Read a story while in Namibia about a hunter that had a black mamba run at him and tried to stare him dowm, inches from his face. It head butted him twice in the chest and once in the back without moving it's lower body. Left, then came back when he moved .Then it slitherd off . After a long wait he retreated to the truck. What would you have done? Puked.shit,or passed out. Me, probably all three. Can you relay any close encounters?

i would have called bullshit on the entire ridiculous story. snakes don't "head butt" anything, much less try to stare anything down. in all my years of reading tripe on the internet, this is absolutely the worst example of peddling crap to the gullible i have ever seen. i realize you are only relaying what you read but surely you don't believe it. ranks right up there with,"baby snakes are more dangerous than the adults( they can't control how much venom they release when they bite- sure), snakes can't bite underwater, snakes chase you and are faster than you can run, a rattler grows a new rattle every year. the list goes on and on and it's all crap. after i got bit by a rattler 2 years ago, i did a fair amount of research( i was in bed for 2 weeks with nothing else to do) and i can assure you that most of what you think you "know" about poisonous snakes is hogwash.

Damn feller it didn't aim for you to take on like you were gut shot, just relatin' a story.LOOKOUT THERE'S A RATTLER BEHIND YOU.

Probably all 3, not sure about the order!

I agree with Mr Dollar, the story is poppycock. There's something about snake stories.... Most are exaggerated and a lot are figments of an over active imagination. Mamba stories in particular seem to really blur the line between fact and fiction....

Whilst tracking Buffalo one evening amongst two fool long grass during a hunt in northern Mozambique last season, we had a big Mamba raise up in front of us and hold its ground. You could in fact say it "stood its ground". It won that "face off".
This season I won the bout when one raise in front of me. This time I had the advantage of being behind the wheel of a big Cruiser.

I can't speak to head-butting snakes, not my area of expertise.


During my 2007 Tanzania hunt, however, my hunter, two trackers, game scout and I were regulsrly climbing 20 feet up in a tree overlooking a swampy area east of Tarangire. Our MO was to climb this particular tree to spot buffalo heading out of the high grass and into more open areas. Once we saw a group with a likely bull exiting the swamp, we climbed down and high-tailed it through several hundred yards of waist-high grass in pursuit. We chased several groups of buffalo, but after evaluating the bulls, we kept ending up back in the tree looking for another group.


Day two. After the third or fouth sprint through the long grass, we were back up in the tree and our game scout (who was on the same branch as me) made a statement that I couldn't quite understand. My PH interpreted and said that the scout was telling me that I was lucky that the snake I stepped on hadn't bitten me. I called BS, but the scout was insistent that I had stepped on a puff adder during our last buffalo foray. He then proceeded to lead me directly to the spot, in the middle of several hundred acres of waist hign grass, where an adder happpened to be taking a nap.

The game scout had my attention after that.

These cases mentioned here are good examples of how humans misunderstand animal behaviour and then in the first case add a dollop of bar room BS.

Firstly, snakes don't run anywhere because they don't have legs. As for the headbutting, I think the polite term is probably bollocks.

Puffadders first line of defence is usually to play dead and it's not really that uncommon for people to not see them and tread on them and get away with it....... Mrs Shakari did it once many years ago when we were hunting eland. I saw the snake just as her foot was going down on it and knew if I stopped her, she'd stop with her foot on the snake, so I let her walk onto it and off of it again and then stopped her a few paces later and took her back to see what she'd just trodden on......... she's never let me forget that one!

As for the stand offs........ snakes, especially (from my experience) black mambas raise themselves up and (for want of a better word) freeze. The reason they're doing that is their senses are very different to ours (Lane might be able to comment further on this) and what they're doing is looking for movement that they can then strike at........ I'm no expert on snakes but was always taught that the best thing to do in these situations, esp with mambas is to freeze completely and that they'll then look at you for a short while (feels a lot longer than it is) and then be on their way........ that's what I was taught, what I've always done and it's always worked just tickety boo for me.

Incidentally, when their toungue is flicking in and out, what they're actually doing is trying to smell you......... I guess they probably think that a lot of us humans must smell like shit!

Rubbish. We PH's in Zambia headbutt Mamba's all the time. Cobra slapping is also very common here.

Once my brother was conducting a hunt and he, the client and trackers were on top of a kopje glassing for game. The client asked what the ffffffffffff, ffffffffff sound was that he could hear, and my brother, without lowering his binos, answered that it was impala rutting somewhere down in the valley below. It was then that one of the trackers noticed that a puff-adder writhing about under my boet's size 12 boot, was responsible for the fffffffffff sound.....Fortunately, he was standing on its head.....

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Rubbish. We PH's in Zambia headbutt Mamba's all the time. Cobra slapping is also very common here.

Most of us have probably seen the Animal Planet show on the rattel / honey badger which kills and eats cobras. One female gets bitten and goes into a coma for 2 hours and then wakes up and starts eating the snake again. The question I have is - Do rattels kill mambas?

In India the well known folk lore is of a mongoose killing snakes (cobras in particular). But the other less known snake killers are Peafowl and otters. Otters are known to gang up and kill large python in the rivers.

quote:

Originally posted by catosilvaje:
Read a story while in Namibia about a hunter that had a black mamba run at him and tried to stare him dowm, inches from his face. It head butted him twice in the chest and once in the back without moving it's lower body. Left, then came back when he moved .Then it slitherd off . After a long wait he retreated to the truck.

The story is true, I know about it.

http://www.kapstadt.de/schindlers-africa

Ithink it was Magnum magazine, the SA publication that is in English and Afrikkaner.

In Tanzania in 2008, (the Kilombero long grass) it was the tracker, the PH, then myself in single file. When the tracker would hop up and start swinging the shooting sticks I knew he had a snake. It was a couple-of-times a day occurrence. I just stopped to let it pass. On the last morning I saw Rashidi do his mamba shuffle and I stopped and looked around for the snake to let it pass. It was still fairly dark as we were walking to the blind. I looked down and, about 3 inches from my foot, was a puff adder just lying there and slowly raised it's head to ankle height. I thought it best to move off at that time. Other than the spitting cobra that was above the door to my cabin no other close calls.

Did encounter a large and beautiful python basking in the heat. About 9 footer.

Dutch

Not sure of the laws in Africa for dispatching snakes.
In case you fellows are not informed. The snake is the reason the good lord help man invent the 12 gauge! DG gun! Mambas are DG! Nothing better than a 12 gauge with #6's. Every Safari crew should carry one.

EZ

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Not sure of the laws in Africa for dispatching snakes.
In case you fellows are not informed. The snake is the reason the good lord help man invent the 12 gauge! DG gun! Mambas are DG! Nothing better than a 12 gauge with #6's. Every Safari crew should carry one.

EZ

I can understand killing snakes if they're in the accommodations or maybe, sometimes even if they're in camp but you'll excuse me for saying that I reckon killing them when they're in the bush is the height of ignorance.

They live there and they're there for a reason...... it's you that's the intruder in their environment and if you can't live with their presence then maybe you shouldn't be there at all.

And yes, in most countries, in most cases, it's illegal to kill them.

Mind you, I'm all for having a 12 gauge around. Not for snakes but for birds though!

Just a little humor, I agree however I have been known to pull trigger on rattlers here in Texas while out quail hunting. We have no shortage, I can assure you! I do not particulaly like them as you are typically startled when you spot one.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Not sure of the laws in Africa for dispatching snakes.
In case you fellows are not informed. The snake is the reason the good lord help man invent the 12 gauge! DG gun! Mambas are DG! Nothing better than a 12 gauge with #6's. Every Safari crew should carry one.

EZ

I can understand killing snakes if they're in the accommodations or maybe, sometimes even if they're in camp but you'll excuse me for saying that I reckon killing them when they're in the bush is the height of ignorance.

They live there and they're there for a reason...... it's you that's the intruder in their environment and if you can't live with their presence then maybe you shouldn't be there at all.

And yes, in most countries, in most cases, it's illegal to kill them.

Mind you, I'm all for having a 12 gauge around. Not for snakes but for birds though!

I can attest to being "chased" once in my life by a black racer.

I was about 15 years old, mowing the lawn and saw something moving in the grass coming my way. At first I thought it was a tree branch the mower may have hit until I saw that the mower wasn't on anything.

I hesitated to confirm what I thought it was and it was definitely a long skinny black snake coming right at me. I ran to the back door of my house which was about 18 yards away, turned around, and it was right behind me on the back patio but stopped on the concrete.

If that isn't "chasing" I don't know what is!

I got my dad and we went out to look for it, caught up with it as it was leaving our yard heading into the neighbors back yard. He told me it was a black racer.

No close calls but a little bit puckered up!

On a recent trip to Zim saw two puff adder within an hour time and just after that we were down in the buffle grass crawling while stalking/tracking a kudu. Kinda makes one think, "why am I doing this" but just kept on crawling.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:
I can attest to being "chased" once in my life by a black racer.

I was about 15 years old, mowing the lawn and saw something moving in the grass coming my way. At first I thought it was a tree branch the mower may have hit until I saw that the mower wasn't on anything.

I hesitated to confirm what I thought it was and it was definitely a long skinny black snake coming right at me. I ran to the back door of my house which was about 18 yards away, turned around, and it was right behind me on the back patio but stopped on the concrete.

If that isn't "chasing" I don't know what is!

I got my dad and we went out to look for it, caught up with it as it was leaving our yard heading into the neighbors back yard. He told me it was a black racer.

I had something similar to this happen when I was 14. I was mowing outside of our fence between the pond and our yard and I ran over a nest of cottonmouths. Most of them got chewed up by the mower, but one came after me. I ran for 20 yards or so and looked back only to see the damn thing was still behind me about 3 paces. Once I got to the pool deck it stopped. Scared the sheet out of me!

Had a good friends uncle bit by a mamba. He lived--after being on life support a couple of days in the hospitial!!! Very lucky!!!

quote:

I think the polite term is probably bollocks.

Steve,

What does bollocks actually mean?

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:

quote:

I think the polite term is probably bollocks.

Steve,

What does bollocks actually mean?

Mate, for a minute, I thought you were kidding and then I realised that it's a very British expression.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollocks

If someone's talking bollocks, they're doing something like saying the upper echelon of SCI are all truthful, honest, upright and true.

If something is the dog's bollocks, it's top class.

One of my close friends grandmothers was bitten on the ankle by a black mamba on their farm in thabazimbi. She was fine after treatment. That same friend was in a pitblind a (few years ago). A mamba came in to drink at the water hole. My friend fearing that the mamba would think his blind was warm anthill, shot it at 20 meters with his bow. I have a picture of him standing on the back of a bakkie holding its tail above his head and its head is on the ground. He is about 6'1. I would post the pic but i don't know how to. I have also walked into lots of pythons in the bush. The largest was on the top side of 5 meters, it was in Zim. Once in Zim my friends dad accidently headbutted a twig snake that was poised motionless, sticking off the horn of a stuffed buffalo. Luckily the snake didn't react but it had to be killed. It was probably attracted to the camp by the frogs, geckos and mice. The funniest incident I have witnessed envolving snakes took place at the lebombo boarderpost on the mozam side. A truck with a crane on the back was being hassled by customs officials, whilst lots of on lookers and hawkers where gathered around. The truck driver decided to park in the shade under a large fig tree. While he was parking the boom of the crane knocked a massive snake out of the tree right into the croud of people. The boarder post was empty in about 2 seconds.
Daily snake encounters in Africa are a part of life.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:
I can attest to being "chased" once in my life by a black racer.

I was about 15 years old, mowing the lawn and saw something moving in the grass coming my way. At first I thought it was a tree branch the mower may have hit until I saw that the mower wasn't on anything.

I hesitated to confirm what I thought it was and it was definitely a long skinny black snake coming right at me. I ran to the back door of my house which was about 18 yards away, turned around, and it was right behind me on the back patio but stopped on the concrete.

If that isn't "chasing" I don't know what is!

I got my dad and we went out to look for it, caught up with it as it was leaving our yard heading into the neighbors back yard. He told me it was a black racer.

Change the black racer to a water moccasin and I have the exact same experience a couple of times. Back yard ended in a creek.

quote:

If someone's talking bollocks, they're doing something like saying the upper echelon of SCI are all truthful, honest, upright and true.

If something is the dog's bollocks, it's top class.

Now that got me rolling!

I guess I just had a sense of humour overload for a moment there!

quote:

If something is the dog's bollocks, it's top class.

Change that to "Cat's Ass" for the USA.

Thank for the explanation!

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:

quote:

If something is the dog's bollocks, it's top class.

Change that to "Cat's Ass" for the USA.

Thank for the explanation!

I've never heard cat's arse before...... but always a pleasure to give a translation my friend!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:

quote:

If something is the dog's bollocks, it's top class.

Change that to "Cat's Ass" for the USA.

Thank for the explanation!

I've never heard cat's arse before...... but always a pleasure to give a translation my friend!

Steve...I thought your rifle was cat's ass!!!

No mate, it's the dog's bollocks!

You Brits will never learn the finer parts of the English language!!!

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
You Brits will never learn the finer parts of the English language!!!

Oh, we're OK with the English language, it's the American one that confuses us!

This one had a go at us. Tracker ended up with venom on the back of his shirt. I ended the attack with a well placed 450#2 500gr. at around 10 to 12 feet. He came to a fight with two knives and I brought a gun.

Mike

Two knives


Smiling now, everyone is breathing

Hmmm, there seems to be something with the water moccasin/cotton mouthes!

Speaking of running over something with the mower, my brother pushed the mower right over a yellow jacket nest one time and brought damn near every one of those suckers in the house. They were all over him stinging him.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
You Brits will never learn the finer parts of the English language!!!

Oh, we're OK with the English language, it's the American one that confuses us!

We Indian are now keeping the good English language live & well Sir! Wren & Martin and all that stuff old chap!

quote:

Originally posted by Sunshine:

quote:

Originally posted by catosilvaje:
Read a story while in Namibia about a hunter that had a black mamba run at him and tried to stare him dowm, inches from his face. It head butted him twice in the chest and once in the back without moving it's lower body. Left, then came back when he moved .Then it slitherd off . After a long wait he retreated to the truck.

The story is true, I know about it.

http://www.kapstadt.de/schindlers-africa

if you really believe a mamba tried to "stare " someone down, then headbutted him twice( plus a third shot to his back), THEN crawled away, THEN circled back when he moved, THEN crawled away AGAIN- WELL, I HAVE SOME OCEAN FRONT PROPERTY IN ARIZONA I WILL SELL YOU FOR $2.00/HECTARE. there is more mis-information posted here than i have seen in a LOOOONG time. reptilian brains are the most primitive of land based vertebrates. just because you read it in a magazine/ newspaper doen't mean it is true.. do you believe the bullshit you read in the National Enquirer???? apparently, Elvis is alive and well and living in Hawaii.

I was once bitten by a Bibron's burrowing adder which I mistook for another specie. I was illustrating to my young son how to handle snakes.

What he did learn that day on was to kill any snake that he came across.

Three days of shear agony. Note even a case of cheap whiskey could dampen the pain.

Mr. jdollar I didn't realize you were from Kallifornia and should defer that you know all things , should never question any thing you say. On the mamba story though the man from South Africa , sunshine, probably knows the man in the story. But since he didn't ask you first it is probably just bullshit.