DURBAN North snake man, Jason Arnold, rescued a one metre long green mamba from an uMhlanga flat at about lunchtime on Wednesday. It was his third mamba call-out in three days, the previous calls were for two black mambas in Verulam. The snake had sought refuge in a Newlands Drive flat and was lying on the curtain rail when it was captured.

Arnold said the snake was spotted by the gardener of the complex who noticed something moving swiftly past him. The snake slithered up the steps and into the resident’s home.

“I had to remove the glass from a louver window to get to the snake which was resting on the man’s curtain railing. I get most of my green mamba call-outs on Portland Crescent, Newlands Drive and Lagoon Drive. This guy has been through to the wars, his tail has been hacked off and he has some lacerations along his torso possibly caused by razor wire. I’m probably going to release him back into Hawaan Forest, he was probably forced out of his territory by another male because we’ve just been through the green mamba breeding season.” he said.

Contact Jason Arnold on 082 745 6375.

Green Mamba facts

• These snakes are active year around.
• Green mambas have a very high metabolism
• They can and may gape and hiss, but are less likely to do so than the black mamba.
• The mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps), is a large mostly arboreal (living in trees)