A Pretoria couple drove 170km from the Kruger National Park with a Mozambique spitting cobra in their car, the Beeld reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, Gordon Parratt felt the 85cm-long snake wind itself around his leg on several occasions while he was driving.
”He felt something like an insect brush against his leg and foot and wiped it away.
”As he was doing so again, he looked down and saw a snake next to his left foot,” the report said.
”Fortunately I’m not the panicky type. My wife immediately put her feet up on the dashboard,” said Parratt.
The couple made several stops to remove the snake but could not find it.
”About 15km from Lydenburg the snake wound itself around my left leg and ankle. Its head came up to my knee,” he said.
Hein Geldenhuys, a snake expert, was called in to find the snake.
”Fortunately I managed to catch the snake without injuring it,” he said.
”These snakes are very dangerous because their venom attacks the nervous system and the body’s soft tissues.” — Sapa