weren’t good.
“I suspect a dog bite. Either a nearby pet or a feral.”
Evans said veterinarian Dr Carla Goede inspected the mamba’s condition and found the spine was severed and the wounds were infected.
The snake rescuer said they will do a post-mortem soon to see the extent of the damage.
“It was put out of its suffering,” Evans said.
“Terribly sad case, but the one positive was that I got to see a garden service team stop to try and help the snake, which is always encouraging,” Evans said.
He added that dead mambas were useful for their research work, although not as much as a living one.
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