AS temperatures soar, recently, there have been several sightings of snakes around eThekwini, including the black and green mamba.
Warren Dick, a professional snake catcher and nature enthusiast, said he received a call from a friend who lives next to the Bluff Nature Reserve about a large, green snake seen by a small compost heap last week.
He said the sighting of what could possibly be a green mamba, sparked his immediate interest.
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“My friend said the snake was more than a metre long, a bit thicker than a five-rand coin and plain bright green. From that description, I thought it must be a green mamba. However, he said the only problem was that somehow the snake had gotten spooked and had disappeared back into the nature reserve.
“Fortunately, he had taken some pictures before it left, and sure enough, it was a green mamba, and she looked gravid (pregnant). There are not many reasons for a green mamba to come down out of the trees other than sometimes for food or to look for somewhere safe to lay eggs,” he said.
Warren said he was keen to see a beautiful green mamba and decided to go have a look and spend a little while waiting quietly with the hope of seeing it.
“When I arrived, my friend showed me where it was seen and where it had disappeared into. There was no sign of it anywhere, however, I decided to wait and was checking the area every now and then.
“About 15 minutes later, I decided to have a look at the compost heap and saw nothing, then suddenly, my eyes got a glimpse of the snake on a small retaining wall next to the compost heap. She was clearly looking for a spot to lay her eggs. I lost my mind with excitement,” he said.
Warren said that by using his snake tongs, he was able to quickly and safely catch her.
“I decided to capture her instead of just chasing her back into the bush as she seemed to be quite determined to lay her eggs somewhere around there, and being so close to humans, it could end badly for her or an unsuspecting human.
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“Even though a green mamba’s venom is not as potent as a black mamba’s, they are still considered deadly – this makes them a snake you should not mess with,” he said.
Warren said he will be keeping the snake in captivity till she lays her eggs and thereafter, will release her back into the wild.
“I will also release the babies when they hatch early next year. A lot of information is gathered during this process, which helps towards understanding snakes better,” he said.
He added that residents are encouraged to seek professional assistance to identify the various snakes they may come across and to find out if they are venomous or harmless.
For assistance or to have some of your interesting spiders, snakes or other wildlife identified, call or WhatsApp Warren on 072 211 0353. You can also follow him on Facebook, Warren’s Small World
Five interesting facts about the Green Mamba:
1. Most green mambas that are encountered are already quite large, well over a metre in length and fatter than a broomstick.
2. They are really bright green, almost as if they could glow in the dark.
3. They have a few yellow scales on their bodies, however, each snake is unique in this regard, like a fingerprint in humans.
4. They are shy snakes, far less ‘aggressive’ or defensive than the Black Mamba. Like all other snakes, if left alone, they will disappear up the nearest tree rather than bite.
5. They spend most of their lives in the trees where they hunt birds.
Spot the difference – types of ‘green’ snakes.
– There are six different types of green snakes common to South Africa. These include the green mamba, green water snake, spotted-bush snake, boomslang and the eastern and western natal green snake.
– The green snakes that most often get confused for green mambas are the spotted bush snake and the natal green snake, both of which are harmless.
-The spotted bush snakes and the natal green snakes are very thin, usually thinner than the average index finger.
-The spotted bush snake has black and white speckles on the first half of its all-green body.
-The natal green snake also sometimes has black markings, but the easiest way to distinguish it from a green mamba is the fact that they have a yellowish-green underside, as opposed to the green mamba’s plain green top and bottom.
– There is also the green water snake which is also a plain, bright green snake, but they are also very thin and shorter than a metre long.
-The other green snake that people often fear and misidentify as a spotted bush snake is the boomslang. Only the male boomslang turns green at sexual maturity, and by then, they are well over a metre in length and quite a bit fatter than the average broomstick.
Snake encounter or bitten? Here’s what you can do.
– If you find a snake, leave it alone. Very few snake bites happen by accident – most happen because people interfere with the snake, trying to catch or kill it.
– If you have an accurate description of the snake, phone a professional snake catcher for an identification. Also, a picture will help, but don’t put yourself in harm’s way to get one.
– While identification of the snake helps with treatment, it is not necessary, as the doctors will treat you as the symptoms occur.
– If bitten, don’t panic, and get to a hospital or doctor, There is no need to waste time bandaging and immobilising the limb.
– Don’t cut or suck at the bite site. It really doesn’t help and will often lead to unintended secondary infections.
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