Scared of Snakes

A notice was posted about a snake on the property. It's probably long gone, but of course all the kids on the playground have been reminded to beware of snakes.

• Rule #1.  Stay out of the bushes.
• Rule #2. Leave the area if you see a snake and then tell an adult.

The snake warning has caused a bit of hysteria among the neighbourhood girls. This looks like children calmly playing a game, then random screaming and running off in a pack. One of these girls swears she saw a snake in their favorite play spot. In the first place, she's a bit of a story teller, but SERIOUSLY the marshmallow left to gather evidence had BITES out of it!!!! No amount of promoting about the other types of animals which could have eaten it will do. I imagine it was a bird, but there's no arguing with these strong women.  

This gaggle of girls is now on the prowl trying out new play spots which border the playground zone. I don't want them to be so afraid, but I don't want to make light of this warning either.

A quick google search comes up with the Reticulated Python which can grow to ten meters long (32 feet), and also 5 venomous snakes, including the King Cobra which stands up 6 feet tall. Where were these facts when I did my research on the risks of living in Singapore?

This is a little different than how in Canada, I catch the backyard snakes to show the girls - hoping they will handle them. There, the most that might happen is a stinky spray from the snake.

Knowledge is power, so we talk with the girls about being cautious, looking with only our eyes, and not engaging with the wildlife here. We look at pictures of snakes without drama. We check out the snakes at the zoo. One of these days we will get around to doing an actual study on snakes.

In the mean time, I showed the kids the pictures of the poor pythons dying in the Indonesia fires right now. We have a giant pink stuffed python that the girls use to try to catch me unaware resulting in the occasional scream in the kitchen and some spilled coffee.