A man came face to face with a deadly black mamba while working on a project at his home in South Africa.
The Westville resident put his hand behind a bucket, which was sitting on a shelf outside while he was repairing a wire, snake catcher Nick Evans said in a Facebook post.
But as he did so, the head of a black mamba emerged and opened its mouth towards the man, “dangerously close to his hand.”
“The owner immediately knew it was a Black Mamba and luckily avoided disaster,” said Evans, who owns a snake removal and rescue service in the area.
Black mambas are a species of venomous snake native to southern Africa. Their bite has a 100 percent mortality rate if left untreated. Snakes are also extremely fast, capable of slithering at speeds of 12 miles per hour.
Evans arrived on the property to remove the snake from the area.
“It wasn’t too difficult a capture, although it was a pretty feisty mamba,” the snake catcher said on Facebook.
This black mamba measured over 6 feet long, which is quite small for the species. The snakes are among the longest snakes in Africa. They average about 7 feet long, but have been known to exceed this size in rare cases.
“I couldn’t believe how close the owner came to getting bitten,” Evans said on Facebook. “It was, however, another good example of how mambas are not these vicious, bloodthirsty monsters. If he had wanted to bite him, he very easily could have done so. Instead, he given a warning to back off, and that was it.”
Although black mambas are incredibly venomous, they will only bite a person if directly provoked or threatened. The species tends to be shy and solitary, meaning the snakes prefer to move away from a potential victim rather than attack them.
“A good story to tell at the bar for (the) future,” Evans added in his message.
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Evans uses his social media presence to educate people about the species. Sometimes residents try to kill the dangerous snakes, but Evans insists this only makes the situation worse. On the contrary, it incites the snake to attack.
South Africa’s snake season, which lasts from September to March, is only just beginning. This is when the weather begins to warm up and cold-blooded reptiles begin to emerge and become more active.
During snake season, it is not uncommon for residents to find venomous snake species crawling around their homes. Often, snakes are found in garages, outdoor sheds, or roofs when seeking shelter from the sun.
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