That would be great! Grazie!

Yes, Jan, I too would love to see the pictures of snakes at Satao Camp. I've only seen a House Snake (harmless to humans) and a Puff Adder (highly venomous) and a Tiger Snake (harmless to humans), who was patrolling the makuti roof of Bobby's office when I left in March....trying to snatch the 3-legged lizard Bobby was feeding!

I agree with Cody...education is the key. The two famous snake parks on the coast, Bio-Ken in Watamu and Mark Easterbrook's Croc Farm and Snake Park in Malindi have many tourist visitors from overseas, but I always like to invite and pay the modest entrance fee for local men/women/boys/girls to see, understand and sometimes hold the snakes...to get a more realistic understanding of these magnificent beings.

I have thus transformed many "snake haters" to "snake lovers" who have gained an understanding and respect for these much maligned creatures.

I'm sure those people are truly grateful for your giving them the opportunity to see and learn something about their snakes. It is a marvelous thing for you to do.

However, YOU HAVEN'T CONVERTED ME YET!!

Jan, I'm not giving up on you yet!
If our paths should cross again in Kenya, I will kidnap you and take you to Mark's place so you can hold his lovely 10-foot African Rock Python, "Naomi", who is gentle as a lamb!

Mark can "gentle" all sorts of animals by constantly exposing them to kind & gentle human handling.
The African Rock Python although not venomous has the reputation of being a bad-tempered snake.
It has 100-fish hook style teeth which can rip the tendons off a human arm or leg....it can also easily squeeze a gazelle or human to death.

But after Mark's amazing gentling techniques they become harmless reptile "pussycats".

I'm sure you can't wait....I guarantee it will be a fun and memorable experience!

Kat: Guess I'll have to remember never to go to Watamu or Malindi with you

I wouldn't mind the python, but it would be my luck that one of their poisonous snakes escaped that day and I would find it, attached to my big toe

Hell will freeze over before you'll find me a fan of snakes. If they gave you some warning it wouldn't be so bad (like our rattlesnakes) , but you can innocently pick something off a shelf not even seeing a snake there and get tagged. They are silent, sneaky and oft-
times deadly.

Thanks for your generous invitation though

Dearest Jan: Snakes are not "sneaky"....they are "stealthy"!

Look, they have no arms or legs, they have lousy eyesight, and have no ears (they sense vibrations but cannot hear like we do). Imagine trying to not only survive the extremes of temperature, crazed humans and animals who want to kill them just for being snakes....and then having to capture and kill prey with all these handicaps.

The sound of our rattlesnakes has led people to hunt them down more easily. To adapt to this situation the rattlers are starting to lose their rattles!

They are miracles of evolution! And to quote Charles Darwin: "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man". GIVE SNAKES A CHANCE!