The common green mamba found predominantly in the forests alGreen mambaong the eastern coast of South Africa is the smallest of the mamba family, averaging a mere 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) in length.

According to wikipedia they are shy and unaggressive creatures which seldom venture to the ground and, when threatened, usually just make a quick and elegant escape. 

Unfortunately for me, the one that I encountered on my holiday obviously had not read wiki for he conducted himself in a most inappropriate manner.  Granted, he had obviously been blown out of his treetop sanctuary by the wind that was whipping around us so I can understand his foul temper. 

I also have to acknowledge that he was probably further aggrieved by the fact that I was standing directly on his chosen route home but I really do not it was necessary for him to draw himself up to about knee height (as my knees are quite far from the ground I’m fairly certain he was an above-average specimen length-wise) and proceed to sway and lunge at me in a most threatening manner.

Fortunately I kept a cool head and, while shrieking at the top of my lungs, threw most of the contents of my tote bag at him.  Even more fortunately my aim is pretty awful and the flurry of objects landing all around him distracted him long enough for me to make a very unladylike getaway. 

Talking to a snake handler at a nearby reptile centre a few days later I was calmly assured that I had done completely the wrong thing, and, if I had managed to hit the snake he would most assuredly have bitten me.

So what should I have done? There are apparently three golden rules for negotiating with a snake:

  1. Stay very still.
  2. If the snake looks to be in a threatening position, back away slowly.
  3. Don’t make sudden movements or the snake may bite.

Whatever you do, definitely DO NOT throw your favourite pair of sunglasses at it because you will have to retrieve them at a later stage!