By Michelle Bliss
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/whqr/local-whqr-737302.mp3
Wilmington, NC –
Audience members don't seem to mind the push-and-shove as barriers are maneuvered between them and the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling glass display cases lining the entire museum. Adults and children alike laugh and chat and gasp nervously, bumping elbows in the dim, cave-like central room. They are waiting for serpentarium owner and director Dean Ripa to start the show. The crowd hushes as Ripa dangles dead rats, pigs even Walmart chicken breasts on a stick luring venomous snakes, like the Gaboon viper, to silently stalk and strike their prey.
"It is extraordinarily thick-set; it has this big, broad, flat head like a shovel, um, this crazy pattern like an Oriental carpet; little eyes are catlike and silvery if you watch them carefully, you will see them flicker. On the ends of the nose, a pair of horns, forked horns..."
Ripa performs feeding shows each weekend, sharing what he's learned during his travels in the backwaters of 35 countries, catching snakes for zoos. For this show, Ripa tells curious, if not frightened, spectators that the Gaboon viper has the longest fangs of any snake, reaching 2 inches, and the most venom of them all enough to fill a shot glass.
"It is a truly terrible concoction this venom. It literally dissolves the flesh off of your body. If you were bitten on the hand by a Gaboon viper, within a few hours it would look as though your whole arm had been cooked in a microwave oven."
In order to feed the hungry anacondas, pythons, man-eating crocodiles, and bushmasters, Ripa must unlock and lift the front glass of each display case and crawl inside. He crouches low and keeps an eye on however many snakes dwell inside. Ripa insists it's no big deal.
"Oh no, no; I'm half-asleep while I'm doing it. I've just done it so many times."
But that's not to say he always escapes unscathed. Ripa has survived ten venomous snake bites, including four from bushmasters, the world's longest and deadliest viper. And it seems he has beaten the odds so far.
"The bushmaster, it reaches a length of 12 feet. It's so venomous that 80% of the people it bites die even with antivenom."
Ripa doesn't mention his death-defying adventures or his extensive research on bushmasters during the show, saying his goal is simply to share his rare collection with the public. But volunteer Nicole Strauss, who rarely misses one of Ripa's live feeding shows, says even with its exotic exhibits, the serpentarium is more than just a showcase.
"I love this place so much because we're actually educating the kids and we're getting rid of that irrational fear of reptiles."
Strauss sells tickets and greets groups of school children each week. She also takes care of 7-year-old Sammy, a 4-foot white-bellied royal python that is constantly wrapped around her neck. Sammy grew up in the serpentarium and is gentle enough for swarms of children to stroke and pass and mangle and even drape him on their shoulders.
"Most kids just fall in love with him immediately. They go right for him, and grab him and pet him and hold him. It's very rare that we get a kid that comes in that's actually scared of him. It takes a lot of conditioning from the parents for that to happen."
Both Strauss and Ripa say some visitors are destined to cringe while fleeing the serpentarium because they have been taught by their family, or even society, to fear snakes and other reptiles. Mostly though, Ripa sees his visitors leave with a smile, thankful for a safe rendezvous with his healthy, glowing, well-fed friends.
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