A woman was approaching a ladies’ tee box on a golf course in South Africa when she spotted a rare sight in the distance. She pulled out her phone to record the scene on video.
Elitha Peachey, who identified the golf course as the Atlantic Beach Links in Cape Town, quickly zoomed in on the activity and captured an angry Cape Cobra slithering up to the tee marker and briefly attacking it as a Cape grey mongoose looked on in the distance.
It is believed the mongoose had been chasing the cobra, making it none too happy.
The mongoose, a predator of snakes, eventually lost interest and scampered off into the trees as the cobra slithered about on the tee with its head off the ground and its hood spread wide.
“I’m definitely going to hit straight from now on!” Peachey wrote on her Instagram account, thinking it best to stay away from the bushes where cobras are more likely to be found.
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According to the South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Cape grey mongoose is native to southern Africa and is frequently seen darting across the road. They are not immune to venom as popularly believed, but they can kill snakes with their speed and agility.
In self-defense or as a warning signal, it will usually lift its head off the ground, face the enemy and spread its ribs in a broad hood, striking readily. It may hiss as well. The hooding and hissing are not aggressive acts; instead, they are warning signs to keep potential threats at a safe distance. Like most snakes, Cape cobras will rather flee from humans than attack and bite them. They do not spit venom, but bite instead, transmitting a very powerful and fast acting neurotoxic venom. Any bite from a Cape cobra is life-threatening and needs urgent medical care.
All the more reason to stay in the fairway while golfing in Cape Town…and, apparently, away from certain tee boxes for ladies.
