WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Therapist Ariane believes the vampire-style feeds could even extend his lifespan.
A therapist who bonds with his three giant pet leeches by letting them suck his blood once a month, claims the vampire-style feeding sessions have improved his health and could even extend his lifespan.
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Ariane and one of his pet snakes (Collect/PA Real Life)
Ariane bonds with his pet leeches by letting them suck his blood (Collect/PA Real Life)
Warning graphic image: Ariane bonds with his pet leeches by letting them suck his blood (Collect/PA Real Life)
Leeches on Ariane's face (Collect/PA Real Life)
The leeches roam freely around Ariane's bedroom at his family home (Collect/PA Real Life)
Ariane also has eight-foot anaconda snakes (Collect/PA Real Life)
One of Ariane's anaconda snakes (Collect/PA Real Life)
Ariane with his snakes at home (Collect/PA Real Life)
Ariane and one of his pet snakes (Collect/PA Real Life)
Placing the three predatory worms he calls his “children” on his left arm, Ariane Khomjani, 22, watches them grow up to 15 inches long, as they gorge on his blood – knowing they are capable of drinking 10 times their own body weight.
Letting them out of their aquarium, to roam freely around his bedroom at his family home in Walnut Creek, California, USA, when he is home, Ariane regularly strokes the pets, which he adores, saying: “People are only scared of what they don’t understand.”
He continued: “In fact, there are so many medicinal uses to leech feeding that we in the West are now only starting to realise.
Ariane bonds with his pet leeches by letting them suck his blood (Collect/PA Real Life)
“Having leeches suck your blood can help with circulation, arthritis, complexion and even extend your lifespan.
“I play a lot of tennis and if ever I have any soreness in my arms, I put a leech on and the pain goes away – it’s incredible.”
Calling his Asian buffalo leeches – native to the swamps of southern India – Laera, Liidra and Lykra, they are the latest proud addition to Ariane’s exotic pet collection, which includes four eight-foot anaconda snakes and a carnivorous Galapagos centipede called Cax.
Warning graphic image: Ariane bonds with his pet leeches by letting them suck his blood (Collect/PA Real Life)
His taste for slithery companions also brought him human love, after his student girlfriend Mackenzie Lynn, 18, spotted his snake and leech-themed Instagram page and got in touch.
Speaking fondly of Mackenzie, who shares his fascination for tropical creatures, he continued: “It’s really cool to meet a girl who is as into reptiles as I am – you really don’t meet many girls who are like that.”
Leeches on Ariane's face (Collect/PA Real Life)
Keen to dispel negative perceptions of slippery animals, Ariane insists his peculiar pets regard him as a parent.
He continued: “People often say to me that keeping these sorts of pets is dangerous, that I should watch out because one day the snakes might start sizing me up, or the leeches might bleed me dry.
“But, once they become comfortable with you, they’re not dangerous at all. I’ve raised them all since they were small enough to wrap around my little finger and they mean a lot to me, like they are my kids.”
The leeches roam freely around Ariane's bedroom at his family home (Collect/PA Real Life)
Keeping various smaller reptiles and insects, like snakes, scorpions and lizards at his parents’ house throughout his teens, they were delighted that he took such an avid interest in zoology.
As a youngster, Ariane even went to educational sideshows around his home state, where collectors would show off their pets.
He said: “One time, at one of these shows, I met a guy who had an anaconda. It was the first time I had seen one and I thought it was amazing, so I started researching them and from then on dreamed about having one of my own.”
Gaining experience with smaller bull snakes, Ariane’s dreams were realised when, aged 17, he bought his first yellow anaconda, Annie, for $300 (£230) later acquiring three more, Allie, Amy and Ana.
Ariane also has eight-foot anaconda snakes (Collect/PA Real Life)
But the collector’s thirst for the exotic creatures was not entirely quenched until he bought his giant leeches.
After seeing a YouTube video of a giant buffalo leech sucking a man’s blood, it became his mission to own some.
“I saw this thing and thought, ‘Can that be real? And if it is, I want one!'” he said.
Buying three baby leeches from a dealer in Holland for $60 (£45) dollars each, Ariane soon began feeding them with his own blood, to make them grow as fast as possible.
“I’ve tried all sorts of places on my legs and arms,” said Ariane, who feeds his snakes with frozen rats, which he buys in bulk.
He added: “Now I usually just do my left arm, because they’ve got used to feeding there.
“The initial bite, when they are attaching themselves to you, can hurt. It feels a bit like thousands of tiny needles pricking your skin. But once they’re on, it feels fine and there’s a very relieving sensation to it.”
One of Ariane's anaconda snakes (Collect/PA Real Life)
Ariane typically allows his leeches to suck up a pint of his blood – roughly a tenth of the amount held within an average person’s body – at each mealtime.
As they feed, he watched them inflate like water balloons, growing by up to 15 inches, when they are full.
Singing their virtues as the “perfect pets,” he said: “Having a snake or a leech is not like having a dog or a cat because they don’t actively seek your affection.”
Ariane with his snakes at home (Collect/PA Real Life)
He added: “But I’m at a stage with them now where they feel completely happy with me being around them and don’t feel threatened by me. That’s the highest form of respect you can have from them. “Some people might think it’s weird keeping these sorts of pets, because they think of them as scary or creepy.
“But I always say to them, ‘Before you get scared by animals, find out what they’re really about – and you never know, you might like them.'”
BEIJING (AP) — Firecrackers popped, incense was offered at temples and dancers and drummers paraded Wednesday in Asia and farther afield as millions around the world celebrated the Lunar New Year.
From Beijing to Havana, the holiday — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated in many countries. Wednesday marked the start of the Year of the Snake, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.
Throngs of people in down jackets filled a Beijing park for a “temple fair” on a sunny but chilly day. Some rang bells and tossed coins into containers in the shape of gold bars for good luck, while others ate traditional snacks from food stalls and took photos with a person dressed up as the God of Wealth.
The Lunar New Year is a time to wish for good luck and prosperity in the coming year for oneself and others.
“The past year was a very busy one for me, because I had to take care of both my kid and my work,” said Beijing resident Jiang Hecang. "In the Year of the Snake, I wish my kid will grow healthily and my work can remain stable. Then I can be happy enough.”
In Malaysia, the crackling of firecrackers greeted the new year outside Guan Di temple in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, followed by lion dances to the rhythmic beat of drums and small cymbals.
Ethnic Chinese held incense sticks in front of them and bowed several times inside the temple before sticking the incense into elaborate gold-colored pots, the smoke rising from the burning tips.
Hundreds of people lined up on the eve of the Lunar New Year at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid to be among the first to put incense sticks in the stands in front of the temple’s main hall at 11 p.m.
“I wish my family will be blessed. I hope my business will run well. I pray for my country and wish people peace. I hope this coming year is a better year,” said Ming So, who visits the temple every year for the late-night ritual.
Online, Google joined in with the festivities Wednesday by featuring the classic snake game on its homepage.
Many Chinese who work in bigger cities return home during the eight-day national holiday in what is described as the world’s biggest annual movement of humanity. The exodus turns Beijing, China's capital, into a bit of a ghost town, with many shops closed and normally crowded roads and subways emptied.
Traditionally, Chinese families gather for a festive dinner at home on New Year's Eve. On the Lunar New Year, many visit temples to pray and attend temple fairs to watch performances and buy snacks, toys and other trinkets.
“I bring my children here to experience the atmosphere, because the New Year atmosphere ... is fading,” Beijing resident Wang Xinxin said at a temple fair at Ditan Park, the former Temple of Earth in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
“Children like mine don’t have much idea what New Year was like in Beijing before, but here we can still see some elements of it,” Wang said.
The government has curtailed non-official celebrations, with major cities outlawing the noisy firecrackers that once reverberated around Beijing and left some blocks enshrouded in smoke.
Many Chinese take advantage of the extended holiday to travel in the country and abroad. Ctrip, an online booking agency that operates Trip.com, said the most popular overseas destinations this year are Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Macao and Vietnam.
In Moscow, Russians cheered, waved and took smartphone photos of drummers, costumed dancers and long dragon and snake figures held aloft in a colorful procession that kicked off a 10-day Lunar New Year festival on Tuesday night.
The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened ties since 2022, in part to push back against what they see as U.S. dominance of the world order.
Visitors shouted “Happy New Year” in Russian and expressed delight at being able to experience Chinese food and culture in Moscow, including folk performances and booths selling snacks and artwork.
Cuba’s small Chinese community celebrated the Lunar New Year on Tuesday night with a parade of glowing lanterns and dragons winding their way through the narrow streets of Chinatown.
The island was once home to one of the largest and oldest Chinese communities in the Americas. Now, a much smaller community celebrates major holidays with a Cuban twist, blending rum and cigars with traditional Chinese cuisine.
Associated Press video journalists Wayne Zhang in Beijing; Alice Fung in Hong Kong; Syawalludin Zain in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Vladimir Kondrashov in Moscow; and Milexsy Durán and Ariel Fernández in Havana contributed to this story.
A visitor offers prayer at a Chinese temple to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year which marks the Year of the Snake on the Chinese zodiac Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, at China Town in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The usually busy stairs at a train station are empty as most people working in Beijing have left to celebrate with their families at home for the coming Lunar New Year in China on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A usually busy road is almost empty as most people working in Beijing have left to celebrate with their families at home for the coming Lunar New Year in China on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People burn incense as they offer prayer on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at the Dongyue Temple in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
People touch during a lion dance performance at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
People write wishes on a red cloth roll as people visit a temple fair held at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
People tour by stores as they visit a temple fair held at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A man cheers a child with a wooden windmill toy as people visit a temple fair held at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A woman touches bells for luck as people gather at the Ditan Temple Fair on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People place incenses at Quan Su pagoda on the first day of the Lunar New Year in Hanoi, Vietnam Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
People pray on the first day of the Lunar New Year at Quan Su pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A performer juggles plates during a presentation at the crowded Ditan Temple Fair on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People watch as an artist performs an acrobatic lion dance at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
An artist shouts as he performs an acrobatic lion dance at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Chinese artists perform a lion dance at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Worshippers visit a temple to pray on the first day of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Worshippers visit a temple to pray on the first day of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Chinese artists perform a lion dance during a Lunar New Year celebration at Chinatown in Yangon, Myanmar, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
A lion dance head is displayed to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year which marks the Year of the Snake on the Chinese zodiac Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, at China Town in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Malaysian ethnic Chinese pray on the first day of Lunar New Year at Guandi Temple, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A woman in a traditional costume prays on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Lama Temple in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A man holding incense sticks prays on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Lama Temple in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Chinese people offer candles and pray at a temple during their New Year day of the Snake at Chinatown in Yangon, Myanmar, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
People holding incense sticks pray on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Lama Temple in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
An Ethnic Chinese Thai lights joss sticks at Trai Mit Temple to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Ethnic Chinese Thais pray at Leng Nuei Yee Temple to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Worshippers burn incense sticks to pray at a temple on the first day of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Ethnic Chinese Thai lay down candles after praying at the Leng Nuei Yee temple to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
People bow to respect for their ancestors in North Korea, on the Lunar New Year near the military barbed-wire fence at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A woman takes photos as she visits the Ditan Temple Fair on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A Malaysian ethnic Chinese family takes picture on the first day of Lunar New Year at Guandi Temple, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A performer dressed in a lion costume scares a girl as he dances the traditional Chinese Lion Dance at the start of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in Havana, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man holding incense sticks prays on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Lama Temple in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
An Ethnic Chinese Thai prays at Kwong Siew Shrine to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)