The blog returns ....

Post date: Apr 4, 2016 11:31:00 AM

It being the start of a new season, I think I can be allowed a new year’s resolution – to write at least one Handler’s Blog entry each month.

***************************************************************************************

Easter Egg Hunts – of which we attended two this year – tend to appeal to our younger audience. This means three things for handlers:

• More children stroking the animals;
• People holding the animals for shorter times; and
• Parents trying not to show their fear in front of their children.

The first two of these may have a direct consequence for the animals. Young children can unintentionally be heavy-handed when stroking, and may also “grab”, and the animals may show signs of anxiety if they are repeatedly picked up and put down. Both of these have to be managed by careful observation of both the public and the animals – I have become quite adept at discretely keeping animals just out of reach, or keeping a couple of fingers between the animal and a small hand so that I am the one that gets squeezed.

Scared parents may decide either to dodge the issue (“I just need to check on times for the next arena to display; Mummy will help you with the nice snakes”), or to face it. All of the handlers have come across parents whose hands have been shaking, or who have discretely wiped away tears once they hand the snake back, and we do try to make handling as easy as possible for them. After all, we don’t want the children to pick up their parents’ fear either.

So it’s an observation game for the handlers. Of course it always is, but events aimed at younger children do carry specific risks.

They may carry special opportunities for some fun as well – and I apologise to the parent who I told “Our snakes love the Easter Bunny .... Well, the larger ones do, anyway”. The Easter Egg Hunt at Layham's Farm involved finding toy animals tagged with letters (e.g. "Find the rabbit wearing a dressing gown/the dog wearing a bow tie") and then spelling out a word with the letters on their tags. I've made a mental note that, if I'm there next year, I'm taking some ribbon to tie round a snake, and my own tag .....

Jane