Snake rescuer and expert, Nick Evans, was recently called to remove one of his first Herald snakes for the season from a home in Westville.
Evans said when he arrived at the residence, he found the home owner with a swimming pool net, covering the Herald snake. “When we lifted the net the snake was of course furious and as all Heralds do in threatening situations, the snake put on a big show to scare me off,” said Evans. He said the Herald has a mild venom and it would be unusual for a human to show any symptoms from its bite. Evans said there is a myth that many believe when a Herald bites you, you get headaches. He said the snake is very common in Durban and is normally confused for a Black mamba, a Mozambican spitting cobra or a Night adder. “Black mambas usually just back off, at speed. I don’t ever recall seeing one on a call just standing its ground and striking. Except hatchlings – they prefer to just show their black mouth. Night adders hiss and puff but they have dark, diamond-like markings going down their bodies and Mozambique spitting cobras also tend to move off quickly as well, but may spread a hood which was different from the Herald snake,” Evans added.
He urged residents not to tease animals as they do not need to be stressed. He also confirmed that this particular snake seemed very stressed. For snake removals, call Nick Evans on 072-809-5806.
