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that snakes will drink milk , which is sometimes offered to them at festivals , as the animals will try anything in a desperate attempt to stave off dehydration . It is generally accepted that replacement is inevitable : animal protection agencies report an average lifespan of around six months for snake charmers ’ animals , while another estimate concluded that the typical charmer goes through about seven animals per year .
So is the art of snake charming a complete myth ? Is it nothing more than a fairground fraud predicated upon the cruel and blatant abuse of animals ?
Perfect subjects .
‘ You can touch !’ repeated the snake charmer , an unkempt individual with extremely bloodshot eyes . And so I did reach out and touch the snake . I had no idea whether it was capable of delivering a dangerous bite or not , and was pretty sure that its mouth hadn ’ t been sewed shut ( it was , after all , only inches from my face ), but it was facing away from me and appeared to be completely concentrating its
‘ At one stage the snake swayed forward and gently ‘ headbutted ’ the
sapera ’ s hand .... cobras don ’ t play by the same rules as Australian elapids .’
attention upon the free hand of the snake charmer , which he was dangling casually before its eyes . At one stage the snake did ‘ headbutt ’ the sapera ’ s hand , but this was not done with any speed or aggression – it merely swayed forward and gave him a light ‘ tap ’. I must admit to suspecting that the snake had been rendered harmless , because of the ready invitation to sit in close proximity and then touch the animal . Even my five-year-old daughter was invited to sit and touch the snake , and I imagine the saperas would have been courting serious trouble if a stupid or ignorant tourist had gotten themselves envenomated . But also , although I ’ m the first to concede that I have very little experience with venomous snakes , I ’ ve seen a few cobras being handled , and they don ’ t play by the same rules as Australian elapids . I remember an article by a comparative novice who had literally lifted a large King Cobra off the ground from behind , while it was transfixed by the actions of a number of other guys in front of it ( an extremely dangerous manoeuvre nevertheless ), and seeing a bloke in a restaurant in Hanoi attempting ( with very little success ) to bait a number of cobras into appearing somewhat
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