A 28-year-old man named Neelimkumar Khaire broke the world record in 1986 when he spent 72 hours imprisoned with 72 of the most venomous snake species known in India. He fell in love with reptiles while working for the Maharashtra Tourism Department as the manager of a vacation home in Matheran, near Bombay. He shared a glass cabin with some unusual company: 27 monocellate cobras, 24 Russell’s vipers, 9 binocellate cobras, 8 banded kraits, and 4 common snakes. His goal was to educate people about the fact that snakes do not attack unless they are provoked.
He said that at my place in Matheran, reptiles were regular guests. Since I detested killing such lovely animals—the majority of which were harmless—I took to catching and releasing them in the Sahyadri hills. One day, I caught a snake and took it to the Haffkin Institute in Bombay, where I was informed that it was poisonous and too dangerous to be transported in this manner. This experience gave me courage and sparked my obsession with snakes.
After 72 hours, a worn-out Neelimkumar Khaire emerged from the cage without suffering a single bite from a snake. With the first proceeds from the feat, I will be able to establish a research center and a snake park run by a trust. I put off my parents’ attempts to get me married until I achieved my goal of breaking the world record. Now I am ready. As promised, Neelimkumar Khaire went on to found Katraj Snake Park, which is home to 160 different species of snakes. His love of animals and the natural world led him to found India’s first animal orphanage. Khaire has a diploma in catering and worked as a receptionist at Blue Diamond, a five-star hotel in Pune.
Neelimkumar Khaire has been deeply involved in the study and preservation of snakes for more than forty years. He is the owner of the Indian Herpetological Society and the director of the “Snake Park” and “Rehabilitation Centre for Animals” in Pune. He has also published four award-winning books regarding animals and snakes to date.
Tom Brown: The Apple Hunter Rescuing Over 1,200 Lost Varieties
