The suspicious discovery of the snake in the kitchen sink

Washing the dishes is nobody’s favourite pastime, but washing the dishes with a 1.7m green mamba lurking in the sink is infinitely more exciting! This was the reality for one elderly resident from Sezela on the KZN South Coast who immediately alerted the team from Crocworld Conservation Centre.

“I received a phone call from a young man out in Sezela about a large snake that had been discovered in the kitchen,” recalled Wade Kilian, Reptile Curator at Crocworld Conservation Centre in Scottburgh. “Apparently his mother had been packing away dishes before doing another load when she spotted the snake climbing the curtain rail. It then took refuge in the kitchen sink beneath a pink bucket, which is where we discovered it.”

Kilian said he arrived to find a very nervous, machete-wielding, elderly lady shouting about a snake.

Fortunately, her son had alerted the reptile team in time and she had not attempted to kill the snake herself.

“We really encourage residents not to approach or attempt to kill any snake species, but rather to contact us to safely remove the animal,” continued Kilian. “Not only are some of these species threatened and, therefore, protected by law, but most snake attacks happen when humans try to move or kill them.”

Kilian said, once the snake had been smoothly removed from the kitchen, it was safely released into a wildlife habitat away from humans.

Fast facts about green mambas

• Green mambas are carnivores and will eat eggs, birds, frogs, lizards, rodents, and other small mammals.
• Green mambas are mostly solitary but aren’t known to be territorial.
• Green mambas prefer coastal areas with dense, shaded vegetation (like the KZN South Coast!) and tend to live in trees.
• Female green mambas will lay 4 to 17 eggs at a time that hatch after around three months.
• Green mambas can live for up to 14 years.
• Green mambas have short, fixed fangs at the front of their mouths and are highly venomous.

*Source: www.pretoriazoo.org

Although snake activity will be diminishing with the arrival of the cooler weather, residents can call the team at Crocworld Conservation Centre for any snake removals on the mid-KZN South Coast. For more information, visit www.crocworld.co.za, ‘Crocworld Conservation Centre’ on Facebook or call 039 976 1103. Contact Fish Eagle Café, call 083 658 7073 or email mvanzyl@cbl.co.za.