EXPRESS INDIA (Mumbai, India) 14 October 07 Hiss! They are fun (Amrita Talwar)
Six-year-old Isha touched a rescued cobra, lifted it gingerly and felt its cool, smooth skin. When the black mass didn’t hiss in anger, she draped it around her neck and hugged it lightly. And when the snake slithered to freedom in the greens of Asola Wildlife Sanctuary in Delhi, she hooted in joy.
Isha and her friends don’t shudder with fear when they think of snakes. After a two-day reptile workshop by animal rescue NGO Wildlife SOS, they know that snakes are not always harmful and that turtles can be kept as pets. “Now I am not scared of snakes. They are so cool,” says Isha.
A series of workshops being carried out in the city by the NGO for children is trying to get rid of misconceptions about reptiles (that snakes are predatory and harm humans). “Snakes attack humans only when they have been threatened. We’d like children to understand this,” explains Wildlife SOS’s education officer Karishma Handa.
On the first day of the workshop, an interactive slide show introduces children to the world of reptiles and they get a close look at the big four poisonous snakes — Cobra, Russell’s Viper, Krait and Saw Scaled Viper. They are taught to distinguish between snake skin patterns and to spot if a snake is venomous. On day two, they get to see a reptile being rescued and watch it being released either at Asola or the Delhi Zoo.
“Wide-eyed and happy, these kids really enjoy the rescue because for that one hour they are with the animal. They are given practical lessons by snake handlers. They often tell us how surprised they are that snakes feel so soft and smooth. But they rejoice the most when a snake is reunited with its mother.” The best part: after two days with the snakes, the children start tuning in to National Geographic or Discovery channels.
For Wildlife SOS, which has rescued more than 250 snakes from various places in Delhi this year, the workshops are the best way to sensitise the city’s little residents about their environment. “We want the children to come out of their world of potted plants. We are not teaching them animal-handling skills but creating basic awareness about animals. Secondly, this will also fund our animal rescue operations in Delhi.”
“People think that Delhi is a big concrete jungle. But that’s not true. We have nearly 450 species of birds, more than 20 species of snakes and 80 species of butterflies,” she adds.
Wildlife SOS also conducts butterfly and primates workshops. Children aged 4-14 can participate in these.
Hiss! They are fun