Naja melanoleuca

that is an incredibly stupid handling act,especially for the sake of a pose, sorry.

LOL. The snake is much farther away than it appears. I assure you that I am quite safe in this picture. Thanks for your concern.

I am sure the snake is quite a distance, but at the same time, if that snake wants to bite....there is very little you would be able to do about it. Nice pose though

I aggree with "The Brad Prince" That snakes is well within strikingrange judging that you're arm is curved it can't be far from you're face. And most important, you setting a bad example. You giving the impresion to less experienced people that the the'se kind of snakes are not so dangerous as they realy are in reality.

First off, cameras do distort the perception of distance, and he might very well look a lot closer than he actually is. From the look of the pic (to me at least) he is at a safe distance and out of strike range. Keep in mind that he is an experienced handler, and this is not something someone should do if they don't have the experience with the animal. I have talked to Tad a few times and never got the impression he didn't know what he was doing or saying.

Oh, oke.

I am sure he is a good distance away. I have a pic on here of me with one of my C. cerastes that looks a lot closer than it accually was.

Thanks for clearing that up.

This is an Amazing photo 1st off.
Even if this snake was at striking distance its the handlers choice and risk, if your the type of person to copy and get hurt you'll usually find these type will find one way or another to mess up. A good handler or owner of any pet makes sure he/she knows how to read the animal as best he can (look at the handlers eyes, he's got a close eye on it!). I suggest people who think this is stupid should contact Steve Erwin/John O'shey/Austin stevens for not only putting them selves in dangerous situations but in Steve Erwin and Austin Stevens cases they often get bitten (some even staged so i hear!!!!!just for entertainment) Now that is something worth while to complain about. Not cause he put a photo like this on a website where mainly people who are interested in snakes anyway and know right from wrong come to visit?