You want to Mamba? KZN snake catcher shares his near-death experience
He really 'gee'd' with the big boys...
Not everyone can say that snakes are their forte, of course. After speaking with Preesen Nair from Phoenix a few weeks back, we know that it takes a special kind of love to keep snakes as pets.
But to be visited by a snake, especially when it is not a mutually decided upon invitation, that's just scary. A big thumbs up to those people like Nick Evans and also, Mr Sarel van der Merwe
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Sarel%20van%20der%20Merwe
, who willingly put themselves in danger to help both people and snakes find safety.Most of the time, the rescue attempts are always followed with hoorays as the snake catchers manage to capture the snakes safely and soundly and release them back into their natural habitats.
But this story shared by van der Merwe gave us chills...
He posted to his Facebook page about a call he received last weekend about a Green Mamba in Munster, which is a coastal town situated on the South Coast of Durban.
I went by myself at night for a Green Mamba in Munster in a semi open roof at their home... I couldn't crawl in the roof and I had to cut the ceiling board and as the Mamba got out I grabbed with my grab stick and when I bagged the snake, my headlamp died on me and I got bitten...
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Sarel asked his client to drive him to the hospital, and on their way, they came across a highway patrol car, which hurried him along to the Port Shepstone Regional Hospital. They were aware of the bite as he managed to contact his friend Paul, who called ahead to inform them that Sarel was bitten and would be coming through.
Upon arriving at the hospital, he was administered with Anti Venom and Adrenaline and safely moved to the general ward the next morning. He is safe and sound and even went on to help with another green mamba not long after being in the hospital.
Check out the bite below.
Sarel made sure to thank everyone for helping him and also apologised to his friends and family for scaring them. He also thanked the highway patrol officials, but admitted that he didn't get their names, as at the time he could hardly see nor breathe.
Image Courtesy of Facebook