No, South Africans, a 6m Long Black Mamba Was Not Found in Nelspruit

• A fake image of a rather long snake has been circulating on social media with claims that it is a six-metre long black mamba
• The claims are quite far-fetched as the longest venomous snake in recorded history was a 5.71m long king cobra
• Tons of Saffa tweeps seemed to savagely call out the poster of the 'black mamba' in the viral snap

An image of an extremely long snake on the side of a road has gone viral - again. According to the moderator of Snakes of Southern Africa, Peter Gillatt, this serpent is not real and comes from a driver awareness campaign in Australia from over a decade ago.

Nevertheless, peeps seem to enjoy causing hype online and so the image has been reshared. Twitter user @JuniorMkhonto claimed that it was a six-and-a-half metre-long black mamba found in Karino, Nelspruit.

Read also

"They understood the assignment": Man busts a move with lit petrol attendants, creates whole Dezemba vibe

This claim is extremely far-fetched as, according to Guinness World Records, the longest species of venomous snakes are the King Cobras and they grow between three and four metres long. The longest venomous snake on record was 5.71m long.

Check out Peter Gillatt's post about the fake image here. Africa Check reported last year that the snake is a sculpture found on 189 Uralba Road in New South Wales, Australia.

Take a look at the viral Twitter post about the snake being from Mzansi below:

Below are some of the responses the pic received:

@MRSEROUS shared:

"Kante every year this snake is spotted at the same place."

@TalizmanZA said:

"This snake is back again after more than 10 years."

Read also

"You licked the plate": Beautiful graduate slays for her gala event, SA in love

@MhlengiMkhize5 tweeted:

"That's not 6m. No ways!!!"

@Xola_Skweit responded with:

"You just lied without being provoked maar yini."

@MxolisiDHL_SA tweeted:

"Ai wena go do your research."

@Duvi0010 added:

"Wtf, Cyril needs to mobilise the army here."

Fact check: No, a shark was not stolen from an aquarium during protests

Previously, Briefly News reported that viral social media posts have made many across the country lead people to believe that a shark was stolen from a "Durban Zoo and Aquarium". Speaking to Briefly News, Ann Kunz, a marine biologist at uShaka Marine World, stated that no shark had been stolen from the aquarium.

The news follows several days of protests and civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in June. The issues arose after supporters of president Jacob Zuma made calls for him to be released from jail, where he is supposed to serve a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.

The tales of animals being stolen in the two provinces have been debunked by Africa Check as viral posts on social media claimed that 16 monkeys, five pythons and a shark were allegedly captured.

Source: Briefly News