Deadly 7-Foot Black Mamba Snake Spotted Trying To Get in Front Door of Home

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A 7-foot-long venomous black mamba snake was spotted just outside the front door of a home, seemingly trying to get inside.

Snake removal expert Nick Evans filmed the snake after being called to the home in the city of Durban, South Africa.

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a large snake native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa known for its size, speed and extremely potent venom. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous snakes in the world.

This species is the second-longest venomous snake after the king cobra, growing to around 6-8 feet on average, although the largest specimens may reach lengths of 14 feet, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

A screenshot taken from a YouTube video showing snake catcher Nick Evans removing a black mamba from a home in Durban, South Africa. Evans relocated the snake to a natural area away from humans.
Nick Evans

Despite the name, these snakes range in color from gray to dark brown, with black coloration found on the inside of the mouth. They are among the fastest snakes in the world, capable of traveling at speeds of more than 12 miles an hour.

After arriving at the Durban home, Evans opened the door to find the black mamba just outside, hanging from its tail.

“It was quite an unusual sight opening a door and having a mamba hanging down, looking at me. Quite comical, really,” Evans, who conducts snake removals and locations in the Greater Durban Area, told Newsweek.

“The mamba had managed to climb up onto this second story veranda, presumably using a gutter pipe, and appeared to be looking for a comfy hiding place,” he wrote in the description of a YouTube video. “As you can see, it was quite a calm specimen, and I think very confused too, by all the people around it.”

Black mambas are a common snake species in Durban’s nature reserves and green belts, Evans said. The habitats in the area are suitable for the snake.

He said the particular black mamba in the video measured around 2.2 meters, or roughly 7.2 feet, in length.

While the snakes are relatively common in the area, Evans said he had not seen as many in the past few weeks as he usually does.

“Actually, I’ve been on my quietest run of mamba calls in years. I’ve only caught about three in the past month and a half. I can get anywhere between 5-20 in a month,” he said.

“They are active all year round too. We’re at the start of their mating season now, winter. It is a time of year when males are occasionally seen wrestling for a female. To witness this behavior is very special.”

In the video, Evans can be seen calmly grabbing the mamba with snake tongs and then his hands before removing it from the property. He described the removal as an “uneventful” process.

“There you go, quick and easy,” he said in the video.

But even though he made the catch look easy, Evans said it is always better to call a professional to deal with any snake, rather than trying to do it yourself or attempting to kill it—particularly in the case of black mambas.

“A black mamba is a dangerous animal to kill, and people have been bitten in the process,” Evans said. “A black mamba is just like any animal, it feels pain. The most dangerous specimens I’ve had to catch are ones which have been beaten or stabbed with a spear or steel rod.”

When he is called to remove black mambas, he said keeping calm is the most important thing.

“Having confidence is key, but not arrogance, because that’s when you’ll make mistakes,” he said. “And my entire focus is on the mamba, nothing else. I do not recommend anyone trying to capture one without training.”

Once he caught the snake, he relocated it to a natural area away from humans—as he does with all the black mambas he removes.

Black mambas are perhaps the most feared snake in Africa given their size, the toxicity of their venom and the speed at which symptoms appear following a bite.

Bites from these snakes, when they do occur, are frequently fatal if anti-venom is not administered, with symptoms often becoming apparent within 10 minutes.

“Black Mambas have a potent neurotoxic venom which is very dangerous to people,” Evans said.

But despite this, black mamba bites are rare and while they have a reputation for being aggressive, these snakes tend to be shy, usually preferring to flee if they feel threatened. If they do bite, it is usually because they perceive themselves to be in danger.

A black mamba snake
Stock image: A black mamba snake in South Africa. These snakes have a highly potent neurotoxic venom that is “very dangerous” to humans.
iStock

“Left alone, black mambas have no desire to bite anyone, and bites are relatively rare,” Evans said. “Despite Durban having close to four million people, and a healthy mamba population, bites are very rare, which tells you a lot about their nature. I catch many in situations where they could easily have bitten a person, sometimes more, but they chose to hide instead. I’ve been in situations where I didn’t know where the mamba was, and if it wanted to, it could have bitten me.”

“While sometimes accidents happen, most of the bites I’ve documented in Durban, which is very few, are on someone trying to capture or kill the snake. These snakes are believed to be very aggressive killing machines—that is not the case. They’re very misunderstood animals.”

In fact, black mambas play an important role in the environment, controlling the population of certain rodents and other small animals, like dassies, in the areas where they are found.

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