A couple of minutes after I dropped off the Mole Snake I captured in Plattekloof earlier today, I was called out to remove an unknown snake that went under some paving stones at a house near Gie Road in Table View.
Once I got there and we lifted the paving, I found a young Cape Cobra.
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Also known as a "Koperkapel" or "Geelslang" in Afrikaans, the Cape Cobra is a common venomous snake that can range in colour from yellow through reddish brown to black.
When threatened or cornered, Cape Cobras are quick to spread a hood and won't hesitate to bite. Their venom is highly neurotoxic (the most potent of any African cobra), attacking the nervous system and causing respiratory collapse (the victim stops breathing).
Cape Cobras feed on rodents, birds, lizards, toads, and other snakes.
Oviparous, they lay 8-20 eggs in mid-summer.