Black mamba flushed from drain in dramatic rescue

A 1.7-metre black mamba hiding in a drain at a Westville home was safely captured by Durban snake catcher Nick Evans after it was flushed from the pipe. Evans said the call-out came from a property where he had previously removed snakes. “Last week, I went on my first black mamba call in what had been too long a break for me from my ‘friends’,” he said.

The snake had been seen slithering along the side of the house before disappearing down an open drain when people approached. After initially failing to see the snake, Evans and the homeowner decided to flush water down the pipe in the hope that it would force the reptile to move. “What else was there to do?

The trusty hosepipe method generally works,” he said. The pipe ran downhill and connected to two drains, and Evans positioned himself near one where he believed the snake might emerge. “I walked further down into his property to see if we had missed a drain.

[paywall]

We hadn’t,” he said. When he returned moments later, the snake had appeared at the drain opening, head up against the plastic grid.

[/paywall]