See The Deadly Snake Found Under A Family’s Christmas Tree

A man named Nick Evans found a deadly snake, known as the Black Mamba, slithering by a Christmas tree.

By Mark McKee | Updated

deadly snake

Christmas is a time for traditions and joyous celebration with family and friends, and in Queensburgh, South Africa, it seems to be a celebration for friends of the reptile variety. According to a Newsweek report, a man was surprised to discover a deadly snake hiding under his Christmas tree; not just any deadly snake, though, one of the most venomous snakes in the world, the Black Mamba. Nick Evans, the man who caught the snake, called it an early Christmas present and said that he wished it would have waited for him on the tree as it would have given him cooler photos. 

According to Evans, the six-and-a-half-foot deadly snake must have been scared by the gardener and slithered into the house for cover, only to be disturbed again by him. He said that the Black Mamba must have moved from the door, up the Christmas tree to the shelf above it, then back down the tree to hide behind a speaker. While the snake ended up not being a problem for Nick Evans, it could have been disastrous in another situation with a family or pet that didn’t know any better. 

Black Mambas are one of the deadliest snakes in the world, as their bite can inject a toxin into their victims that can kill a human in as little as 20 minutes. While they are most of the time shy and tend to avoid humans or other large animals, they do venture into residential areas when hunting and can become quite aggressive if they are cornered or threatened. Otherwise, they are primarily found in the rocky hills and open plains of their native Africa. 

black mamba

Nick Evans wasn’t the only person to have a visitor of the reptilian variety at his home during the holidays, as some people in Australia also found themselves face-to-face with some snakes this year, adding to some other crazy snake stories from around the world. A family in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia discovered a Keelback snake among the presents; lucky for them, the Keelback isn’t venomous, but the Tiger Keelback is. In the same area around the same time earlier in December, another family was gifted a deadly, red-bellied black snake by their cat, which wasn’t the kind of gift they hoped to receive for Christmas. 

While it may seem like there are a fair number of deadly snakes showing up in people’s Christmas festivities this year, Nick Evans claims that it is still a very rare occurrence. He told Newsweek that finding this Black Mamba in the tree was one of the more amusing places he had ever found a snake. While we don’t agree entirely with the amusing part, it definitely gave the holiday a little adventure for the three families. 

The comments on the Facebook post tend to agree with us, with one proclaiming that Christmas would have been canceled, while another made a Christmas pun that someone in that house had made Santa’s naughty list. While we choose to only believe in coal for naughty kids at Christmas, a visit from a deadly snake like the Black Mamba may be the motivation we need to spark widespread good behavior. 

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