Green Mamba surprises snake man in urban Berea

ALTHOUGH Green Mambas don’t naturally occur in the built-up Berea, Nick Evans from KwaZulu-Natal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation was called out to rescue one from a complex in St Thomas Avenue, Berea on Monday.

Nick said he received a call from a resident, Lorraine McLean, regarding a “gigantic” green snake in her complex,which he surmised was a Bush Snake, but instead was pleasantly surprised when Lorraine sent him a photo, and to his amazement realised it was a Green Mamba.

“A Bush Snake is the only green snake that should occur in this built up area. Green Mambas are a coastal species, occurring in coastal forests. I was there in minutes, and was shown where the snake was hikding high up in a tree. Climbing to the snake was not an option, as the branches were too flimsy, and too flimsy to lean a ladder against, not that we had a ladder tall enough. It was really high. It seemed our only option was the Fire Department,” he said.

Nick called the Fire Department who arrived in impressive time.

They parked their truck under the tree that the mamba was in, but unfortunately, the ladder on the truck wasn’t going to work.

They had a really long, portable ladder which had two poles attached, and these were placed into the grooves of the brick work of the driveway.

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“The poles were held by a fireman, and two others held the bottom, so the ladder wasn’t really leaning on anything, although the firemen assured me it was safe. I put my trust in them, although I was quite terrified. I didn’t feel like falling with a highly venomous snake! I climbed up until I was face to face with the very confused mamba. It looked at me, and I couldn’t let it slip away, because if it did, there were three big, bushy trees it could get into and I doubt we would’ve caught it there. I just grabbed what I could, and unfortunately for me, I had grabbed the tail end, and the snake exploded into action and tried to get away, in full panic mode!” he said.

Nick said the snake was more focused on getting away than defending itself, and when its head had wrapped around some branches, he grabbed the tail with his hand, and then went for the head with his tongs.

“I got a pretty bad grip, but it was probably the best I’d get, so I had to make do, and restrained the head. I had it, but now to climb down! That was about as stressful as grabbing the snake. But the firemen were stars and I got down just fine. The ladder didn’t wobble an inch! It was a really exciting rescue and I am grateful to the Fire Department,” he said.

Nick said he urged residents not to panic, as there would not be a Green Mamba in every corner.

“This is an exceptional case, and it was most likely a hitchhiker. The green snake most commonly found on the Berea area is the harmless Spotted Bush Snake, a thin green snake, about a meter long, with black spots going half-way down the body. By far these are Durban’s most common snake and are often found around homes where they look for geckos,” he said.

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