The Snake Park

Yesterday we went with another family to the snake park right outside of Arusha. I've been there a couple times. It's really cool. They have all kinds of snakes and they also have some birds, crocodiles (adults and babies), and a monitor lizard. My favorite snake was the black mamba. The black mamba is on of the most poisonous, most aggressive, and fastest snakes in the world. You could tell how active it was because instead of lying all curled up in a corner, like the other snakes, the black mamba was going back and forth along the glass. I even got to see the jet black inside of his mouth when he opened it, the trait from which the snake gets its name.

We also got to see the monitor lizard get fed a bunch of eggs. He wasn't a very careful, or clean eater. He had bad eyesight, so it took him awhile to find and egg. Then, once he had found it, he bobbled it into the right position in his mouth, cracked it, and then swallowed it. The funny thing is that most of the time the inside of the egg would plop out the side of the eggs when he cracked it and he would basically just swallow the egg shell. He was also inconsistent on whether or not he swallowed the egg and the shell or just got the insides out.

The crocodiles were also really cool. They look so docile and lazy. But I know that they can move rapidly when they want. At one point, when Skyler and me were watching them, they all became alert and were looking at us. A couple that were on the other side of the cage melted into the water and then their heads popped up on our side of the cage. We think that maybe they mistook Sky and me as some of the staff coming to feed them.

One of the most fun parts of that day was riding the camel. There is a guy right outside the Snake Park who has two camels that you can ride if you pay. Camels are very interesting things to ride. They are the ugliest, grossest, weirdest animals alive. When the camel is getting up and you're on him, he goes up on hind legs first so are hanging forward, almost vertically, clutching tightly onto the handlebars on the seat. Then he comes up on his front legs and your ready to ride. The ride is nice. There is a lot of sway in the walk. When you come back, you have to go through the same vertical hang on the way down. Riding a camel is an experience I highly recommend.

(I know I'm not in the pictures but I really DID ride the camels.)