Serpent Spinal Injuries
In the evening, snakes often bask on roadways that have warmed by absorbing ultraviolet rays during the day. Because of this, snakes can be run over by passing traffic. “Yeah. We ran over a snake the other day,” several people have told us, “and it…
Wildlife’s Future Caretakers
While leading hikes at national wildlife refuges, we stress at the beginning that we probably will not see any animals, but we will likely see signs they leave – scat (feces), tracks, holes, feathers and fur, bones, etc. Recently we joined Professor Walt Anderson from…
Captive Animals
“That animal is just lying there with nothing to do!” a woman at the zoo where I once volunteered griped, head shaking in disgust. The Siberian tiger she viewed was, indeed, lying in his enclosure, sound asleep. Whether or not he had access to his…
Continuing Education
You don’t stop learning because you grow old; you grow old because you stop learning. When we spotted this slogan in a café in a remote town in Colorado years ago, we realized that one key to youth is continuing education. Influenced by this objective,…
Plastic Problem
What is the most dangerous snake in the world? Could it be the plastic snake? Google “plastic debris in oceans” and over three million sites pop up discussing a problem that has no solution. “Plastic debris is ubiquitous,” according to Inspiration Green, “because so much…
Wrong Impression
“A professional snake handler was bitten by one of his own rattlesnakes while performing a stunt Tuesday night at a downtown Fort Worth hotel,” reported the Dallas-Fort Worth NBC station on February 28, 2012. According to the news report, Jackie Bibby (who is known as…
The Value of Volunteers
A visitor approached me as I was setting up my skulls for display and interpretation at a visitor center one morning. “Can I ask you a question?” she asked breathlessly. “It’s about a bird we saw. Can you help?” I turned and faced the woman….