THE last thing anyone wants to find in their garden is a snake, especially when it’s a 2 meter long Black Mamba. Local snake man, Jason Arnold, was alerted by a Reservoir Hills resident recently about a huge snake that had taken up residence in his garden.

Arnold captured the well fed reptile, who had part of its tail missing as it tried to escape over the neighbours wall. Black mambas are one of the fastest and deadliest snakes in the world.

This was his eight deadly snake call-out in the last two weeks (Arnold has captured three black mambas and five Mozambique spitting cobras).

“This guy was missing part of his tail when I caught him. He had a few broken ribs which had healed and it looks like someone may have taken a swing at him with a panga or a knife. He’d definitely be one of the bigger black mambas I’ve ever caught. With the tail he’d be at least 2.65 meters,” he said.

Arnold said snake activity peaked as the winter months approached.

“Snake activity patterns change dramatically over the course of a year. Throughout the cool months, snakes are relatively inactive but they try and eat as much as they can before winter. Mambas (green and black) however, breed in winter and I get quite a lot of call-outs for them around now and in June and July for the mating season,” he said.

Contact Jason Arnold on 082 745 6375.

Quick facts

Black mambas are actually brown in color. They get their name from the blue-black of the inside of their mouths, which they display when threatened.

They are also among the fastest snakes in the world, slithering at speeds of up to 12.5 miles per hour (20 kilometers per hour).

The black mamba is one of four species of mamba. Others are Jameson’s mamba, eastern green mamba and western green mamba.

The black mamba has no special conservation status. However, encroachment on its territory is not only putting pressure on the species but contributes to more potentially dangerous human contact with these snakes.