Massive mamba rescued in KZN

Tyrone Ping from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal recently recovered a monstrous 2.79m black mamba from Phoenix, northwest of central Durban. Ping has had a lifelong fascination with reptiles and amphibians and so he was the perfect person for this job.

A 2.79m Black Mamba caught in Durban and released. https://t.co/YCwI7f1KGp pic.twitter.com/spdMbbP5ay

— Tyrone Ping (@itsrobotface) March 30, 2020

Ping has travelled the country locating and documenting his discoveries. His photographs of the reptiles and amphibians of South Africa are as intellectually stimulating as they are visually captivating. Take a look at some of his work below:

 

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The female Flapneck chameleon can lay close to 60 eggs, after digging a small hole in the ground the eggs may take up to 12 months to hatch. Finally months later the tiny replicas emerge. Meet some freshly hatched Flapneck Chameleons. #iphoneonly #southafrica #hand #africageophoto

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Jan 25, 2020 at 10:01pm PST

 

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One of the most highly trafficked reptiles in South Africa for the illicit black market reptile trade in Europe. Meet the Armadillo Girdled Lizard who was of course set free back into his rock crack. #iphoneonly #southafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Dec 25, 2019 at 10:34pm PST

 

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These sand snakes usually disappear the moment you see them and head into thick vegetation and freeze to avoid detection. But knowing that they’re pretty easy to catch! Meet the Karoo Sand Snake. .
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. . #africa #southafrica #capetown #shotoniphone

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Jun 28, 2019 at 12:15am PDT

 

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After hiking up Skeleton Gorge on the foothills of Table a mountain @bush_cow and I made a strategic mission to find another target for the trip, usually tricky to find but we got two within 30mins or so. Meet the saddest frog in Cape Town the near threatened Cape Rain Frog. .
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. . #africa #capetown #southafrica #shotoniphone

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Jun 18, 2019 at 11:09pm PDT

 

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When radioactive amphibians arrive. Meet the Common River Frog. . .
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. . #africa #southafrica #shotoniphone #vscosouthafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Apr 29, 2019 at 11:39pm PDT

 

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One of the most common moving rocks out in Namaqualand. Meet the Angulate Tortoise.
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. . . #southafrica #shotoniphone #vscosouthafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Feb 13, 2019 at 10:27pm PST

 

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It’s the time of year where the bush is filled with babies, from snakes, frogs and these little guys. Meet the Rock Monitor. .
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. . #herping #southafrica #shotoniphone #vscosouthafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Jan 26, 2019 at 10:14pm PST

 

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One the quickest lizards around, with an interesting diversion tactic, when trying to catch these lizards they head to the nearest small bush (note the background) and dive head first into the soft sand and disappear! Meet the Giant Desert Lizard – Meroles ctenodactylus. .
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. . #southafrica #shotoniphone #vscosouthafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Jan 6, 2019 at 10:23pm PST

 

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This entire year has felt like one constant blur, I saw a lot of new places, revisited a bunch of old ones, photographed a bunch of really cool creatures and I’m still sure what I’m doing or where I’m going. But heading through to Sodwana bay for the day and maybe I’ll turn up some cool critters. Meet the ever inoffensive Green Water Snake. .
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. . #minimal #southafrica #shotoniphone #vscosouthafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Dec 30, 2018 at 10:40pm PST

 

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Meet the Coastal Dwarf Legless Skink – Acontias litoralis. . . . .
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. . #southafrica #shotoniphone #vscosouthafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Dec 21, 2018 at 10:09pm PST

 

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Meet the Hawequa Flat Gecko. Arguably on go the craziest looking geckos in Southern Africa. A quick mission over the weekend with @bush_cow produced some quality finds. . . .
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. . #southafrica #shotoniphone #vscosouthafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Nov 18, 2018 at 9:58pm PST

 

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First comes the rain, then the frogs well then the snakes that eat the frogs. Grumpy Herald Snake. . . . . . .
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. . #southafrica #shotoniphone #vscosouthafrica

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Sep 9, 2018 at 11:18pm PDT

 

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Not one of the easiest thing to balance 5 tiny Western Dwarf Chameleons on your hand when they all want to do their own thing. These are one of the largest dwarf chameleons (when fully grown) and inhabit the harsh West Coast along South Africa from just outside of Cape Town to Alexander Bay and possibly across the Orange river into Namibia. Unlike most dwarf chameleons they live in these small bushes often a few meters away from the water and tolerate the high winds that batter the coast. These were just 5 of the 30+ animals we found that day. . . . . . .
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. . #southafrica #shotoniphone

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Aug 25, 2018 at 10:40pm PDT

 

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Missing the summer heat being able to sleep constant road trips finding new places to eat. . . . . .
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. . #southafrica #shotoniphone

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Jul 17, 2018 at 12:40am PDT

 

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Off to a slow start. . . . .
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. . #southafrica #shotoniphone

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Jul 13, 2018 at 11:30pm PDT

 

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The Spotted Shovel-nosed Frog. An uncommonly seen species which usually only comes get o the surface after heaving rains as it spends most of its life underground. A venerable species, due to the small area it occupies, as well as habitat fragmentation and degradation. . . . . . .
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. . #southafrica #shotoniphone #africageophoto

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Feb 17, 2018 at 9:25pm PST

 

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Sometimes things just get to you and won’t let go. . . . . .
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. . #namibia #shotoniphone

A post shared by Tyrone Ping (@robotfaced) on Dec 12, 2017 at 9:44pm PST

Image: Tyrone Ping/ Twitter