The Cobra

This Forest Cobra has been lurking for a long time, but only at night. Yesterday Richard, our guard/gardener, and I were clearing out some dead leaves and branches where Tiger (our cat) had followed it a few nights ago.

Tiger spotted him today and growled which alerted Richard, who is afraid of snakes. He called me, and I came up with Cooper followed by Tessa and Jack. The snake was mixed in with the vines above our wall. I called Dusty at the office to get his opinion on how to handle it when I realized that I would be the one to kill it since Richard is afraid. He advised me to get his motorcycle helmet in case it was a spitting cobra, and a long piece of rebar. I grabbed a long piece of wood on the way. Dusty then called back to say he was on his way.

By the time I got back to the wall, a small crowd of passersby had gathered from the street at our wall. I figured I would poke it with the wood and someone could kill it with the rebar. Richard had gone inside to get a kerosene sprayer. When I approached the snake (with Tessa, Jack, and Cooper behind me with some lady) with my helmet and wood, people realized I was serious, and Richard started spraying it. The kerosene made it writhe and move fast as it's apparently poisonous to snakeskin. People began yelling and running. In the middle of the commotion Dusty drove up, and a man grabbed the wood and started whaling on it, beating it out of the vine and onto the ground, where he killed it.

So I can't claim the kill, but I'm taking credit for the initiative at least - everyone else was simply gawking and unwilling to approach it or make a plan. We brought it inside the gate after thanking the crowd, measured it at 6'4", took some photos, and gave Tiger a treat.

Even Cooper got a hold of it. The guards are happy to see it dead, and Dusty and Jack skinned it for me. I want a belt!! We'll see. I doubt anyone around here knows how to tan a snakeskin; neither do we. Do you?

Our book says it is the "largest and most impressive cobra in Africa." So this one is not a big Forest Cobra, but it was big enough to do some serious damage! I wouldn't ordinarily kill a snake, but knowing that this snake had the potential to kill, and knowing our small kids play games all over our garden was enough to send this one to meet his maker.

African adventures still continue after eight years!