A TIGHT SQUEEZE
While working on the irrigation system, Val de Vie Estate’s Irrigation Manager, Kobus van Abbo, came across an unusual predicament. With eyes slightly bigger than its belly, a Cape cobra wanted to sleep off its lunch – a mouse – in an irrigation valve box. The snake entered the valve box through a hole in the lid that proved too small to pass through, and the cobra got stuck.
Kobus phoned security and when the responder arrived to remove the snake, Kobus, not wanting the snake to be harmed in any way, came up with a plan. While the responder handled the more challenging end of the snake, Kobus, carefully using a cordless angle grinder and a pair of cutters, severed the valve box lid and successfully freed the snake, which was released up on the mountain.
Our hats go off to Kobus, who went to a lot of trouble to help an animal in distress, an animal that, for most people, is an object of fear and loathing. It also shows the concern displayed by Val de Vie Estate staff members for all animals on the Estate.
The Cape cobra, also called a geelslang, is found mainly on the ground but can climb trees and shrubs in search of food. It usually lifts its head off the ground and spreads its neck into a broad hood when provoked. It may hiss as well, not as an aggressive act, but instead to warn potential threats to keep a safe distance. Cape cobras will rather flee from humans than attack or bite them.