Junior Infants proved their bravery today when Dave’s Jungle came to visit Rathnure National School. We were amazed to see a Rhinoceros Igauna named Phil strolling around the hall when we arrived. We got to hold and rub two Python snakes, a scorpion named Pinchy, a monitor lizard, Chinese water dragons and even a tarantula!!! Mrs Byrne even got to wear one of the Pythons as a scarf. We were glad that Pinchy didn’t live up to his name and pinch any of us. We showed off our strength by working together to lift a gigantic Python snake. You can see the picture below! We learned that Chinese Water Dragons come from China! They are really good at climbing trees. Have a look at the pictures of them clinging on to us the same way they would if we were trees. We were a little bit worried when the Dwarf Crocodile came out to say hello but we relaxed when we saw he had his mouth held shut. We even gave his back a rub and some of us were brave enough to hold him. We thought that Spike the Alligator Snapping Turtle was so cool. They normally live in the Mississippi river but Spike came to visit us in Rathnure. We didn’t chance getting too close to Spike or holding him because we saw how he could snap a carrot in two with one snap of his jaws. We were so lucky to see all the animals up close and we had great fun. Dave even gave us a certificate at the end to prove that we are “Recognised Reptile and Arachnid Handler’s”. Thank You Dave for a great Jungle Experience.
