Finn encounters a black mamba!

Yesterday turned out to be quite an exciting field outing with Finn and Stephanie, a new student intern. We took Finn out to Bellebenno to search around a playtree that is frequently visited by a coalition of two male cheetahs. Forty minutes into the search, Finn indicated at cheetah scat located on a nearby road. After marking the location and collecting the scat, we continued. Later, as we were heading back towards the playtree through thick/tall grass, Finn brushed against a bush as he was searching. Out comes a black mamba! Finn was as surprised as I was as the snake slithered out of the bush and rose over a meter high. I called Finn, who responded immediately, and together we backed away from the snake. We all then safely headed back towards the road as the snake quickly went in the opposite direction. It was the first time I've encountered a snake while out with the scat detection dogs, and I'm glad that Finn responded perfectly.

Carolyn