7-year-old Uorn Sambath sleep with his python friend, Chamroeun.
Bond between 7-year-old boy, Sambath, and massive python,Chamroeun, draws attention .
The Associated Press
SETBO VILLAGE, Cambodia – The little boy regularly sleeps in the massive coil of a 16-foot-long, 220-pound python. He rides it. He kisses it. He even pats it down with baby powder.
"There is a special bond between them," said Khuorn Sam Ol, father of 7-year-old Uorn Sambath. "My son played with the snake when he was still learning to crawl. They used to sleep together in a cradle."
The boy and his reptile have become a tourist attraction in Setbo, about 12 miles south of the capital Phnom Penh, as well as a source of wonder to the locals.
"People sometimes call the boy and the snake husband and wife," said neighbor Cheng Raem. "Maybe they were a couple from a previous life."
The python joined the family when Uorn Sambath was 3 months old. His mother, Kim Kannara, discovered the thumb-sized creature coiled beneath a woven mat on their bed.
Khuorn Sam Ol took the snake to some bushes by a local river but two weeks later found it back inside the house. He decided to keep it and named it Chamroeun, which means progress in English.
Wildlife and police officials used to come by to try to take the snake to a zoo.
But they relented after seeing Uorn Sambath cuddling with the reptile.
"I will not let anyone take her away from me, either," the little boy declared, kissing his pet on the head. "I love her very much."
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
SETBO VILLAGE, Cambodia – The little boy regularly sleeps in the massive coil of a 16-foot-long, 220-pound python. He rides it. He kisses it. He even pats it down with baby powder.
"There is a special bond between them," said Khuorn Sam Ol, father of 7-year-old Uorn Sambath. "My son played with the snake when he was still learning to crawl. They used to sleep together in a cradle."
The boy and his reptile have become a tourist attraction in Setbo, about 12 miles south of the capital Phnom Penh, as well as a source of wonder to the locals.
"People sometimes call the boy and the snake husband and wife," said neighbor Cheng Raem. "Maybe they were a couple from a previous life."
The python joined the family when Uorn Sambath was 3 months old. His mother, Kim Kannara, discovered the thumb-sized creature coiled beneath a woven mat on their bed.
Khuorn Sam Ol took the snake to some bushes by a local river but two weeks later found it back inside the house. He decided to keep it and named it Chamroeun, which means progress in English.
Wildlife and police officials used to come by to try to take the snake to a zoo.
But they relented after seeing Uorn Sambath cuddling with the reptile.
"I will not let anyone take her away from me, either," the little boy declared, kissing his pet on the head. "I love her very much."
The Associated Press
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