Nick Evans, a power tool and an elusive Forest Cobra
This was a really exciting call out for Snake Rescue's Nick Evans because it was for a snake he hadn't caught in years - a Forest Cobra! And yes, as the headline indicates, the rescue involved a power tool. (But no snakes were harmed in the making of this podcast episode.)
"This snake really played hard to get, and it took a few trips to actually catch it. On one of those trips, we worked for ages, doing proper manual labour. It all paid off in the end!" recalls Nick.
Listen to the details in Nick's latest podcast episode below.
Forest Cobras are a beautiful snake species found on the KZN North
Coast, and become more and more common further north. So not a snake we
see around Durban. And unlike our Durban cobra (the Mozambique Spitting
Cobra), Forest Cobras do not spit.
"Nice for the likes of me!" says Nick.
"They have an interesting, two-toned color appearance. The front half is a yellowish-brown color, and it darkens towards the tail end. The tail end is pitch black. They have a shiny appearance. Like all of our cobras, they are highly venomous. They can also hood up, impressively, too. But if given half a chance, they'll flee, not wanting confrontation."
Meanwhile, Snake Rescue's Nick Evans received a call from the Bellair area of Durban, and he could hear some panic in the background. There was apparently a really big Black Mamba in a shrub between two properties.
"When I arrived, this snake decided to make my life difficult - it went into the roof of the one property- a high roof at that!" recalls Nick.
"Luckily, the residents were very helpful, and we also had many eyes scanning to see if the mamba came out. Still, as you will hear, that didn't make it any easier! My heart was thumping during this!"
Listen to Nick's Bellair adventure below.
Catch Nick in his TV series, Snake Season. Season 2 airs from 17 May, on the People's Weather Channel on DSTV (180 and 115 on Open View) at 6pm with a repeat at 9pm.
Listen to past Snake Rescue episodes via our channel below:
Nick's organisation, KwaZulu-Natal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, is a chapter of The Lawrence Anthony Earth Organisation.
Contact Nick on 072 809 5806 for information about snake removals in the Greater Durban area. Email him if you'd like to find out about his educational talks.
Main image courtesy of Nick Evans