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Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

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The Conversation: Snake Rescuers: Dr Madhurita Gupta and Julia Baker

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Dr Madhurita Gupta and Julie Baker

29/02/2016 GMT

Snake Rescuers: Dr Madhurita Gupta and Julia Baker

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Snake Rescuers: Dr Madhurita Gupta and Julia Baker

Two women whose world revolves around snakes as they rescue them in India and Australia

'I get literally goose bumps' - snake rescuers in India and Australia share their passion for handling the reptiles and describe people's shock at seeing a woman doing this job.

Dr Madhurita Gupta grew up in a research institute in Rajasthan. Her father was a scientist and she was exposed to different species of wildlife from an early age. She held her first snake, a sand boa, aged 15 and describes the experience as 'divine'. She says she still gets goose bumps when she holds one of the reptiles because of excitement, not fear. Madhurita is now the chief vet at an animal clinic in Mumbai and runs a snake rescue service.  She says she can get up to 10 calls a day, but only goes out to relocate a snake if it is inside someone's property.

Julia Baker grew up in England and Germany before settling in Australia in her 20s. She started her career as a five-star pastry chef, but a life-changing experience led Julia to follow her passions and become a snake catcher.  Julia has her own reality TV show called Snake Boss, or Snake Sheila, which follows her as she rescues snakes from people's properties and relocates them in the bush nearby. According to Julia fear is the biggest threat to snakes, as it can quickly turn to hatred and lead to people mistreating them, so she does what she can to educate people about the reptiles.   

(Photo: Dr Madhurita Gupta (L), Julia Baker (R) Credit: Deb Nash)

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