“This was not in my contract,” said Chelsea School Principal Dennis Nielsen as a friendly, bright yellow python draped itself over his shoulders.
Salvador the python and his traveling companions–human handlers, a Siberian tiger, some hissing cockroaches and a hyperactive monkey–came from Wildlife Inc., an animal welfare organization based in Freeport, Ill.
Wildlife Inc. provides homes for exotic animals that pet owners and zoos are unable to care for, said Nadia Gordon, who conducts educational programs for the organization.
The visit last week from the animals and their handlers was sponsored by the Frankfort PTA’s cultural-arts program. Cindy Cumbee, chairwoman of the program, said the visits give students “things to do with ecology and culture; things kids don’t do every day.”
Program organizers want to inspire concern for conservation, Gordon said. “What we learn and come to love, we will all work to save,” she said.
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Salvador, an albino Burmese python, flicked his tongue in and out to test the atmosphere. “That’s how he knows you’re people, not rats or rabbits,” Gordon told the students.
The snake is partial to rats and rabbits and only eats once a week, so the principal was in no danger of becoming a snack.
“He’s using you as tree, right now,” Gordon informed Nielsen.
While handlers brought the python and African hissing cockroaches out among the students, Sheercon, a 2-year-old Siberian tiger, stayed placidly in his cage.
Sheercon, who was born in a zoo, was sent to Wildlife for nurturing after his mother rejected him, Gordon said. “We bottle-fed him every three hours, and now he weighs 500 pounds,” she said.
The tiger, who eats between 20 and 25 pounds of raw meat every other day, ultimately could weigh 1,000 pounds, Gordon said.
Despite his size and appetite, Sheercon is sociable. “These animals actually crave the human attention once they’ve had it,” she said.
The liveliest of the animal crew was Abu, a diaper-clad vervet monkey that scampered around at the end of his leash.
“He loves to play. He loves to jump,” Gordon said. “This monkey is so quick that he can catch flies right out of the air and eat them.”
But just as it happens in the jungle, the biggest animal made the biggest impression. “I probably think the Siberian tiger (was the best animal),” said Sule Hussain, 10, who was impressed with Sheercon’s size and appetite.