Every child is unique and finds joy in different things. While other children may be terrified by the sight of a 16-foot python, little Emi giggles and invites her long, slender friend for a tea party. Emi and Cher are two of the most unlikely friends the world has ever seen.
In this recent story, Emi, a toddler is friends with a long, 16-foot python. Thankfully, Cher is domestic and trusts Emi wholeheartedly. Emi’s father hopes that their relationship will change the stigma behind such massive snakes.
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video.
Emi and her slithery friend, Cher, are the best of friends. Of course, one may wonder how exactly a young child like Emi and such a massive snake came to be such close friends. Emi’s father, Ed Taoka comments on this unlikely friendship:
“Over the years, they’ve grown together. They’re just very used to each other’s company. When I introduced Emi to Cher, Emi was about 2-years-old and Cher was quite a tiny snake.”
Clearly, much has changed since then and both friends have equally grown since then. Pythons are usually one of the least sought-out pets due to their frightening capabilities. These massive constrictors are famous for their live feeding, bite/fatality, and scare videos, however, Ed Taoka attempts to change the stigma surrounding pythons.
“My daughter would just hold Cher in her hand at the time, but now Cher’s so big she couldn’t even lift her up.”
Cher and Emi had a clear bond that has been forged over years of friendship. While other children might become terrified at the image of a snake crawling near them, Emi enjoys having Cher crawl onto her head and body.
Ed claims that all interactions between the two are highly safe because he is always supervising them. Cher can often be found cuddling with Emi or just wrapped around her while Emi is on her laptop or watching TV. Resting on Emi seems to be one of her most favorite hobbies.
“She’ll just come up onto the couch and rest on my daughter through most of it,” Ed states.
However, he had to ensure that all interactions would be safe even before letting Cher near his daughter. He told Animal Channel more about the training process:
“I spent every day, multiple times a day with Cher, just getting her used to human interaction. On the other front, I needed to make sure my daughter genuinely knew how to be gentle. As soon as she understood what she needed to do, no grabbing no poking, just being gentle and respectful that’s all I needed from her, was to behave how I behave. And she proved that to me.”
While Emi and Cher are close friends, they are still not allowed to be alone together. The reason for this is Cher’s carnivorous nature. Of course, like any other snake, she has animalistic instincts that could break through at any time. Consequently, Ed is always supervising all interactions. Also, Emi is not allowed to feed Cher until she is much older.
Ed hopes that this friendship can help clear the air and remove all stigmas about such snakes. Cher is actually pretty gentle and less aggressive than his pet cats.
Ed hopes that this friendship can help clear the air and remove all stigmas about such snakes. Cher is actually pretty gentle and less aggressive than his pet cats.
“No one gets to see the good nature of these animals and what they’re really like when they’re not being stressed out. As soon as a large constrictor is shown with anything, it’s always a bad negative perception. The snakes haven’t bitten us, the cats have bitten us and scratched us. Cher is probably the most gentle snake I’ve ever owned.” — Ed Taoka
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