R.I.P Anton Steenkamp
I met Anton shortly after I joined this club in 2011 and again several years later while I was doing research for my Aforika trip. He gave generously of both his time and extensive knowledge of travelling on our continent. It is a small consolation to know that he passed on while he engaged in one of his passions.
My condolences to his family and close friends!
Well-known Labour Court Judge dies after black mamba bite in Zambia
What devastating news!
And so SA loses yet another magic person who really did make a difference.
Although I never met him, he was a contemporary of mine and my brothers knew & engaged with him back in the '80's.
He's the same big as me.
What a sad loss to us all, not just his nearest and dearest
What a really terribly tragic cause of death.
Because you do not really need to piss off a black mamba, it arrives pissed off, like buffalo.
But we should all learn from this tragic event.
The mamba's neurotoxic venom is very fast acting, as in minutes, less than an hour.
You probably will not survive at all if not instantly and competently assisted by trained personnel.
The venom causes rapid collapse/suspension of involuntary muscles (pulmonary [lungs/pectorals], stomach, and cardiac muscles).
If you survive a black mamba bite, it will only be because those immediately nearest you at the time, knew they had minutes to react fast and did.
They would have to know exactly what to do- instantly stop you moving at all and go almost immediately into life support mode -breathing for you and later, if necessary- CPR.
Of all our snakes, its the one you don't delay in patient care instantly.
Summoning help becomes totally secondary.
Little known fact:
There is no snakebite in Southern Africa that should not be survivable for a healthy person if you have the correct and immediate on-scene patient care.
Us, who go off-piste on dual-sport bikes owe it to ourselves and family to become educated.
Make sure you educate your fellow travelers on how to treat you for cytotoxic, hemotoxic and neurotoxic venoms.
Don't be frightened of the snake, be frightened that those persons closest to you know exactly what to do and even more important, what NOT to do.
Its called the black mamba because when it opens it's mouth the inside is very black, the snake itself isn't- it can be a tawny to dark brown and operates as well up in trees as it does along the ground.
But, by the time you can see that, its probably too late.
It's also, the one snake (same as in buffalo) that WILL chase you if you run.
No other snake will slither after you.
Met one in Swaziland once.
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