"Fast and Dangerous Snake": Cape Town Woman Films Boomslang Snake Up Close on Rocky Cliffside Ravine
- Helga Strydom came face to face with a large dark snake while exploring a Cape Town ravine in October 2026
- She filmed the encounter up close and posted the footage online, unsure whether the snake was a boomslang or black mamba
- Snake removal experts and commenters sparked a debate in the comments over what type of snake it was
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A Cape Town woman had a nerve-racking encounter with one of Africa's most venomous snakes while out exploring a rocky cliffside in October 2026. Helga Strydom filmed the moment she spotted a long, dark-coloured snake slithering across a vegetated embankment, capturing the creature close enough to make out its eye through the shaky, zoomed-in footage.
Source: Facebook
Strydom posted the clip to Facebook with a simple question overlaid on the screen: "Boomslang?" She was clearly unsure what she was looking at, and so were the people in her comments.
The footage by Helga Strydom quickly drew attention, with viewers split over whether the snake was a boomslang or a black mamba. Some commenters were convinced it was a mamba based on its colouring and shape, while others pointed out key differences between the two species. Strydom even reached out directly to a professional snake removal service in the comments, tagging Boland Snake Removals 24/7 and Pest Control to get a definitive answer. They responded without hesitation, confirming it was a female boomslang.
The boomslang is a highly venomous tree snake native to sub-Saharan Africa. Its venom is haemotoxic, meaning it interferes with the blood's ability to clot, which can lead to severe internal bleeding if a bite goes untreated. Watch Helga's close encounter on the Cape Town cliffside:
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Mzansi reacts to close call
South Africans in the comments had plenty to say about the encounter:
Mthokozisi D Musipa wrote:
"That's a female boomslang. Black mamba has a coffin-shaped head."
Hempstone Nyambuga said:
"The most dangerous/venomous snake in Africa. One bite will make you bleed from every hole or all openings in your body."
Mafore Nnie added:
"It’s surprising because that length is for Black Mamba, but looks like a Boomslang. Boomslang again doesn’t stay in that kind of place (Rocky Mountains)."
Dani Saporetti wrote:
'"Absolutely incredible massive! You must have given it such a fright."
Biggie Manzira said:
"Fast and dangerous snake."
Other Briefly News stories about dangerous reptile encounters
- Snake catcher Hein Alberts shocked residents after capturing an exotic Western diamondback rattlesnake, native to Mexico and the southwestern United States, roaming freely in Secunda, Mpumalanga.
- Social media users were gripped by an alarming video showing a large snouted cobra (wipneuskobra) delivering an investigative bite to a female handler’s bare lower leg during a demonstration.
- A viral video shared by specialist group Slangboere captured a large black mamba draped across the corrugated rim of an elevated water tank on a rural South African farm.
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Source: Briefly News
