At Karachi zoo, close encounters of the reptilian kind

Animal enthusiasts bring their pet snakes, pythons and crocodiles for a day out.

KARACHI:

A rare yellow cobra, a 12-foot-long Indian rock python, an albino Burmese python and a pair of young crocodiles became the centre of attraction at Karachi zoo on Saturday.

For most visitors, this was their first interaction with reptiles as hundreds of enthusiasts brought their pets out to the Karachi Zoological Gardens. The show was the first-ever exhibition organised by the zoo aimed at raising awareness about reptiles, which are kept as pets in households.

“I finally did it. I am holding a snake and I am not scared,” said a woman, as she spoke to reporters with a python wrapped around her neck. “I always thought this thing is aggressive. But it’s like just any other pet.”

Around 30 different species of snakes, crocodiles and lizards were on display, mostly owned by private collectors. Some poisonous snakes also made an appearance too - in glass tanks, fortunately.

The zoological gardens arranged the small-scale exhibition as part of its efforts to woo more visitors to the zoo.

All the reptile collectors at the show were teenage boys, who had met each other at a social networking website and then decided to form an NGO. The boys intend to register their association named “Pets of Pakistan”.

Junaid Jimmy, 18, boasts of having over 300 different kinds of snakes. “I keep them at a farmhouse outside Karachi. There is no economic value in keeping such a large number but I do it for love of these creatures.” Jimmy was four years old when he first saw a cobra with a snake charmer. “That was it. After that I was in search of a reptile everywhere. I was 10 when I caught a scorpion and then two years later, a rat snake from Jhimpir.”

Keeping a large number of snakes means a steady supply of mice too, he said. “So we breed them as well.” Jimmy had brought a yellow cobra (Cape cobra or Naja nivea) at the exhibition. “Nobody owns this snake in Pakistan.”



Hassan Hussain takes pride in owning a pair of albino Burmese python — one of the largest snakes in the world. He keeps his snakes in especially built enclosures on the roof of his home. “My family was [initially] against it. They were all very scared but slowly got used to it,” he says. “My pythons are up to 8 feet long now but they can grow to huge sizes.”

Every few days, Hussain feeds chicken to his pets. “We import the snakes from captive breeders so they won’t attack humans. But yes, they can eat cats and dogs.”

These young men import exotic species of cobras and pythons from the US with prices ranging between $125 and $25,000.

Some venomous snakes were also on display like the Indian cobra and a Sindhi krait, one of the deadliest in the region. “We have special handlers for the deadly kraits. No anti-venom has been made to neutralise its bite,” said Khurram Masood, another teenager.

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed also visited the reptile exhibit. He promised more snake species will be brought to the zoo “soon”.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2013.