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The Cutting Edge By Mariette
TEAM TALK
ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET FOR OUR STARS!
Stars – the rich and famous we associate with Hollywood … the red carpet with all its glitz and glamour … the Oscars … the fans … the paparazzi.
Who would have thought that we have our very own“ Stars” here at the Bayworld Snake Park in Port Elizabeth, South Africa? Living a life filled with bliss- where every need is being catered to- whereby room service is available each and every day 24 / 7- whereby food is prepared and offered without having to work for it- where medical care is available at the snap of a finger.
Meet our very own special“ Stars”, a male Burmese Python( Python bivittatus), one of the largest species of snakes found in the world, averaging at a length of approximately 3.7 meters( although some specimens can reach a length of up to almost 6 meters)! These large constrictors naturally occur and are found throughout Southern- and Southeast Asia. Not only are these animals excellent swimmers who love being in and around water and who can submerge themselves under water for up to 30 minutes, but are also excellent climbers due to the fact that they have prehensile tails( think of how a monkey use their tail to hold or grasp on to branches).
Our“ Stars” joined the Bayworld Snake Park 12 years ago as a young animal who weighed in at only 1.5( one-point-five!) kg. Believe it or not … he was kept as a form of security at a local factory! The factory closed shop and the animal was left alone to fend for itself. He had no food. No water. No shelter. No heat. No medical care. Think about this … he was left to fend for himself … severely emaciated … cold … nobody to give him the love and attention he deserved.
Fortunately the tides changed for him and he soon made his way to the Snake Park. Once he arrived, we soon discovered that the animal displayed behaviour whereby he would“ star gaze” up in to the air and thus earned the name“ Stars”. Once put on to display, we soon learnt that he was not a suitable candidate to make his public debut as yet. He would strike towards the glass of his enclosure as soon as he caught a glimpse of his paparazzi( aka the visitors).
We soon gathered that this behaviour was due to him being previously kept in a container where he could not view any horizontal movement and thus could only see out via the top of his container. He was thus not used to being admired in the proper, fashionable way!
Albeit, he is small for his age, which is understandable due to the conditions under which he was kept and which subsequently stunted his growth, our special boy started
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