Recently, I went to the Kalimba Reptile Park in Lusaka. It was a great experience. I had the chance to see snakes and crocodiles. The park had Black Mambas, Cobras and Pythons. They also had Nile crocodiles and African slender-snouted crocodiles. African crocodiles are very rare, and this reptile park is one of the only places in the world to see them! The park also had turtles, but we didn't learn much about the turtles. I can tell you that the turtle was very heavy, though. My roommate, Mariah, and Fulbright mentor, Johanna were also with me. We were able to hold a python and a “house” snake. They call it a house snake because it can sometimes be found in houses. That is scary to think about, but luckily, I haven’t seen any snakes in my house.
The snakes at the Reptile Park are scaly, long-bodied reptiles. Some of them are skinny while others are a bit bigger. They also vary in color. There were brown, green and black snakes. The crocodiles were humongous, and most of them were green. The Nile crocodiles are some of the largest crocodiles in the world. These particular reptiles spend most of their time with their bodies submerged in water. When they come out of the water, they have a lot of green algae on their backs. The turtle was a greenish-brown color.
