There were also many types of exotic fowls, guinea pigs, white mice,
rabbits, monkeys and a pair of turkeys. And of course there were Ganges
soft shell turtles, starback tortoises and melanac turtles. All these
animals had to be fed daily and their cages cleaned regularly.
The snake park has a system through which people in Pune city can call
up the park if they sight a snake. Someone from the park will then go
to the site with the caller, after taking directions from him/her, and
try to get the snake. This ensures that people do not unnecessarily
kill snakes. It was on two such occasions that I went with the boys on
"calls" and returned without a snake. You see when the distance that
the rescue team has to travel is long, the snake may not necessarily
remain in the same spot till it gets there.
The snake park has a lot of visitors daily and people are always
looking for someone knowledgeable to answer questions. I used to feel
quite proud to do this and would gladly answer all the queries like,
"What is the name of the snake?" "What does it eat?" "Which is the male
and the female?" and so on. At other times I would be pestering the
staff to answer more complicated and detailed questions about the
habits of snakes. Workers are a mine of information and all of it is
knowledge gained from practical experience.
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