Green Education Network awards Pet News and Views its seal of approval.

Pets at Home Pet Supplies
«  
  »

Gracie the Rescued Burmese Python

I know many people are afraid of snakes. When I was a child–12 years old–I wanted one. We had a dog, and my parents nixed this idea. I spent every Saturday at the Bronx Zoo as a Friend of the Zoo volunteer.

It was there that I got to handle a boa constrictor. The Friends of the Zoo program back then held free classes for anyone interested in learning about animals. It was pure joy for me. I had studied hard and got to meet a broad array of wild animals.

Central Park Zoo
In the summer, I transferred to the Central Park Zoo. (For a kid growing up in the Bronx, being in Manhattan was cool.) Volunteers in the program specialized in a few animals and got to handle them and talk about them to summer camps and others who visited the Zoo. Handling a snake helped me get over being shy.

I loved being at the Zoo, and would spend every Tuesday and Thursday there throughout the summer. The boa constrictor I handled had beautiful patterns. He used to wrap himself around my arm. Thanks to meeting Beau, that was his nickname, I wasn’t afraid of snakes. I have a healthy respect for them.

Meet Gracie the Burmese Python
So when Doug Bocaz-Larson sent me this video of Gracie the Burmese Python who was rescued and is now living at Out of Africa Wildlife Park, a sanctuary for rescued wild animals, I jumped at the chance to share it with you. Doug is the filmmaker who sent me the video of Boom Boom, the rescued rhino, which I posted last week.

Hope you enjoy this video created by Doug Bocaz-Larson, Poco Loco Productions and NMSU-Grants.

More on Wild Horses
One of my readers sent me an e-mail stating that while she liked the wild horse stories I posted a few days ago, she would have preferred an e-mail address instead of a phone number.  She said that a lot of you probably would send an e-mail rather than call the White House. Here is the online site to tell President Obama to stop the wild horse round up.

The first story I posted, by Laura Allen of Animal Law Coalition, is an in depth read about the wild horses and burros that are being rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management.  The second is a video of wild horses running free. It is quite beautiful.

July 21st, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Pet Views

8 comments to Gracie the Rescued Burmese Python

  • Tweets that mention Gracie the Rescued Burmese Python « Pet News and Views -- Topsy.com
    July 21, 2010 at 12:04 PM

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rod Burkert, Michele Hollow, Michele Hollow, Michele Hollow, Pet News and Views and others. Pet News and Views said: This snake is a beauty–nothing to be scared of: Gracie the Rescued Burmese Python http://shar.es/mVD3C [...]

  • Roxanne @ Champion of My Heart
    July 21, 2010 at 6:56 PM

    Well, after our last rattlesnake encounter on Monday, I’m feeling a little squeamish about snakes, but I suppose many of them are alright … like the nice bull snakes who live in our bridge.

  • Jim (DoggyBytes.ca)
    July 22, 2010 at 2:45 AM

    My reptilian brain fell in love with Gracie. She’s beautiful, thanks for sharing Michele. =)

  • Karen Friesecke
    July 22, 2010 at 2:57 AM

    A guard snake? Well that’s a first!! Glad that Gracie was removed from that situation. I’ve always loved snakes and have never had a problem handling them. A travelling snake show came to my grade school and I had the honour of helping hold a boa constrictor, it was *so* cool!!

  • Donna
    July 26, 2010 at 4:38 PM

    Did she really try to eat anything that moved? Unusual behavior for a snake…maybe less so for king snakes than for a Burm. Are we certain that defensive strikes (bite and release) weren’t mistaken for a feeding response (bite and constrict)? Obviously folks avoid being bitten by a Burm that size either way, but it could be easy to mistake the behavior if you aren’t an expert at reading their body language.

    I would imagine a blind snake would be extremely nervous and prone to be defensive. They get that way when they are opaque (about to shed).
    It’s good that she’s eating well, and we can only hope that the damage to her organs from chemical exposure won’t cut short her life.

    It does go to show you–the Burmese python is not a maneating monster. These snakes are the most popular giants kept as pets for a reason. They are quite docile, and are easily tamed. No Burm can ever grow large enough to actually eat a person, so they do not view humans as prey.

    They certainly are survivors…as long as it’s warm. Cold is the killer for pythons. A Burm is most certainly not a pet for everyone, as it takes 2 people to safely work with any constrictor snake over 8 feet long, but for those who know what they’re getting into, they can make spectacular pets.

  • Michele
    July 26, 2010 at 5:01 PM

    That’s what I was told. I’m glad she is doing well too. I wouldn’t want one as a pet. I think they are better off in the wild.
    Michele

  • Ron
    August 22, 2010 at 4:48 PM

    Great response Michele,
    I love snakes and really appreciate their beauty and power! I don’t own any snakes and probably never will. They should be out in the wild where Mother Nature intended them to be.

  • Michele
    August 23, 2010 at 9:23 AM

    I agree Ron. When I was a kid I wanted a boa constrictor because I was a volunteer at the Bronx Zoo and liked handling them. I didn’t get one. They should be out in the wild. Michele