Durban snake catcher: "It's my fault the black mamba bit me"
It seems that after catching a snake, it takes a solid amount of time to calm it down before taking pictures of it.
Most Durbanites call professional snake catchers when they find a snake in their surroundings so as not to get in the firing line.
But it's not as black and white as you may think. Durban snake catcher Warren Dick shared how he was at fault when trying to take a photo of a black mamba he caught in Yellow-Wood Park.
Warren recalled the incident (23 May 2024) on his Facebook page: "At round 11:30am I recieved a call about a Black Mamba in the Yellow-Wood Park area, when I arrived the snake was hiding behind some roof tiles after being hurrassed by cats. It was a large Black Mamba, but where it was, it made for a relatively easy drama free catch."
As a means of taking some professional photographs of the Black Mamba, Warren took the snake to the Bluff Sports Field. He was prepared to wear down the snake, which was hyped up after the capture.
"After all the snake had been through, it was fired up, standing tall in the bucket, not hesitating to threaten me from inside the clear bucket. I opened the bucket and got the snake out with my hook stick; as it hit the grass, it raised about a third of its body off the ground and ran for it.
"I was battling to stop it from getting away from me; at this point, I should have called it quits, restrained the snake and put it back in the bucket. But I thought if I could get in front of the snake, it would turn around and go back the other way, and this worked once. The second time I got in front of the snake, it decided not to back off; it was going to go through me, and I misjudged how close I was and how fast the snake could be.
"Suddenly, the snake jumped forward, and I felt a pin prick on my right knee as I attempted to jump out of the way. I fobbed it off and continued trying to get the snake to calm down for a few minutes till I started feeling a sharp burning pain in my knee like a hot coal, 'Oh dear, I cannot ignore this; I need help'. I then restrained the snake, putting it safely back in the bucket and decided to drive myself to Albert Luthuli hospital for assistance."
Warren sought assistance from well-known snake catcher Nick Evans. He tried to drive himself to the hospital but started feeling the first signs of a bite, pins and needles.
It led him to call the paramedics for assistance; half an hour had passed since the bite first occurred. According to Warren, there have been reports of people in the same or similar situations who have passed on by this time.
"A few more bits of bad communication and confusion, and I finally arrived at the hospital nearly an hour after the bite. By this point, my whole body was numb and tingling, and I felt as if I had a constrictor snake around my throat.
"I was wheeled into the trauma unit of Albert Luthuli Hospital, where five specialist doctors were awaiting me, and immediately started getting to work. Within 5 minutes, I was hooked up to more instrumentation and IV drips than I could count; I was told (as I knew already) of all the risks involved in snakebite treatment. They told me there was a perfect chance I could go into anaphylactic shock and need to be intubated to help me breathe."Although the experience was terrifying, it would not stop him from continuing his work with snakes.
We are happy that Warren is back in business and fulfilling his purpose. Check out a post from him a week ago. Courtesy of Facebook.
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Image Courtesy of Facebook