My probably most dangerous encounter happened with this female Nose-horned (57 cm). On Sunday, my dog and I were walking near the place where she was seen on Thursday by one of my neighbours. We saw a lizard go through the long grass, my dog went after it and I after them. 6 meters later, we were by a convex bottom of a metal barel, my dog's nose pointing at the metal and 5 cm from his nose, SHE WAS COILED! My heart stopped. I immediately grabbed a thin stick and tried to pinn her head, so that she couldn't bite him (I didn't press hard, if I did, the stick would've broken!). My dog went further on in search of the lizard (which got away). I knew that if she went into the long grass, my dog would find her and get bitten. So I called my dad, who was about 200-250 m away, to bring me my gloves, a better stick (for handling) and a bucket. She soon realised that the pressure behind her head was equal to that of a feather and started moving her head arround, to see how would I react. The stick was slippery and I couldn't hold her in place. In less than a second I decided to grab her by the tail with my bare hands, knewing that if she went into the grass that it would be a lot worse for her, my dog (5 m away) and me. When I "tailed" her, she just tried to get away, not to bite (lucky me!). When my father finaly arrived, he came with 2 buckets, no stick and no gloves! I managed to transfer her into one bucket (quickly but gentily). Phew! She's safe, My dog's safe and I came out of it without a scratch! During the whole encounter I wasn't scared, I was PETRIFIED! After taking some beautiful photoes, I relocated her away from humans and my dog.
On this photo, she is partly coiled on a fire poker, which I used as a "snake hook substitute" (I cleaned it, of course).
Who says that Nose-horneds are agro?
