Wildlife in Texas - Types of Texan Animals
Green Mamba Snake Found After Biting 'owner' In Prague
The green mamba's bite is highly venomous and can be fatal in minutes (file photo)A highly venomous green mamba snake that escaped from its presumed owner on Tuesday after biting her in the Czech capital, Prague, has been caught.
The snake had gone into hiding in a Prague district and residents were placed on alert and warned to keep an eye out for the reptile.
The woman, who had not registered the snake, is in an induced coma at a city hospital after receiving an antidote.
The snake was caught in a tree near its home on Friday.
On Wednesday, police and paramedics were called to a house in Hlubocepy district in the south of the city where the woman was found unconscious.
The house was evacuated, and herpetologists (zoologists who specialise in the study of snakes) were called in to help locate the reptile.
Children at a nearby kindergarten were kept inside as a safety measure.
It was thought the snake was unlikely to leave the house because of the recent cool weather, but in the end it was found on a tree about 200 metres (656 ft) from its home.
"Mamba found! And caught!" Miroslav Bobek, head of the Prague zoo whose employee caught the mamba, tweeted.
He said that the mamba may have left its hiding place inside the house on the day of its capture after the weather warmed up.
"I would like to know when the snake set out on the trip, but yesterday's [Thursday] warm afternoon and a nearly subtropical Friday made it easier," he added.
The woman who found it in her garden wrapped around a tree said she was still in shock and added that the snake appeared to have "had enough" too, reports say.
Experts say the green mamba's venom spreads fast, and its bite can be fatal in as little as 30 minutes.
Green Mamba Captured After Hiding For Almost Two Months
IT took almost two months for a snake catcher, Warren Dick, to capture a 1.89m-long Green mamba that had been hiding in a garden in Marine Drive on The Bluff since the beginning of January. The snake was caught on February 22.
Also read: Second Black Mamba caught in Montclair home [Video]
According to Dick, catching the snake was an uphill battle because it was hiding in the trees.
"Patience and understanding paid off," said Dick. He said after receiving the first call from his friend early in January, he went out to investigate.
"She keeps chickens and also enjoys the wild birds and wildlife in her garden, but every now and then she gets a Green Mamba to come around looking for food. Having dogs, chickens and unsuspecting people around, is not ideal to leave a potentially deadly snake in the garden. Fortunately, a Green mamba mostly stays up in the trees out of sight so while there is a measure of danger, it's not much. She phoned me at the beginning of January about the snake, I went to try to catch it, but it was too high up in the trees. I then went back again a few times that week and in the coming weeks, sometimes spending hours just watching this beautiful animal in the trees but never really had a shot of getting it," explained Dick.
Also read: Massive 2.6m-long Black Mamba captured from home in Montclair
Numerous attempts were made to catch the snake but all proved to be fruitless until Dick and his friend set up a trap to catch it.
"We then decided to mostly feed the birds on the one side of the garden with low bushes to try getting the snake within reach. This worked, two days later in February, my friend phoned me saying the snake was low down. As I pulled into the driveway, I was pretty sure the snake had learned what my car looked like. As I came towards the garden, the snake started moving fast. I got to see its tail disappear high up into a fig tree," he said.
However, Dick did not give up. A few days later, he received another call from his friend asking for his assistance.
"I rushed over, getting there within five minutes. The snake had just finished swallowing its meal. Then it seemed to notice I was there, fortunately it did not mind my friend and her gardener standing close watching it.
"I was still trying to get my tongs out of the car when the gardener screamed 'It's moving'. I just grabbed my two tongs and bolted for the snake. I got the snake mid-body with my tongs, but it was not budging out of the tree easily. Then its head appeared uncomfortably close to my hand holding the tongs. I got my second tongs on its neck just behind the head. This caused the snake to panic and thrash – not wanting to injure it, I had to let go for a second to try to grab it again. Unfortunately, the snake disappeared into the bush," said Dick.
On Thursday, Dick received another call from a friend asking for his assistance.
"Again I rushed there. This time I parked my car at the beginning of the driveway. I grabbed my tongs and ran towards the bush where my friend pointed the snake out to me.
Also read: Reasons why snakes should be protected
"It was deep inside the bush and felt quite safe there, but once it saw me, it started moving away. I ran around to the back of the bush to get closer to it. This time before the snake knew what I was doing I had it in my tongs just behind the head – the only thing now was to safely grab it behind the head with my other hand," said Dick.
After the snake was captured, it was safely released into the wild. Dick appealed to people feeding the birds in their gardens to ensure that they are less attractive to wildlife.
For assistance or to have some of your interesting spiders, snakes or other wildlife identified, call or WhatsApp Warren Dick on 072 211 0353. You can also follow him on Facebook, Warren's Small World
For more Southlands Sun news, follow us on Facebook or Twitter. You can also follow us on Instagram.
Will Smith's Documentary Crew Discover 'world's Largest Snake'
A mind-blowing discovery during filming with Will Smith...
Will Smith snake / YouTube In the depths of the Amazon rainforest lies some of the world's deadliest creatures. Will Smith is on a mission to journey across the Earth, discovering and educating us on biomes, communities, and landscapes.
His mission during the National Geographic series, 'Pole to Pole', led to an unimaginable discovery.
KZN: Discover ancient animals at the North Coast's Crocodile Creek
In the South American rainforest, an iconic green anaconda found to be consisting of two species was uncovered by an unlikely collaboration between researchers and renowned actor, Will Smith.
According to IFL Science, Professor Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland was leading a study on the effects of oil drilling in the Amazon and stumbled upon the groundbreaking discovery during a documentary expedition.
Here is the moment the discovery occurred:
As captured in the video above, "The size of these magnificent creatures was incredible – one female anaconda we encountered measured an astounding 6.3 meters [20.6 feet] long," he added, noting that Waorani people have previously spotted even larger snakes "measuring more than 7.5 meters [24.6 feet] long and weighing around 500 kilograms [1102.3 pounds]."
According to National Geographic, green anacondas are non-venomous, constricting snakes native to South America and are members of the boa family. The reptiles are considered the heaviest snakes in the world. On average, they live up to 10 years in the wild.
Read More: Darren Maule's harrowing encounter with a Durban snake
While many Durbanites are glad to hear this particular snake is far away, snake season is in full swing in the 031.
KZN is home to many snake species, so there are many stories to tell. We reached out to residents on some of their snake encounters.
KZN residents have taken to East Coast Breakfast's Facebook page to share some stories. See below:
I've been bitten twice actually but the one that was scary was the mamba hitting the beak of my Cap in St Lucia ...As I turned I realised it was aiming for my face. The second time it was boa "feeding times."
Yes!!! My encounter was not serious but hilariously funny. Whilst cleaning the garden I felt something on my big toe that felt like an ant bite. Without looking I just slapped it off my toe and realised it was biggen than an ant. When I looked down I notice the brown house snake twisting around at my feet. We still laugh about it to this day.
I climbed a tree to pick macadamia nuts. Shook a branch and jumped off of the tree as I landed a snake bit me. It was an Adder. Felt like a million bee stings. I was rushed to hospital where they gave me the anti venom.
Yes…her name was Palesa. I don't wanna talk about it.
I was bitten by a puff adder in 2019. I was walking up my driveway and it bit me. We presume it had been disturbed by fence making activities and was angry. I didn't even see it! I didn't stand on it, it must have just had enough and tagged me on my ankle. I was wearing slops. At first I thought I had been stung by a bee. When I didn't see the bee on my ankle, I stepped back to find my next suspect, wasp, and saw Ms Puffy coiled and ready to strike again! I took photos of the snake , mostly because I knew everyone would argue with my identification , and then off we went to St Augustine's. We called a friend and he told me to move my foot and elevate it as much as possible to spread the venom, as it's a cytotoxic venom and this is not advised with other snake bites. So we drove with my foot on the dash and dancing steps in the air! No medical aid, but they treated me immediately. I had 4 or 5 vials of anti venom. There was not much pain at all. It swelled up very fast though. I was hectic allergic to the anti venom and needed a lot of adrenaline to counteract it. I instantly had hives from the anti venom, all over my body, except for my leg where the snake bit me, as the anti venom went to work! I had to stay in hospital from the anaphylactic shock , and then ended up getting swine flu and almost dying. The bite itself wasn't such an issue. Was swollen and sore for several days. But the 'swine flu' (was it actually early COVID?) Almost killed me. It took me months to recover fully after it all. And no, I didn't kill the snake either! It was just being a snake and I was just unlucky. I still wear slops too. I'm just a lot more wary of snakes now, especially puff adders. I took it all as quite a spiritual journey. Had a very deep spiritual experience in hospital and it accelerated my spiritual path.
Darren Maule shared his own harrowing story about an encounter with a Durban snake.
Check out this heart-pounding experience shared by our East Coast Breakfast team member:
*Language warning
@darrenmaule Please keep an eye out for this guy… #SAMA28 #tiktoksa #fyp #HereWithYou #EastCoastBreakfast ♬ original sound - Boomer MauleStay tuned for an update on the snake babies who have captivated KZN's attention.
We will bring you the latest at East Coast Radio.
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