On a recent safari to Africa, I hand-caught a wild
nine-foot Black Mamba. It was a calculated risk...involving bad
calculation.
The Mamba's head is coffin-shaped and the inside of his
mouth is an ominous black...he would raise up to near eye level, look
aggressively at us then loose his balance... and tip over...only to raise up
again..hissing. I thought that maybe he had gotten hold of a bad mouse and was
woozy.
I made a hasty and misguided decision to lay hands on the
most poisonous snake in the world. Most mamba bites are fatal. This aggressive
cobra has a nasty habit of biting it's victims 4 and 5 times in the face and
neck.
The third time he raised up and tipped, I pinned his
head, and without a lot of thinking...(I bet that surprises you), I had a very
angry Black Mamba in my hand.
From the roof of his gaping open mouthI could
see the curved extended fangs. Dripping from those fangs was the deadliest venom
in the reptile kingdom... mamba venom is yellow. The slippery venom ran out of
the corner of his mouth and into my hand...
