Photo: Devon de Villiers
A Cape cobra was safely rescued from a swimming pool at the home of an elderly couple in Island View on Sunday.
The operation was carried out at around lunchtime by the Slangboere team, led by snake handler Devon de Villiers, who works throughout the greater Mossel Bay area.
De Villiers said he received a call from the couple around 12:30. They reported a snake in their pool but were unsure of the species.
“They sent me some photos, and I immediately identified it as a Cape cobra,” he explained. “They asked if it was dangerous, and I told them it certainly was.”
De Villiers and a team member rushed to the property and found the snake still in the water. “The cobra even displayed its hood while swimming,” he said.
“We managed to remove it safely and then spent some time educating the couple about Cape cobras.”
With years of experience handling snakes, De Villiers noted that Cape cobras occasionally appear in unusual places as winter approaches. He suspects this one was searching for a place to begin brumation—a dormant state similar to hibernation in mammals, where reptiles slow down but don’t completely shut down their metabolism.
“I’ve never seen a Cape cobra in a pool before. It’s definitely not a common sight,” he added.
Once a suitable release site is identified, the snake will be safely relocated within the greater Mossel Bay area.
