I'm far away from being an expert about demonstrations with venemous snakes like this but... it looks to me as if this kind of handling is a bit to much "easy going" (short distance of the man behind the King Kobra f.e.)
Anyway: What exactly are the keepers on the picture doing?
Checked their website already - I guess they know what they are doing (according to their long time experience with this species). It just looked a little dangerous to me.
Also, I think they deserve a big applause for their goals.
All the staff at the Sanctuary,are very experienced at what they do and don't take any risks,more importantly they know each individual snake,and know what they can get away with each of them,also most of the Cobras are trained to responed to handle signals,so they handlers can tell the Cobra what they want it to do!!!
All the staff at the Sanctuary,are very experienced at what they do and don't take any risks,more importantly they know each individual snake,and know what they can get away with each of them,also most of the Cobras are trained to responed to handle signals,so they handlers can tell the Cobra what they want it to do!!!
What a ridiculous statement! Any free handling of a venomous snake is a risk. If the staff did not take any risks they would use protective contact and properly restrain the snakes in clear tubes. I agree the room is too small and the keepers have no room to get away if the cobra were to persue them for a bite, as they are known to do, even following prey into trees!
Before this debate goes any further, you should be aware that a short time after this photo was taken, Luke Yeomans, who founded the sanctuary, was bitten by one of the snakes in his care, had a heart attack and died.
