Parting with Hatch
For almost the past ten years we have traveled with four snakes. One of these snakes, our bullsnake Hatch, turned 10 this August. Chuck hatched her out in an incubator at the Denver Zoo after a pair of bullsnakes at Cherry Creek State Park in…
Wildlife Viewing
“Where do I go to find a bear? A moose? A bighorn sheep?” While working at a visitor center, those are some of my least favorite questions. A wildlife refuge or a park is not a zoo. Some locations may be more likely to produce…
Future Herpetologist Revisted
Encountering enthusiastic young people has been a driving force for us in our work as naturalists. While it’s easy to criticize the youth of today (as it has been since the beginning of time), we find it more rewarding to search for those with passion…
Are Snakes Mean?
“Snakes are mean!” a seven-year old boy exclaimed when we asked him if he wanted us to remove one of our snakes from its cage so he could have a closer look. “They’re really mean!” “Snakes aren’t mean,” I told the youngster. “They are neither…
Living on a Wildlife Refuge
“Check with Wyoming Game & Fish to be sure you get the correct information,” I told the clerk at In & Out Burgers who noticed our U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service uniform shirts and asked about shooting coyotes if he has a game license. Many…
Law Enforcement on a National Wildlife Refuge
A glint against the distant hills caught U.S. Fish & Wildlife Officer Walter Duran’s eye as we drove up the dirt road through Desert National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada. To check it out, Walter veered off onto the next side road heading in the…
Classroom Expectations
Over the past nine years visiting classrooms to present our reptile program, we have made mental notes of conduct we appreciate from teachers, staff, and students. Recent Visit One of our most recent visits to an elementary school took us through a decaying neighborhood blemished…