Something in Thailand that is famous and also guaranteed to max your adrenalin flow is the snake show. Thailand is home to some 163 species of snakes and of that number, 85 are venomous — poisonous. With so many poisonous snakes, the country has set up many snake farms in various regions in order to conduct research on anti-venoms.
Many of the farms also feature snake shows for tourists at which experienced professionals exhibit the snakes and interact with them. Tourists enjoy a look around the snake farms where they learn about the habits and diet of the snakes. Last April, Arab News attended a show near Bangkok.
The show was held in an arena surrounded by a concrete fence which prevented snakes from getting too close to spectators. The arena’s surface is made slippery with foam and water to slow down the snakes movements. There was an announcer who gave a brief history of the farm and its role in conducting research into venom; he also talked about the most famous snakes in each area of Thailand. He told the audience that that one of the performers had died from the bite of a king cobra a few years ago during a show.
The show then began with the king cobra which is the most venomous of snakes. The snake was brought out in a sack which was then opened in the middle of the arena. As soon as the cobra was out of the sack, it flared its famous hood and began to make a hissing sound that resembled a growling dog. The performer then began to tap the snake’s head which resulted in his widening its hood.
The man’s quick reflexes saved him from several attempted attacks by the cobra and in a very quick — and surprising — move, the man held the cobra by the neck and approached the spectators. He explained that the cobra has two male organs and that for this reason, the Thais consider that touching a cobra will bring good luck.
As he held the snake by its head and its tail, he walked among the audience, giving people a chance to gain some good luck. About 10 percent of the crowd took advantage of the offer.
The man then held a plastic container and began to extract the cobra’s venom in front of the audience. After sticking the cobra’s fangs into the edge of a container, a yellowish fluid started oozing down. The man said that this venom was taken to the research center for the creation of anti-venom serums.
The mongoose, a weasel-like carnivore and the cobra’s natural enemy, was the star of the next part of the show. The cobra was taken to a large transparent plastic box where an adult mongoose was waiting. Their duel lasted for only a few seconds until the mongoose had his teeth imbedded in the cobra’s neck. The performer then intervened at once, releasing the cobra from quick and certain death.
The second exhibition was a skirmish with a two-meter long python, a constrictor that has several layers of sharp fangs. After holding the giant snake, a couple of instructors carried it and placed a net over its fangs in order to show them to the audience. The fangs are slanted inward so that it is very difficult — almost impossible — to pull away from the snake’s bite. The snake also caused a certain tenseness among the show’s spectators since they were told that it cold leap up to two meters.
The final part of the show featured three tree snakes. The performer’s task was to catch them by hand and after numerous maneuvers, he caught two of them, one in each hand. While holding the snakes in each hand, he amazed the audience by catching the third one with his mouth. Despite the hot and humid weather, people seemed to move much quicker leaving the show than they had done when coming in.