His neighbors have cats and dogs, but when 72-year-old Philippe Gillet settles down to watch television there is usually an alligator dozing beside him. His bungalow in western France is also home to a venomous Gabonese viper, a spitting cobra, a python, alligator turtles that can bite off a finger, tarantulas and scorpions. When someone unfamiliar enters Gillet’s living room, Gator, a two-meter-long (6.5 feet) alligator, growls from under a coffee table. "Calm down,” said Gillet and Gator went back to his snooze near Alli, another dozing alligator.

"When there is a storm he comes to sleep in my bed,” said Gillet. "People think I am mad.” Videos of such episodes and other everyday tales of his deadly menagerie of 400 animals have made Gillet a social media star. They also promote his Inf’Faune charity which aims to educate people about the animals he is so passionate about. Gillet lived in Africa for 20 years, working as a hunting guide. He said he would often catch crocodiles there to keep them away from villages.

Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, opens the door for his crocodile in his house.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, strokes Alli, one of the two alligators who live in his house.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, poses with Alli, one of the two alligators who live in his house.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, holds a bird spider.
This photograph taken at the house of French Philippe Gillet shows his cobras, in Coueron.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, poses with pogonas, australian lezards in his house.
This photograph taken at the house of French Philippe Gillet shows his pogonas, Australian lezards in Coueron.

Back in France, he became a herpetologist - a specialist on reptiles and amphibians. He made his base in Coueron, west of Nantes, with his partner, their children, and the animals. In the garden is Nilo, a Nile crocodile, who Gillet said was "one of the most dangerous species”. Chickens wandered by scratching for food. Most of the animals were bought or given to him by people who could no longer care for them. France’s customs department has also sometimes turned to him.

Look but don’t touch

"You cannot just free them,” said Gillet. "With global warming, freed cobras could reproduce and spread. Is that what we are going to leave our kids?” Financing his passion has become a problem since the Coronavirus epidemic however. His association could no longer organize fund-raising open days to show off the animals to the public. That used to bring in 100,000 euros ($105,000) a year. Now his social media videos are the main way he gets the conservation message across. He chooses a different animal for each video, mixing education and humor "to demystify the legends and preconceptions about wild animals”.

Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, lights a scorpio with a black light in his house, in Coueron.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, kisses his parrot in his house, in Coueron.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, seizes a bird spider in his house, in Coueron.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, poses with his parrot in his house, in Coueron.
This photograph taken at the house of French Philippe Gillet shows his crocodile Nilo enjoying the sun in Coueron.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, pulls Alli, one of the two alligators who live in his house, in Coueron.
Frenchman Philippe Gillet, 72, feeds a falcon as his crocodile Nilo wants to get out in his house, in Coueron.

Inf’Faune built up 100,000 YouTube followers in its first four months and now has 200,000. Gillet also has 700,000 TikTok followers. The revenues allow Gillet and the 20 volunteers who help him feed the animals. But Gillet is still concerned about the future as he ages. "Alligators can live up to 100 on average and Alli and Gator are about 30. The volunteers will have to take over,” he said.

He is already training the volunteers on looking after the animals and wants to set up a specialized refuge for reptiles far from the suburbs where there would be less need for cages and pens. With his Internet following, Gillet has already raised 15,000 euros for the center. "There are refuges for dogs and cats, why not for these unloved” species. — AFP