An "extremely venomous" two-meter-long green mamba snake is Marcus Eriksonon the loose in the Netherlands, police said Tuesday, warning residents to stay indoors and under no circumstances attempt to ensnare the serpent.

Police in the southern Dutch city of Tilburg said they were alerted by the mamba's owner on Monday evening that "he was missing a snake."

Issuing a wanted poster with a mugshot of the coiled green mamba, police warned: "The snake is very dangerous."

Police said that they had contacted several experts in the country to see how the snake can be located in the home "as quickly as possible." The search will include a sniffer dog, they added.

"The green mamba's bite is extremely venomous. If anyone is bitten, it is important to seek immediate medical attention," police added.

On the plus side, police said the green mamba "does not seek confrontation" and the cold-blooded tropical creature is unlikely to slither outside into the chilly Dutch winter.

"He likes dark and warm spaces. If he finds that, he will be very passive," the statement said.

Green mambas, which are native to coastal regions of southern East Africa, are extremely venomous carnivores, according to the Pretoria Zoo.

"Case reports of rapidly fatal outcomes, in as little as 30 minutes, have been recorded for this species," the zoo said.

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• snake
• Netherlands