Snakes!

Okay let's be honest, I know there is a lot of snake enthusiasts our there but unfortunately I am not one of them. I decided when I became a field guide that the subject you least enjoy is the one you need to know best, the encounter you least want to have with a creature of nature is the one you need to absolutely familiarize yourself with, the one that is most likely to cause panic, not only within your clients but especially within yourself! Mine is snakes.....never liked them...never will.

So we spend December in the Zambezi Region, thing is Matota is situated on an island and to be honest so is most lodges in this region so naturally when the flood plains starts filling up this time of year with all the rain the snakes find higher ground, who can blame them but I prefer not sharing accommodation with them.

Our first encounter is on the road from Divundu to Kongola, I see something in the road as Ian passes in the pick-up in front of me, I see it move, the next moment it strikes, by this time I am next to it, I am so close (and very thankful for car windows) I recognize the Black Mamba immediately, It is ready to strike,  I make a quick calculation by its height of the ground that it is at least 2 meters plus in length..... I call Ian over the radio  ""Did you see that???" his response..."fortunately no!", the hair on the back of my neck raises, the black Mamba is one of Africa's most venomous snakes.

The Signature Black Mouth (Black Mamba)

 

You see the thing is that the black mamba can raise it's body two thirds from the ground, thus if calculated it could as well strike through a car window, well at least in my opinion, then again I do get a little paranoid in their presence anyway.

The Mating "dance"

My business partner, Dusty, has told me how at a lodge they saw the mamba doing their mating dance (quite amazing to see this...even coming from me) their heads were sticking out above the 2m high deck whilst doing this dance, so you can do the calculations if 2m is two thirds of the body being elevated from the ground......

The next slightly concerning encounter was on our way to Matota, a Mozambican spitting cobra, we encountered him on the road, feisty little bugger, small but feisty, I closed the windows once again just in case.


From there on we only had a spotted bush snake (harmless) visiting on the deck in the afternoons, If I am prepared for them and see it coming I manage to still still compose myself however one afternoon I did cause for some entertainment when someone shouted "snake"and I hopped on the dining table quicker than someone could say "hop"... I have to admit even I  found my reaction quite amusing...here is a picture of the spotted bush snake curtosy of my friend Dana, taken most probably during the time I was on the table.

Spotted Bush Snake

Then our final day we had an encounter I am glad we dealt with well and to the best of our ability but surely would prefer not to have a repeat of this. We went to visit friends at a nearby lodge and a friend of mine walked into the curio shop only to shout "snake" once again, she acted swiftly and got herself as well as the kids out of there however another friend (after being warned) decided to have a closer look, by now we realized it was a spitting cobra and all is already searching for their sunglasses to prevent the spray of venom that is bound to happen upon removal. Well low and behold upon this "closer look" and not following the simple instruction to stay away this friend of ours got sprayed, fast, effective, both eyes...a matter of seconds. We run with him to the kitchen and start rinsing, this is all you can do in cases like these, rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse some more, luckily we had running water nearby but as guides you are trained that should this ever happen in the bush use anything safe, water, beer and even urine. The venom of the Mozambican spitting cobra if it comes in contact with your eyes it causes swelling to the cornea so you have to act swiftly and remove as much venom as possible...well some serious rinsing, accelerated heart rates later, antibiotic eye drops and a general wide spectrum antibiotic tablet just in case all turned out well. The spitting cobra has an range of 3 meters so should you ever encounter one of these specimens please keep in mind that if someone shouts "stay away" please do so and save the guides from an experience not on the top of any guides bucket list....

a clear warning sign