A dad found a "feisty" black mamba hiding in a pool pump while taking his child for a swim in eastern South Africa.
A homeowner living in the Malvern, Queensburgh area, stepped outside with his child when he spotted the incredibly venomous snake lurking outside, snake catcher Nick Evans said in a Facebook post.
The black mamba, startled, slithered to the pool pump and disappeared. Evans—who owns a snake removal service in the Greater Durban area—arrived at the house shortly after to remove the snake.
Black mambas are highly venomous snakes native to Africa. They are among the deadliest snakes in the world, with a fatality rate of 100 percent if the injection of venom is left untreated.
While waiting for the snake catcher to arrive, the homeowner went inside with his child and pet dog, all the while keeping an eye on the deadly snake.
"That is how to react when you see a snake," Evans said in a Facebook post. "The time to phone for help is WHEN you see the snake, like this man did. Not the next day, or the next week or month."
Evans arrived to the property equipped with a visor, as at this point the species of the snake was not determined. The snake catcher said on a Facebook post that there had been a lot of spitting cobras in the area. These snakes spit their venom when surprised or threatened, which can be a "nasty surprise" if it lands in the face or eyes.
Once Evans arrived he found out that the snake was indeed quite a small, young black mamba.
Black mambas are the longest snakes in Africa and can reach sizes of 14 feet. Younger ones however are a lot smaller. This one measured 6 feet.
"Mambas this size, I find, are always a handful. Fast, feisty, and a bit more difficult to work with than those that are [longer]," Evans said.
The snake catcher used a pair of tongs to ease the snake out of its hiding place. It began to thrash around as soon as the tongs touched it.
But Evans eventually managed to take hold of the snake and remove it from the swimming pool pump.
The snake was "slightly underweight" and needed to "find a few rats" to eat, the snake catcher said.
When Evans removes a snake from a property, he releases it into a rural area away from people.
It is currently the middle of South Africa's snake season. Snakes are more active during warmer, summer months as they are cold-blooded.
They will often slither into residential areas in search of prey and shelter. It is not uncommon to find them hiding in strange places such as this.
Evans said January has been busy with mamba calls, but it had slowed down for a few days until this call.
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Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
