PICS | Black mamba more than two metres long found hiding in bird box

A dramatic snake rescue unfolded at a Pietermaritzburg bird sanctuary when a bird rescuer discovered a black mamba, more than two metres long, hiding inside a cockatiel nesting box. Craig Fry said the cockatiels’ unusual behaviour first alerted him that something was wrong while he was feeding birds on Saturday afternoon. “I noticed everyone was on one side of the aviary, and nobody was coming down to feed.

That’s when I knew something wasn’t right,” he said. He initially suspected a bird might be inside one of the nesting boxes. Normally, Fry would reach into the boxes to check if birds had laid eggs, but something made him pause.

“There’s a small hole in the box and I thought I saw something move,” he said. When he stepped back and onto the large feeding table to get a better look, the truth became clear. Fry quickly closed the nesting box and called Pietermaritzburg snake catcher Dean Boswell for assistance.

[paywall]

Boswell arrived shortly afterwards and began the tricky task of removing the snake from the box. At first, the snake did not appear particularly large and refused to leave the safety of the nesting box.

[/paywall]