Nick Evans Breaks a Sweat and Makes a Splash Capturing Mozambique Spitting Cobra Chilling in Old Drainpipe

• KZN snake rescuer Nick Evans shared details on a recent capture of a Mozambique spitting cobra on Facebook
• The snake had slithered into an old drainpipe and proved a huge mission to get out as Nick had to break the pipe and use a hosepipe to get to the reptile
• After irritating the snake with water, the cobra gave up and the 1.3-metre male in very good condition was pulled out

A sneaky cobra was successfully nabbed by KZN snake rescuer Nick Evans.

The snake had been spotted by a neighbour of his friend who often helps him in rescues. Fortunately, his friend's daughter was available to go and inspect the snake.

It had gone into an old drainpipe that's not in use, according to Evans, who shared details of the capture on his Facebook page.

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“The homeowner had put an empty pot (for plants) over the pipe to keep it in there. When she lifted the pot, she immediately recognised the face of a Mozambique spitting cobra looking back at her.”

When Nick arrived, he struggled to grab hold of the cobra as he could only see the head and his tongs wouldn't fit in the pipe. The cobra then reversed back in and went to the left, where they could no longer see.

“The pipe apparently had a blockage somewhere, hence why they stopped using it. So we thought flooding it would surely work, it almost always does (I've had to do this many times, cobras love hiding in pipes).

“After a short while, without success, we realised flooding was not going to work. I was wondering if it had squeezed past the blockage,” Nick explained.

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He then decided to dig down to the pipe and break a hole in it, with the homeowner’s permission.

Nick broke a hole, and couldn't see anything. He got the hosepipe, put it in where he had broken a hole, and pushed it up toward the opening. About 30 centimetres in, the hose stopped going and they heard a fairly loud hiss!

“My plan was to try to chase it to the entrance, but it appeared by where I was working, so I grabbed it with the tongs. But I couldn't pull it out, without hurting it.

“Jade put the hose in the entrance of the pipe, and the homeowner turned the hose on. The cobra gave up, fed up with all the water! I secured the head to avoid being spat at, and I had it all out now! A 1.3-metre male in very good condition,” said a chuffed Nick.

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Cat delivers highly venomous puff adder to owner

In a separate article, Briefly News reported that a cat delivered a venomous puff adder to its owner, resulting in veteran snake rescuer Nick Evans intervening to help.

The ordeal was explained in detail in a Facebook post highlighting other incidents that had occurred that day. Nick Evans discussed the precautions that individuals need to take to protect themselves and their little furry friends by pointing out past pet-snake run-ins.

He told the tale of two cats who were victims of a Mozambiquan spitting cobra but were fortunate enough to survive the ordeal. He also discussed how some cats may have a tendency to bring home snakes, citing the season as the reason for increased reptile activity.

Source: Briefly News