The Sunday Mail
Forget Tarzan, the immensely popular fictional cinema character who was raised in the African jungle by gorillas and later experienced civilisation, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.
Nor Superman, the fictional superhero appearing in American comic books. In Chawatama Marimo, better known as Chawa, Zimbabwe has her own heroic adventurer.
Unlike Tarzan or Superman, Chawa is not a fictional character but a real wildlife superhero whose daredevil antics have earned him a cult following.
Close to 26 000 viewers have been enchanted by the adventurer’s Facebook page – Chawa’s Wild Adventures. The 43-year-old’s page is one of the most followed local pages on social media.
Chawa features in captivating video recordings in which he is seen grappling with deadly and non-venomous snakes.
In one of the videos, he single-handedly tackles a giant crocodile that had trespassed onto someone’s land, before subduing it.
In another video clip, staff members and patients at Glen Norah Satellite Clinic in Harare could be seen watching in both awe and amazement as Chawa skilfully catches a snouted cobra that had set up a permanent home in a cubicle.
Wonder-struck police officers could not help but admire as Chawa easily tamed a python that had visited one of the police posts in the capital.
In a chilling photograph, the adventurer stares a huge snake in the face and in another, he is seen cuddling a gigantic chameleon.
A giant rat and a small tortoise are some of the creatures that featured as they were being rescued and subsequently released into the wild.
Chawa has caught snakes in the most unusual of places – a hardware shop, a toilet sink and even under blankets.
Chawa seems to catch deadly snakes and creatures with ease. Using a simple two-pronged stick, he appears to simply pin venomous reptiles into submission.
The snakes and creatures are then released into the wild where they regain their freedom.
An unassuming character, Chawa, in one of the posts, said a python he caught in Mount Pleasant Heights in Harare was “so cute I had to kiss it”.
He even described a deadly black mamba that he rescued as a “rare beauty”.
The Sunday Mail Society caught up with the “Chawa-Man” as he is fondly referred to at his home in one of the leafy suburbs of Harare.
Looking somewhat young for his age, Chawa chronicled how his love for rescuing snakes and other creatures came about.
“It was on my father’s farm when, as a little boy, I witnessed a dog engage itself in a vicious fight with a deadly cobra. Both the snake and the dog died in the fight. The death of the dog aroused in me a great interest to save creatures,” Chawa said.
For the past 20 years, Chawa has travelled the width and breadth of the country, rescuing snakes and other creatures that stray into homes.
He has since lost count of the number of animals and snakes that he has rescued and returned to the wild.
“I know that people hate snakes but God created them for a purpose. Snakes only attack humans when they are cornered, otherwise they are beautiful creatures that should be left alone,” added Chawa.
Self-taught, he has devised new ways of easily catching snakes and other reptiles. Chawa says conditions in most urban areas attract big and venomous snakes.
“In Harare, for example, we have people who throw rubbish everywhere. Rats are found in these rubbish mounds and the rats then attract snakes. Residents are now keeping chickens and quail birds in their backyards and these also attract snakes. We should keep our city clean so that we avoid snakes,” Chawa said.
Chawa, who was bitten on numerous occasions by both venomous and non-venomous snakes, said catching snakes is an “art” and is not afraid to die from snake bites.
“Why should I be afraid of death? Eventually we are all going to die at some point. I was once admitted to a local hospital after I was bitten but that experience taught me to be more focused. I was careless that day and I paid for it.”
According to Chawa, a lot of factors are taken into account when one is bitten by a snake.
“It depends on the type of snake, where the person has been bitten, the amount of venom deposited into the body and the general health of the victim. There are a lot of misconceptions regarding snakes and chameleons,” said the famed adventurer.
Apart from catching snakes, Chawa is also into spear fishing – an ancient fishing technique in which a person submerges in water for long periods, hunting for fish using a spear.
Earning his keep as a commercial farmer, Chawa, when not in the wild, can also be found at racing tracks where he is often seen drifting in either his ZX or Nissan Skyliner racing cars.
Drifting is a hair-raising driving technique in which a driver takes off at high speed, intentionally over-steers and drives the car through sharp corners.
Like catching snakes, drifting is not a sport for the faint-hearted.
