Betty 
“Pigmy rattlesnakes are everywhere around here,” people keep telling us as we volunteer on Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge for the winter. But we’d yet to see one, even when we accompanied Dr. Terry Farrell, biology professor at Stetson University, and a couple of his research students searching for pigmies a few weeks ago. New …
Who will care for our natural resources in future years? Because many young people have had little experience in the great outdoors in recent times and some even fear nature, without their appreciation for wildlife and the environment, we risk losing our valuable natural resources. As we have traveled full-time in our RV over the …
When an educational program deteriorates into showmanship and stunts, it no longer serves the purpose of education. On the other hand, a well-done demonstration of a practical, though dangerous, procedure can promote understanding and appreciation of a necessary function. The Stunt A recent Discovery Channel program highlighted a suited-up stuntman attempting to force himself into …
“I have three small children,” a reader wrote us regarding a bullsnake on their land, “and I’m worried about telling them there is a very large snake on the property.” This reader feared her children would be frightened if they knew how large the snake was and how close to their play it explored. Learning …
Stray dogs have no place on a wildlife refuge. So when I encountered an emaciated pit bull in the parking lot of the Florida wildlife refuge we currently are working with, I asked other visitors if it was their dog, guessing that it probably wasn’t. One visitor, however, had fed the dog a piece of …
I’ve always heard that the rainforest is not as dense within its boundaries as it is on the edges where vegetation receives more sunlight. We were able to witness this recently when we accompanied Dr. Terry Farrell (biology professor at Stetson University) and two graduate students, Sarah Smiley and Ethan Royal, as they thrust through …
“I’ve thought of a name for the new snake,” I told Chuck a week before we even went looking for a western hognose to replace Roggen who died a couple months ago. “How about ‘Encore’?” The look on Chuck’s face answered my question. We’d have to give it more thought. Plans for Reptile Show When …