It was a busy day at The Chiswick Nursing Centre when Ally, Will, Ed, Mortician and Gomez, escorted by Sally, arrived for a visit.
They were not friends or relatives they were slightly more unusual than that. Ally, Will and Ed are Ackie Monitor Lizards and Mortician and Gomez, Carpet Pythons. Sally helps to look after them at Darwin’s Kingdom, a wildlife educational charity which has brought a wide variety of reptiles and other creatures to us on a number of occasions.
Snakes often engender an initial fear factor but once residents plucked up the courage to touch them, they were entranced by their warmth and smoothness. The snakes soon coiled themselves around arms and wheelchairs.
The Ackie Monitor Lizards, which are Australian natives, were accompanied by some smaller Geckos. These also proved very popular.
Sally, who has a passion for animal behaviour, was brilliant, taking time to explain about the origins, lifestyles, habits and characteristics of all of these fascinating reptiles.
Animals always seem to have a soothing effect on people, which is one of the reasons that we are always happy to welcome back Darwin’s Kingdom to The Chiswick.
