The Tukur & Tukur Snakes Farm is the first of its kind and has got people stopping by to satisfy their curiosity, with the number of visitors increasing meteorically each passing day.
The Chief of Army Staff, Buratai being decorated by President Buhari and VP Osinbajo
An exclusive report on The Leadership reveals that Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, has a Snake Farm which is located at Gora in Karu LGA in Nasarawa State, about 40 kilometres from the FCT Abuja.
The Tukur & Tukur Snakes Farm evokes both the curiosity and imagination of passersby and visitors. The reason is not far-fetched as the snake is generally regarded as man’s sworn enemy only meant to be killed at first sight which makes keeping it as pet or for whatever reason unthinkable to many.
The Tukur & Tukur Snakes Farm is the first of its kind in this part of the globe and has got people stopping by the farm to satisfy their curiosity, with the number of visitors increasing meteorically each passing day.
As if to make matters even more perplexing than it is already, the snake farm has an expansive children’s playground fitted with amazing playing equipment and many wonder which kind of parents would take their children to a snake farm to catch some fun, especially when the snake showroom is located only a hundred metres from the playground.
A visit to the farm will, however, dispel every fear and replace it with awe and admiration at how graceful and picturesque the colorful creatures are, especially watching them move majestically in seamless traffic behind their fortified glass cages.
Unlike in the United States or China where a wide variety of snakes is often farmed for the purpose of research and the collection of venom for the creation of antivenom, the Gora snake farm is primarily a tourist attraction, says the farm manager, Kabir Abdulmalik.
Entrance to the farm located along the Abuja-Keffi expressway
Abdulmalik said although the farm previously had over 13 species of snakes, it currently has only three due to the insecurity in Borno State from where they got most of their supplies, especially pythons.
On the farm, the very aggressive and venomous species, like the cobra and black mamba, are housed together while the non-aggressive and non-poisonous ones are kept together.
In order to ensure a stable diet for the snakes, various species of rats are also reared on the farm and fed to the snakes. Frogs are also sourced from the wild as alternative menu.
Abdulmalik explained that the farm also provides members of the public with services ranging from snake evacuation from homes, offices and business premises to treatment of snake bites.
He further stated that snake farming for tourist attraction was the first step towards the opening of a comprehensive zoo with more species of reptiles and other animals, adding that the farm also has a collection of various types of ostriches and peacocks new to this part of the world.
The snake farm, a subsidiary which has stolen the limelight from Tukur & Tukur Farms Ltd, is only a recreational aspect of the agricultural conglomerate which is into farming of Chinese vegetables, fish farming, general crop production and tractor hiring.
Seated on a 20-hectare piece of land, the farm reportedly has over 50 staffers in its employ. It has branches in Kaduna and other northern states
