View photos of Thea Litschka-Koen and her husband, Clifton, as they try to save lives and change attitudes about the black mamba, Africa’s deadliest snake.
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- Thea Litschka-Koen
Thea Litschka-Koen initially became interested in black mambas after one of her sons chose the subject of snakes for a school project. Soon after, she found herself researching snakes, and ultimately enrolling in mamba handling and identification courses.
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- Clifton Koen
Enlisting her husband, Clifton, in her efforts, Thea began responding to emergency calls and requests from locals, to remove and rescue snakes found in homes and fields where they could come into contact with humans.
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- Lurking in the Sugar Cane
The black mamba is Africa’s deadliest snake. Untreated, its bite has a fatality rate of 100 percent, and the residents of Swaziland have suffered losses due to snake bites for generations.
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- Keeping a Safe Distance
Because access to antivenom in Swaziland is difficult, Thea and Clifton -- and the filmmakers -- must use extreme caution. Here, cameraman Chris Openshaw is filming at a field of sugar cane.
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- Victims of Snake Bite
When snake bites occur, many people turn to traditional healers for help, but herbal remedies fail. With good reason, Swazis are fearful of the black mamba. Here is the family of Tengetile, a 13-year-old girl who died after being bitten by a black mamba.
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- Snake Surgery
Thea and Clifton developed a program to track black mambas in the wild for the first time and to gain new insights into their behavior. With the help of a snake expert from Johannesburg, they were able to surgically insert radio transmitters in a number of captured black mambas.
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- Inserting the Radio ID
This anaesthetized black mamba is undergoing the implanting procedure.
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- Tracking the Mamba
If the research pays off, Thea may be able to show that the relocations are working by successfully removing snakes from residential areas for the long term, and thereby bringing some relief to the locals and some respite for the snakes.
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- A Successful Removal
In the course of catching and relocating any number of snakes per day, Thea, Clifton, and their team give impromptu lessons about the snakes. Here, snake handler Philane holds a black mamba he rescued from a desk in a school.
(15 votes)
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How could you touch the snake i would scream if i came 1 mile away lol
Dear Thea Litschka-Koen and Clifton, this is to say thank you and well done for the job you are doing. We also experience problems of snakebite in sub Saharan Africa. A lot of deaths due to bites from Echis Ocellatus snake. I was really touched by Thea emotions and involvement of finding the shoes of the little girl that died as a result of the mamba bite when I watched your programme on BBC. It is great to hear that the government is getting involved. You are the voice of these rural dwellers and may God bless you and your husband. Amen
Carley,
LMOL!! When I was being taught to work with Mambas I nearly did! Once I had it in my hand I just couldn’t find the courage to drop it in the bucket :).
John,
Why can’t we Africans get our act together? Snakebite on our continent is reaching epidemic proportions and our governments are not aware of the situation!
That week 3 children died that I know about, am sure there were more that were never reported. It was very sad..the father asked me to find her shoes, he said “we want them to come home”. Once we got back to their homestead he washed the shoes so very carefully and lovingly. The entire film crew was crying by then..
Hi, I grew up in the bushveldt of Swaziland near the Pongola Border, Mambas cropped up all the time….Once my brother was chased by one! He said it refused to give up, he said they look in your eyes like an agressive human, they let you know you cannot boss them. My gardner killed on outside my house there, it was huge! I now live in Spain, than goodness there are no Mambas here. I salute you!
Is The green Mamba as bad as the Black Mamba? I have seen both in my youth
Sharon,
No, the Green mamba is not as venomous but you might still need urgent medical attention. Thanks for the compliments!