Three-metre-long black mamba killed at Tshisahulu royal palace

A three-metre-long black mamba that was causing fear at the Makumbane royal palace met its match when a sharpshooter shot and killed it before it could cause harm to family members.

The incident happened over the weekend.

According to the home owner, Thovhele Thivhulawi Makumbane, the senior traditional leader at Tshisahulu, the snake was spotted by the children who were playing nearby and they called for help. Makumbane said he became worried when he saw that the snake “had overstepped its boundaries” in the nearby bushes and was coming straight to the houses. "We are used to snakes here - as you can see, there are many trees and bushes around. We have seen many here, but this one is the longest I have ever come across.”

Makumbane added that it made him feel insecure that, instead of going to its own habitat, “it came for my family and I could not risk my family. The creature is very venemous and that is the reason why I called my friend Cobus to come and help”.

Makumbane said that he loved nature and did not like to see animals being killed, “but I ordered that this one be put down as it was putting my family in danger, and I am happy that it is dead".

The man who helped the family is Mr Johannes Cobus of Shayandima. "I received a call from my friend, Chief Makumbane, who told me there was a problem at his home. I rushed there to find this deadly snake. I had to use my air rifle and it took me almost half an hour to kill it.”

He added that he was forced to kill it, even though he did not like killing animals, “because it posed danger to my friend's family." Cobus conceded that he had seen big snakes before, but that one was the biggest ever.

Date:04 November 2017

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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