Enormous Black Mamba Filmed Crossing Road After Being Run Over by Car - Newsweek
An enormous black mamba was filmed slithering across a road in South Africa after a car ran over it.
Snake catcher Nick Evans—who owns a snake removal business in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province—arrived to the spot where "concerned residents" had spotted the mamba slithering around after it had been hit by the car, he said on a Facebook post.
The residents stopped traffic upon noticing the snake was injured and called the snake catcher to help, Evans said.
Black mambas are highly venomous snakes native to Africa. They are among the deadliest snakes in the world, with a fatality rate of 100 percent if a bite is left untreated, however, they are a shy and reclusive species, preferring to hide rather than attack.
They are also Africa's longest snake and can reach up to 14 feet in length, although this is rare. This one measured about 7.8 feet.
"My wife and I drove over, expecting to find a dying mamba, which is the case in all the mamba calls I've had where they've been run over. Well, to our very pleasant surprise, it looked very lively!" Evans said.
The footage shows the huge snake slithering loose across the road with its head raised.
Black mambas only ever raise their heads in this way when they feel cornered and threatened. They usually slither around with their bodies flat on the ground.
Evans said on Facebook that the snake will have been in an "incredible amount of pain" after the car drove over it.
"It was absolutely terrified, as there were humans all around it, and one approaching it," he said.
Evans managed to catch the injured mamba quickly, and upon securing its head in his hand, found blood in its mouth and nose. Evans took it back with him and said that it still seems strong a few hours after the incident.
The snake catcher said he is "desperately hoping" it doesn't die, although he is "half expecting it to."
"I will take it to a vet tomorrow for x-rays. I don't think much can be done for it. It will have some broken bones, which can heal by themselves. Internal bleeding is a worry, but hard to fix that," he said. "I think it just needs rest and warmth. Fingers crossed...a huge thank you to the residents for what they did for this snake."
Black mambas are at their most active during the South African summer, which is just coming to an end.
One Facebook commentator asked Evans why he was trying to save the snake, considering the danger it poses to humans.
Despite their potent venom, Evans said that this species are "really misunderstood."
"I only hear of 1 to 3 Black Mamba bites a year in Durban, and we've got millions of people and plenty mambas. Can't recall the last confirmed death from one here. Many of the bites are on people trying to kill or capture them. They're extremely important for rodent control, as well as Dassies," he wrote.
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