It started as a bit of a joke for April Fool's day. A zoo in North East Lincolnshire put out an appeal for a fearless window cleaner to clamber inside its alligator and snake pits to shine the glass of the enclosures. But after thinking it over, bosses at the Jungle Zoo in Cleethorpes decided a window cleaner would be ideal to speed up the cleaning process. And after a public appeal, they said they were inundated with offers from people brave enough to tackle the task. Bernard Bale, spokesman for the Jungle Zoo, said the first window cleaner to get in touch was Jim Allen, 42, of Cleethorpes. Mr Allen will begin his new role in the coming weeks. He will be working inside enclosures which contain, among other things, Caiman alligators, 15ft Burmese pythons and a yellow anaconda. Mr Bale said: "Jim didn't think he would be frightened, though he did say 'I don't have to go in on my own do I?' "There will be a member of staff with him at all times when he is inside." He joked: "We've kept a note of the other people who came forward in case he loses a leg." Al Verlaine, owner of Jungle Zoo, said staff had been cleaning the windows themselves but had decided they wanted a professional to speed the process up. He said: "The outside is easy - the inside is a problem. "The main trouble when you come to clean the glass in the inside of an alligator pit is that they are naturally inquisitive, therefore they all come forward to have a look at what you're doing. "And of course if your hand goes too close or your foot goes too close, they will take a bite, and that's really to see what you're made of."
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Alligator pit window cleaner found
It started as a bit of a joke for April Fool's day. A zoo in North East Lincolnshire put out an appeal for a fearless window cleaner to clamber inside its alligator and snake pits to shine the glass of the enclosures. But after thinking it over, bosses at the Jungle Zoo in Cleethorpes decided a window cleaner would be ideal to speed up the cleaning process. And after a public appeal, they said they were inundated with offers from people brave enough to tackle the task. Bernard Bale, spokesman for the Jungle Zoo, said the first window cleaner to get in touch was Jim Allen, 42, of Cleethorpes. Mr Allen will begin his new role in the coming weeks. He will be working inside enclosures which contain, among other things, Caiman alligators, 15ft Burmese pythons and a yellow anaconda. Mr Bale said: "Jim didn't think he would be frightened, though he did say 'I don't have to go in on my own do I?' "There will be a member of staff with him at all times when he is inside." He joked: "We've kept a note of the other people who came forward in case he loses a leg." Al Verlaine, owner of Jungle Zoo, said staff had been cleaning the windows themselves but had decided they wanted a professional to speed the process up. He said: "The outside is easy - the inside is a problem. "The main trouble when you come to clean the glass in the inside of an alligator pit is that they are naturally inquisitive, therefore they all come forward to have a look at what you're doing. "And of course if your hand goes too close or your foot goes too close, they will take a bite, and that's really to see what you're made of."
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