46) A Rascally Reptile
71 Alexandra Drive HatfieldWe lived in suburbia and were sometime inclined to forget that that suburbia was in the very heart of Africa. We did not see lions in the streets or elephants wandering around our shopping centres but now and again Africa would invade “Our territory”.
Once when my mother was staying with us, she and I were on our way out to church on a Sunday morning when our gardener Denford told us that there was a snake in the garden. We had had snakes before and they defiantly were not my department so I called Jonny and told him I was off to church and could he please deal with the problem.
When Mom and I got back home about an hour and a half later there was a small crowed of people in the road around our gate watching a man trying to catch the snake. Jonny explained that Denford had showed him where the snake was, it had travelled right through our garden and had gone into a large drain pipe that went under our drive way. Jonny had tried to catch it, he did not want to kill it, but when he saw how big it was he decided that it was a job for a professional. He called the snake park and asked them to send out someone to catch the snake. He told them that although it was hard for him to see it in the drainpipe he thought it was about four foot long.
Two young men arrived with a small sack and a little forked stick, they were shown where the snake was and began poking at it to get it to come out from its hiding place. When it made a lunge for one of the men he tried to put the stick behind the snake’s head but the stick broke and he started calling for someone to give him a bigger stick. By now an interested audience had collected and people ran in all directions looking for a suitable stick. After a few offerings one was brought that the snake catcher thought might do the job but he was none to happy with it. The idea was to put the stick behind the snake’s head and the grab onto its tail then the snake would be immobilised and could be popped into the sack and taken to the safety of the snake park.
Eventually the snake was encouraged to move from out of the drainpipe and the battle really began. The “snake men” tried to get a grip of him behind his head but the snake had other ideas and fought to get away. Usually snakes are not confrontational, they just get our of the way when they come into contact with people but of course when they are cornered as this one was they are very aggressive. It was a very poisonous Egyptian Cobra. It reared up and spread the hood on its head in a very unfriendly way. This was where Mom and I came back and we watched for ages as the two young men tried to catch the rascally reptile. They did not want it to get away and become a danger to children and pets in the area but they would only kill it as a very last resort. Sometimes they would get a hold of the head but before they could get the tail he would break free and they would have to start again but eventually it must have tired and they managed to grab both ends at once and get a firm hold of it. With one of the men holding it behind the head with one hand and its tail in the other hand it made a long loop and must have been about five or five and a half foot long.
Now came battle number two, to get him into the bag. It was obvious that the bag that they had brought was not going to be big enough so the crowd were now called on to find a bigger bag and while the poor man held his arms up high and held tight to his rather angry prisoner people ran up and down looking for a nice big sack. One was eventually found and snake man number two held it open and they tried to get him in. He was not keen on that idea at all so he twisted and fought with all his strength to get away. I am sure that it was only the thought that if he got away they would have to start all over again that gave the men the strength to keep up the fight. Eventually dripping with perspiration and worn out they got him into the sack and someone produced a length of rope to tie the top and they could relax a little.
Jonny asked them why they had brought such a little bag and such puny sticks to catch a snake that he had said was about four foot long. They told him that usually when people rang the snake park and said there was a snake they exaggerated the size three fold. If some one said it was three foot they could assume it was only about one foot and if they said six foot they could bet it was not more than about two foot. They had never been to catch a snake before that had turned out to be bigger than it had been reported to be.
The two men were not very keen on driving in the car with their captive even though he was in a sack so they opened the passenger side window and held the sack outside the car; they felt they were safer that way.
We had had other snakes in the garden but never one as big as that one. Once when we were living in Zambia our gardener Moses reported that he had seen a snake. He told us that it had headed for the carport where there was a large pile of pipes. Jonny and Moses looked for him but he was nowhere to be found, we guessed that he must have taken up residence in one of the pipes but the question was, which one? Together they took the pipes off the pile one at a time, tipping them up and making sure that there was no one hiding in them. As each one was examined and found to be empty they were relieved but of course they realised that each empty pipe meant that maybe it would be the next one and Moses got more and more nervous. African people have many superstitions about snakes and so are very frightened of them. Then at the bottom of the pile they tipped up the last pipe and out slid a black mamba. I don’t think either of them had any idea how to catch a snake so as we were living in a built up area with houses and people all around they had to kill the trespasser, but Jonny was not happy about that. He never likes to see anyone kill a snake. I remember another snake that Denford killed in our garden in Hatfield. He killed it and hung the body in a tree and when Jonny got home and saw it he was upset but one could not take a chance with small children and pets around.
Once when my mother was staying with us, she and I were on our way out to church on a Sunday morning when our gardener Denford told us that there was a snake in the garden. We had had snakes before and they defiantly were not my department so I called Jonny and told him I was off to church and could he please deal with the problem.
When Mom and I got back home about an hour and a half later there was a small crowed of people in the road around our gate watching a man trying to catch the snake. Jonny explained that Denford had showed him where the snake was, it had travelled right through our garden and had gone into a large drain pipe that went under our drive way. Jonny had tried to catch it, he did not want to kill it, but when he saw how big it was he decided that it was a job for a professional. He called the snake park and asked them to send out someone to catch the snake. He told them that although it was hard for him to see it in the drainpipe he thought it was about four foot long.
Two young men arrived with a small sack and a little forked stick, they were shown where the snake was and began poking at it to get it to come out from its hiding place. When it made a lunge for one of the men he tried to put the stick behind the snake’s head but the stick broke and he started calling for someone to give him a bigger stick. By now an interested audience had collected and people ran in all directions looking for a suitable stick. After a few offerings one was brought that the snake catcher thought might do the job but he was none to happy with it. The idea was to put the stick behind the snake’s head and the grab onto its tail then the snake would be immobilised and could be popped into the sack and taken to the safety of the snake park.
Eventually the snake was encouraged to move from out of the drainpipe and the battle really began. The “snake men” tried to get a grip of him behind his head but the snake had other ideas and fought to get away. Usually snakes are not confrontational, they just get our of the way when they come into contact with people but of course when they are cornered as this one was they are very aggressive. It was a very poisonous Egyptian Cobra. It reared up and spread the hood on its head in a very unfriendly way. This was where Mom and I came back and we watched for ages as the two young men tried to catch the rascally reptile. They did not want it to get away and become a danger to children and pets in the area but they would only kill it as a very last resort. Sometimes they would get a hold of the head but before they could get the tail he would break free and they would have to start again but eventually it must have tired and they managed to grab both ends at once and get a firm hold of it. With one of the men holding it behind the head with one hand and its tail in the other hand it made a long loop and must have been about five or five and a half foot long.
Now came battle number two, to get him into the bag. It was obvious that the bag that they had brought was not going to be big enough so the crowd were now called on to find a bigger bag and while the poor man held his arms up high and held tight to his rather angry prisoner people ran up and down looking for a nice big sack. One was eventually found and snake man number two held it open and they tried to get him in. He was not keen on that idea at all so he twisted and fought with all his strength to get away. I am sure that it was only the thought that if he got away they would have to start all over again that gave the men the strength to keep up the fight. Eventually dripping with perspiration and worn out they got him into the sack and someone produced a length of rope to tie the top and they could relax a little.
Jonny asked them why they had brought such a little bag and such puny sticks to catch a snake that he had said was about four foot long. They told him that usually when people rang the snake park and said there was a snake they exaggerated the size three fold. If some one said it was three foot they could assume it was only about one foot and if they said six foot they could bet it was not more than about two foot. They had never been to catch a snake before that had turned out to be bigger than it had been reported to be.
The two men were not very keen on driving in the car with their captive even though he was in a sack so they opened the passenger side window and held the sack outside the car; they felt they were safer that way.
We had had other snakes in the garden but never one as big as that one. Once when we were living in Zambia our gardener Moses reported that he had seen a snake. He told us that it had headed for the carport where there was a large pile of pipes. Jonny and Moses looked for him but he was nowhere to be found, we guessed that he must have taken up residence in one of the pipes but the question was, which one? Together they took the pipes off the pile one at a time, tipping them up and making sure that there was no one hiding in them. As each one was examined and found to be empty they were relieved but of course they realised that each empty pipe meant that maybe it would be the next one and Moses got more and more nervous. African people have many superstitions about snakes and so are very frightened of them. Then at the bottom of the pile they tipped up the last pipe and out slid a black mamba. I don’t think either of them had any idea how to catch a snake so as we were living in a built up area with houses and people all around they had to kill the trespasser, but Jonny was not happy about that. He never likes to see anyone kill a snake. I remember another snake that Denford killed in our garden in Hatfield. He killed it and hung the body in a tree and when Jonny got home and saw it he was upset but one could not take a chance with small children and pets around.
Jonathan and Dominic at Lake MacIlwaine 1975posted by JC at
9:04 pm
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