In retrospect... I learnt a very valuable lesson this afternoon in trying to catch & release a Black Mamba snake found in my yard....
The first lesson is that I am growing old and do not have the "lasting" stamina I used to and secondly..... do not ever again try to catch a Black Mamba....
I have caught many, many snakes & other reptiles in my life and then released them far from the residential area... no problem.....
Yeterday, I noticed (my dog pointing him out barking) a huge Black Mamba in my yard underneath my car..... I tried to catch him and he slipped over to the neighbour's yard very quickly.....
This afternoon..... I saw him again in one of the trees and waited for it to come down whilst trying to get a good photo of him.... (The sun was bad, so could not get a good photo....just aimed and shot.
When he eventually got to the ground, (as in the last photo) he aimed directly at me, so I promptly exchanged the camera with a broom which my wife had ready.... and the fight was on..... When I eventually got hold of him.... i realised that he is too heavy (and long - 3m) for me to pick up with one hand and had to let go again.... I also realised that his strike is a lot faster than the average snake I've dealt with before.... He struck at me 3 times to the left and right barely missing me....
My objective was to bag him (in the dirt bin with lid on) before he could get into the neighbour's yard where he would vanish amoungst the shrubs in his yard.... 3 or 4 times he got very close to the fence where I grabbed him and flung him back (deep) into my own yard... where the fight would start again.....
This carried on for about 10 minutes (which felt like 30 minutes to me).... and exhaustion eventually got the better of me..... Totally drenched (in sweat) and out of breath.... I gave best and leant against the broomstick to allow him freedom of direction ....
He did go into my neighbours' garden... I walked over and told him to look out... He phoned protection services who searched his garden and again found the snake which quickly found a hole and dissappeared underneath his house.... They will be back tomorrow to look for it....
For the first time in my life..... I got scared of a Snake and made a concious decision never to tangle with a Black Mamba ever again.....
The first lesson is that I am growing old and do not have the "lasting" stamina I used to and secondly..... do not ever again try to catch a Black Mamba....
I have caught many, many snakes & other reptiles in my life and then released them far from the residential area... no problem.....
Yeterday, I noticed (my dog pointing him out barking) a huge Black Mamba in my yard underneath my car..... I tried to catch him and he slipped over to the neighbour's yard very quickly.....
This afternoon..... I saw him again in one of the trees and waited for it to come down whilst trying to get a good photo of him.... (The sun was bad, so could not get a good photo....just aimed and shot.
When he eventually got to the ground, (as in the last photo) he aimed directly at me, so I promptly exchanged the camera with a broom which my wife had ready.... and the fight was on..... When I eventually got hold of him.... i realised that he is too heavy (and long - 3m) for me to pick up with one hand and had to let go again.... I also realised that his strike is a lot faster than the average snake I've dealt with before.... He struck at me 3 times to the left and right barely missing me....
My objective was to bag him (in the dirt bin with lid on) before he could get into the neighbour's yard where he would vanish amoungst the shrubs in his yard.... 3 or 4 times he got very close to the fence where I grabbed him and flung him back (deep) into my own yard... where the fight would start again.....
This carried on for about 10 minutes (which felt like 30 minutes to me).... and exhaustion eventually got the better of me..... Totally drenched (in sweat) and out of breath.... I gave best and leant against the broomstick to allow him freedom of direction ....
He did go into my neighbours' garden... I walked over and told him to look out... He phoned protection services who searched his garden and again found the snake which quickly found a hole and dissappeared underneath his house.... They will be back tomorrow to look for it....
For the first time in my life..... I got scared of a Snake and made a concious decision never to tangle with a Black Mamba ever again.....
