David John-Snake Rescuer

Last snake rescue of 2025. Westville north.

A black mamba had mistakenly gotten into.a house and someone's bathroom. Fortunately they closed the door and called for help which made for an easy catch.

1.8m female. She was safely released.

Saturday morning before 5am I got a call for a python in a chicken coup in Ndwedwe which is an hour away from me. Unfortunately no one else was available to attend so I ended up embarking on the long drive. Thankfully it was worth it and the snake was rescued alive and healthy. The python was released in a suitable game reserve.

This morning I received a call for a Black mamba in Inchanga, a shorter drive and an easy catch which turned out to be a black mamba of around 2.2m.

Busy snake weekend with this warm weather.

Recieved a call for this black mamba that was trying to escape the heat by finding a cool spot in someone's house in Embo. Thankfully someone watched the snake the whole time until I arrived which made for an easy catch this is always much appreciated by snake rescuers as its a daunting task looking in a cluttered room for a snake.

The mamba was released back into a suitable habitat away from people.

After a long spell with no significant call outs I was lucky to go on an unusual call for a Southern African Python. Staff at Umgeni water in the Inanda dam area called in about a large python that was spotted at their fence line trying to get out of their property. Thankfully they kept an eye on it until we arrived using their vehicles to provide light and stopping it from disappearing. Easy catch as the fence helped me to restrain its head. Took a few pictures and then we were off to release this beautiful large specimen. This was an extremely special catch and I hope the python lives a long and happy life. It was extremely refreshing to see how the staff at Umgeni water respected the snake and were mindful of its importance in our ecosystem and did not want to harm the snake. Big ups to them.

Please note this is a protected species and it is illegal to kill these snakes or keep them in captivity without a permit.

Also a special moment my mom was able to get a chance to hold this snake all by herself.