In a horrible incident, a family in South Africa’s Durban came across a deadly snake eating their pet bird alive.
The black mamba snake had managed to slither into their home in Queensburgh on Monday.
Durban snake catcher and conservationist Nick Evans, who was called to the scene, said the snake could not resist the smell of the budgie bird, and entered its enclosure, before attacking it.
Evans said despite a mesh, the snake managed to enter the cage through a small gap under the gate.
“It was then disturbed by the dog, which alerted the owner,” Evans said.
After feasting on the bird, the snake moved out of the cage and hid behind it.
“Smaller mambas such as this, I find are always more of a handful than the big ones. They’re faster, and I think, a bit cheekier. Bit more of a tricky catch than usual, but I soon had it,” Evans said, according to the Witness.
Even though the bird’s owners did not like snakes, they did not want to kill it, which was why they informed the snake catcher, Evans said.
“I’m glad, as then we might have had to deal with a bitten human as well… I appreciated their attitude, although I felt sorry for their loss,” he said.
The snake was then removed by Evans from the house.
According to Evans, mambas usually feast on dassies, rats and birds. These snakes also target domestic animals such as caged birds, rabbits and hamsters, as well as feral kittens, as an easy catch.
The black mamba lives in sub-Saharan Africa and is one of the most dangerous snakes in the world. Their bite has a fatality rate of 100%. It is the second-longest venomous snake after the king cobra. A mature specimen generally exceeds 6 ft 7 inch and commonly grows to 9 ft 10 in, according to National Geographic. Its skin color varies from gray to dark brown.
In 2021, a family in South Africa had seen a huge black mamba entering their home, following which it slithered into their bedroom. Snake catcher Nick Evans took to Facebook to narrate the incident from a house in Reservoir Hills, Durban. “It slithered in their direction, probably not realizing they were there. I think something outside had scared it in. When it got closer, the gentleman lifted a chair to scare it off. When it saw this, the mamba raised its head up slightly, in fright, and swerved left, going down the passageway,” Evans wrote. Evans later removed the snake from the house.
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