Imagine you go to the bathroom to answer nature’s call, and an 8-foot long venomous cobra pokes its head out of the toilet. Scary, isn’t it? That’s exactly what happened last week to a resident of Glenletta Court in Lynnwood Glen, Pretoria, South Africa. The enormous snake with the width of a human forearm is believed to have entered through the drainage system, according to News24.
Venomous cobra remains on the loose
The apartment resident promptly called snake catcher Barry Greenshields, who has years of experience catching poisonous snakes. A video taken by News24 shows the serpent stuck in the toilet bowl. Greenshields tried to get it out, but it was hanging on to something inside. The angry cobra went back inside the toilet bowl before disappearing. It all happened last Thursday.
Greenshields then had to go around knocking different apartment doors, and seeking permission of residents to check their toilets for the snake. It’s been a week and they are no closer to finding the cobra. The snake catcher had given his contact details to residents in case the creature reappears. Greenshields says one possibility is that the snouted cobra has left the apartment block.
#ToiletSnake the snake handler failed to catch the snake. It went back into the sewer system… ? ? pic.twitter.com/7KHMwWTYyb
— QAnton (@antonnies) November 24, 2016
It has since been a waiting game for residents as the poisonous snake remains on the loose. According to News24, residents are now considering taking the matter into their own hands to ensure their safety. They are considering using hot water, pool acid, and Jeyes fluid to ensure that the cobra is dead. Greenshields doesn’t want residents to kill the snake.
People must continue with their lives
A day after the creature disappeared, the snake catcher had placed cameras in the pipes to locate it, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Greenshields believes that lack of food might have prompted the snake to restrict its movement to reserve its energy. Snakes can go for weeks without eating, but the cobra has to eat something at a certain point. Despite Greenshields’ belief that it might have moved out of the drainage system, residents have every reason to be concerned.
One of the apartment residents told media that people had to continue with their lives despite fearing the deadly snake. It won’t be easy, but “life must go on.” Back in May 2014, a woman in Singapore was bitten by a snake on her right thigh in the toilet. She had to be taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
