Named Ali and Gator, they stalk the 67 year-old Frenchman's house, along with hundreds of other creatures including some of nature's most-maligned species from rattlesnakes to tarantulas.

Over two decades the herpetologist -- the technical word for a reptile enthusiast -- has amassed a collection 400 strong in his unassuming house in a village on the banks of the River Loire.

A cobra lives in the coffee table, a 50kg tortoise roams the garden and at night Ali, the dominant alligator of the pair, sleeps with Gillet while Gator keeps watch at the door.