Zala Park is run by a local schoolteacher who was tired of seeing native species killed by locals out of fear. The park’s ranger ‘ Mohammad’ will introduce you to snakes, monitor lizards, crabs, turtles, dik dik (tiny gazelles) and hyrax, the closest living species to the elephant.

All the animals are living comfortably in a natural habitat. If you show an interest in them Mohammed will take you on a personal tour of the zoo. He may even let you crawl into the python area (caged in a type of chicken wire) to handle the snakes. With some weighing up to 35 kilos you may be left wondering who is handling whom.