Snake catcher surprised to find big black mamba in home

Feb. 13 (UPI) -- A reptile handler called to a South Africa home to remove a snake was shocked to discover the offending serpent was a 7 1/2-foot black mamba.

The video shows the handler, co-owner of Ndlondlo Reptile Park in Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal, working to capture the large and highly venomous snake after it was found hiding among some toys under a staircase.

"I received the call at about [8:40 a.m.] and believing (from the description given over the phone) that it was a Mozambique spitting cobra i just grabbed a short hook stick and a visor and raced off to do the rescue on my own," the man wrote. "On arrival I found myself looking at a [7 1/2-foot] black mamba. Not having a snake tong on hand I decided not to attempt to neck and bag the snake but rather to guide the snake into a cardboard makeshift capture box."

The snake will be released back into the wild next month, the man said.