Cape Town – Durban snake rescuer Nick Evans has expressed how impressed he was by police officers who called him to aid a black mamba spotted crossing the road near the airport.
He said in the past, police were called to shoot mambas, however, on Sunday police displayed care for the venomous snake when they reached out to him for help.
Evans said the policemen were driving past but took the time to watch the snake that had moved to the culvert on the side of the road as they awaited his arrival at the scene.
“I was sure it had been clipped by a car. In the video they sent to me, it looked okay, just moving a bit slowly. But a healthy, unharmed mamba should have been long gone,” Evans said.
The officers kept watch of the snake as it didn’t go anywhere for a few minutes and Evans told them he would come to take a look and they promised to watch over the snake.
“Unfortunately, it died while I made my way there. It had been hit on the head by a passing car.
“The policemen were shocked and disappointed. They really seemed to care. I was so impressed with their positive attitude, despite the sad outcome,” Evans said.
He also said that he was grateful the officers took the time to ensure no one else harmed it, as he made his way to where the snake was.
Evans said it was always encouraging to see people care about snake welfare, adding that the 2.3m female mamba would be handed over to a researcher for an interesting study.
“I’ve had many people tell me that back in the day, police were called to come and shoot mambas (not something I’m sure they enjoyed, and not something without risk). There weren’t as many snake-catchers as there are now, and people didn’t seem to know what else to do.
“Now we’re often called by the police to help,” he said.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Facebook/ Nick Evans – Snake Rescuer
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Composed by Olwethu Mpeshe
