Snake Blitz 2025!

World Snake Day was on July 16th, and this year the Wild Nature Institute and the Wild Snake Project collaborated on our annual “Snake Blitz” event with a full week of community education. The aim is to foster a sense of wonder about snakes, and inspire a generation to understand and care for snakes as they do for other wild animals--while also teaching people how to avoid conflicts and what to do if bitten, thus "saving people, saving snakes." During the blitz, scientists and educators reached hundreds of children in the Tarangire region of Tanzania—a place rich in biodiversity, including snakes, and the focal area of Wild Nature Institute's Celebrating Africa’s Giants environmental education program and our long-term giraffe research.

The Snake Blitz was led by snake warriors from Wild Snake Project in Kenya. WSP's Dickson (pictured above) and Collins spent a few days training our two new Wild Nature Institute educators (Patrick and Thomas) about snakes, and how to effectively teach schoolchildren about the importance of snakes in the environment, snake identification, and snake bite first aid. After this training, the entire team visited five different primary schools, teaching 550 children through hands-on games and activities, distributing 700 Swahili-language snake activity books, and bringing 130 children to visit the Meserani Snake Park and Clinic to see snakes up close and personal.

Wild Nature Institute's education program coordinator Veila said “The kids were very happy to learn and see snakes, most of the kids admitted that they have been fighting snakes for no reason, but from now on they will stop that, and they will teach other people that snakes have no problem if they are not disturbed. When they saw a snake, they will leave it, they will tell other not to kill them as well.”

It was a fun and successful week for the Wild Snake Project and Wild Nature Institute, and we thank all of you who made this week memorable!  As always, we are deeply grateful for the support of our funders.