BORDER MAIL (Albury, Australia) 15 March 06 Snakes charmers for children (Chloe Bugelly)
Photo: Raymond Hoser with a death adder in his left hand and taipan, black, brown, king brown, tiger and copperhead snakes.
They’re long, slithery and all the rage these school holidays.
Forget the movies, watching the world’s deadliest snakes wrap themselves around reptile expert Raymond Hoser’s neck provided thrills for children and parents at Centro Wodonga shopping centre yesterday.
Performing his deadly snake show outside Target, Mr Hoser intrigued and educated the fascinated crowd with a collection of creatures, including a taipan, tiger snake and death adder.
A leading herpetologist, Mr Hoser has dedicated his life to studying reptiles and has written nine books on the subject.
He said it was important for children on the Border to learn how to handle snakes.
“There’s certainly a lot of brown and tiger snakes around here,” Mr Hoser said.
“I think it’s important to teach these kids what to do if they come across snakes.
“Getting up close with the animals helps to get rid of some of the fear and uncertainty.”
Mr Hoser said he has been bitten more by speed cameras than snakes.
“I’ve had a few scrapes but nothing too serious,” he said.
“You tend to build up trust with them and they’re pretty used to people by now.”
Running until Friday, the hour-long show includes a presentation on deadly snakes, followed by an interactive session where the crowd can handle pythons and a collection of reptiles, including baby freshwater crocodiles and tortoises.
Trudy Ryan, 7, from Wodonga, got more than she bargained for, when the python she was handling made a mess of her outfit.
“It pooed all over me,” Trudy said.
Despite the smelly incident, she said she enjoyed getting so close to something she’d normally be quite frightened of.
“I was a little bit scared because I’ve never seen a snake up close before,” she said.
“It tickled and felt slithery, but it’s been good to learn about them and other animals, like the baby crocodiles.”
The free Live Deadly Snake Show will be performed at 11am and 1pm everyday until Friday at Centro Wodonga outside the Target store.
Snakes charmers for children