“Hey! There’s a moose and her calf over there!” a visitor to Grand Teton National Park shouted at us as we started a hike on a trail we’d taken many times before. As the visitor and his wife hurried across the sagebrush in the direction of the mother and young, we continued on the trail. …
Venom can kill. It can also make money and, more importantly, save lives. “Why is venom, filled with deadly toxins, now a leading contender for lifesaving drugs on so many medical fronts?” asks PBS documentary, Venom, A Production of NOVA and National Geographic Television. What Good are Snakes? For several years now, while presenting reptile …
“I remove rattlesnakes from my property myself,” a neighbor told us. “In two pieces!” Recently we purchased a small home on two acres in a rural area near Tucson, Arizona. Because we chose the property for its native vegetation and wildlife that it attracted, we assumed others who live here share our values. For the …
Most people don’t go looking for snakes, particularly venomous snakes. Most people especially don’t want to encounter one. On the other hand, we seek them out – but not always successfully. Recently, our friend Bryon Shipley, long-time rattlesnake researcher and Denver Zookeeper, visited us at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge for his annual trek to the …
“I can’t stand to even look at a snake!” a visitor to the Plains Conservation Center in Aurora, Colorado, once assured me. But within 15 minutes, after I had convinced her to actually hold the kingsnake I carried, she changed her mind as the snake glided within her fingers. “It feels so soothing!” she said. …
Since we don’t subscribe to cable, we rarely see Animal Planet. However, we have been under the impression that this channel promotes educational and factual information regarding the natural world. Recently, however, we watched a program called “Rattlesnake Republic” on Animal Planet while visiting friends. The program portrayed several so-called snake handlers wrestling snakes in …
Growing up in Maryland, I longed to visit a dude ranch. I expected to ride horses and talk with cowboys and drink in the western experience. I didn’t expect to encounter a rattlesnake. My father instilled in me a fear of snakes that I gradually overcame years later while volunteering as a docent at the …