Durban security officer bitten by snake as reptile sightings increase

A security officer was bitten by a snake while on patrol in Prospecton, an industrial area south of Durban, on Monday night.

Emer-G-Med spokesperson Kyle van Reenen said the incident occurred soon after 9pm.

“The man was treated and stabilised at the scene before being taken to hospital. He remains in a moderate condition.”

Nick Evans, a Durban snake rescuer, said the intense heat kept snakes at bay over the weekend, but when the temperature dropped to the low 30s, he started receiving calls for assistance from residents.

“A lot of people were thinking I must have been extremely busy with snake calls over the weekend. I wasn’t. It was too hot for them. Saturday was dead quiet, although there were a few calls in the night,” Evans said on his Facebook page.

“Yesterday afternoon [Sunday], once the temperatures went down, the calls came in.”

He said he responded to a call in Westville North.

“A family had come home and noticed their dog staring at something in the courtyard. Behind a gutter pipe was a black mamba. Thankfully the owners acted quickly before either animal could get hurt and locked the dog inside.”

Evans said he used a hose to flood out the snake. “I managed to hook it out with the tongs and pin down the mamba. It was about 2m in length.

“While leaving, I had to make a U-turn as there was another snake seen in the area. The snake was under a large pet rat enclosure on a veranda. I was relieved to see that, again, the homeowners had locked their dogs away, keeping them safe.

“I looked under the enclosure with the suspicion it would be a Mozambique spitting cobra, and it was. These are beautiful snakes, with the most incredible way of defending themselves. However, I do not like being on the receiving end of their venom shower.

“I managed to pin it down without being spat at. It was about 1.2m long.

“I think even snakes are looking forward to a break from the intense heat,” he added.

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