A black mamba was spotted slithering out of a car that was speeding down a road in South Africa.
Snake catcher Nick Evans, who owns a snake removal service in the Greater Durban area, arrived at a house in the suburb of Westville, where the highly venomous snake was seen slithering along a driveway.
The snake catcher had previously been called about a mamba on the same property but had not been able to find it, he said in a Facebook post. This time, however, he found the snake, only it was hidden in the undercarriage of a car.
"I could tell it wasn't a large Mamba, meaning this would be extra difficult. Snakes in cars are an absolute nightmare!!!" Evans said in a Facebook post. The only way to find it was to take the car apart.
The black mamba is one of the deadliest snakes in South Africa. Its bite releases a fast-acting neurotoxin that can kill a human in as little as 20 minutes. But the species is generally shy and elusive and does not bite unless provoked.
To help remove the snake from the car, Evans called a friend, Rob Prece, who works at a car repair shop, for help.
Evans then got inside the car where the mamba was hiding, while his friend tailed him. Prece then noticed the black mamba slithering out of the car.
"He called me: 'I can see it!' The mamba was coming out from the underside of the car, on the right side! Just picture the scene," Evans said.
The snake catcher then drove the car to the repair shop. He was "a bit nervous" getting out because the snake was by the driver's door. "But I got out. No sign of the snake," Evans said.
The car repair workers began to pick apart the car in search of the deadly reptile but could not see anything.
"We looked and looked but nothing." Evans said. "The owner, who was driving behind me, was adamant it hadn't come out. I believed him. Snakes can find all sorts of frustrating spaces to hide in."
After taking out a few parts of the car, the snake catcher could still see no sign of the serpent. They decided to call it a day and leave the snake in the vehicle.
"Suddenly, I heard a scream from Rob. He spotted it, rather close to where his hands were! It was in the radiator! First time seeing a mamba there," Evans said. "It was in a difficult position, and required someone to coax it out for me. Rob, who isn't exactly a snake-catcher to say the least, bravely offered to poke it and irritate it for me with a wire."
Evans was eventually able to pin the snake down and remove it from the area. "The mamba was very warm to the touch, and exhausted!" he said.
After catching a snake, Evans releases it back into the wild, away from people. Snakes are typically more active during the warmer months between October and March, but in South Africa now it's the middle of snake season.
During this time, it is not unusual to find them slithering around properties and into cars, in search of somewhere dark and quiet to hide.
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