Video Shows Spitting Cobra Found Inside Washing Machine

• A snake catcher travelled over 200 kilometres to remove a spitting cobra from a washing machine's control panel in Wellington
• The Cape cobra, known to spit venom up to three metres accurately, was hiding deep inside the appliance's electrical components
• South Africans who saw the clip said they would never look at their washing machines the same way again

A snake catcher got more than he bargained for on 7 November when a call took him all the way from Clanwilliam to Wellington in the Western Cape, only to find a spitting cobra tucked inside the control panel of a washing machine on Nel Street.

The rescue shared on Facebook caught the attention of people across the country. Using a snake hook, he carefully extracted the cobra from deep within the appliance's electrical board while wearing protective gear, fully aware of what the snake was capable of.

Read also

“The family must sue”: Cape Town toddler drowns in open municipal drain left unsealed since August

An on-screen caption in the clip by Eduanne.niemand noted that the species can spit venom with accuracy from up to three metres away. The black spitting cobra is a species known for its defensive accuracy. When threatened, it can direct venom towards the eyes of a perceived attacker, causing temporary or permanent blindness if not treated quickly. What made the call even more remarkable was that it was his second encounter with a spitting cobra in Wellington within a single month. He noted that he had also dealt with a large cobra on the same street not long before. Watch the video below:

SA stunned by cobra find

Watch the full rescue on Facebook. South Africans in the comments had plenty to say about the find:

@Amanda Van Der Mescht wrote:

"What a beautiful snake."

@Etienne Els joked:

"I will never wash my clothes again!"

@Barbara Nel Schlechter added:

"I will have to look at my washing machine with different eyes."

Other Briefly News stories on venomous snake encounters

• Cape Town explorer Helga Strydom had a heart-stopping wildlife encounter after coming face-to-face with a large, dark serpent slithering across a vegetated rocky ravine in the Western Cape.
• Social media was gripped by an alarming clip showing a captive snouted cobra (wipneuskobra) delivering a bite to a female handler’s bare lower leg during an educational demonstration.
• A video shared on Facebook by Slangboere stunned viewers after capturing a large black mamba draped across the corrugated rim of a water tank on a rural South African farm.

Source: Briefly News