Crammed storeroom unpacked so snake catcher could reach black mamba

The black mamba that was removed from a storeroom in Mtwalume. Picture: Sarel van der Merwe

The black mamba that was removed from a storeroom in Mtwalume. Picture: Sarel van der Merwe

Published Sep 26, 2023

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A storeroom had to be unpacked for about an hour and a half in order for a snake catcher to remove a black mamba on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.

South Coast snake catcher Sarel van der Merwe said that he and Emma had a call-out for two black mambas in a storeroom in Mtwalume on Friday night, September 8.

He said the caller said they saw two black mambas, one big and the other small.

Looking at the time, Van der Merwe told the caller that he would go to the area the next morning.

Sarel van der Merwe with the black mamba removed from a storeroom in Mtwalume. Picture: Sarel van der Merwe

He said that when he was shown the storeroom, he told the caller he would need help but first they had to close all openings with newspaper so the snake would not escape.

“There was heavy stuff that needed to be carried out of the storeroom. I couldn’t do much lifting because I had to be ready with my grab stick (tongs) so I could catch it,” Van der Merwe said.

He said that he saw those unpacking the storeroom panic and that was when he knew, “they had seen the mamba”.

“It (black mamba) went under more rubble but I was able to grab its tail with the grab stick,” Van der Merwe continued.

“I necked it inside and then took it outside for pictures.”

The items that were removed from a storeroom in Mtwalume in order to find a black mamba. Picture: Sarel van der Merwe

He said the caller paid him and after catching the snake, he said “money well spent”.

Van der Merwe said that after placing this black mamba in a travel box, they looked for the second mamba but to no avail.

“At least I found one black mamba,” Van der Merwe said.

Emma and Sarel van der Merwe with the black mamba removed from a storeroom in Mtwalume. Picture: Sarel van der Merwe

Last month, Van der Merwe had two black mambas in Uvongo that he could not get to. Initially, they disappeared before he could get to them. He returned to the area and it was found sunbathing on a rock. A few days later, he returned again and bagged the female.

A few days earlier, he and Paul Crook had a busy day – a green mamba in Ramsgate in a complex, a snouted grass snake in Izingolweni.

Sarel van der Merwe with the black mamba removed from a storeroom in Mtwalume. Picture: Sarel van der Merwe

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