Living on a Wildlife Refuge
“Do you live out in the wild?” The fourth grader who asked this as we finished a classroom presentation to prepare his class for their fieldtrip to Imperial National Wildlife Refuge appeared quite serious. We weren’t sure how to handle the question.
Feeding the Snakes
It happened again. This time a park ranger brought us a headless baby rabbit. “I thought your snakes would like to eat this,” she said, cuddling the lifeless remains in her hands. “The cat here loves to capture baby rabbits and decapitate them.”
Lookin’ for Lizards
Locating snakes, we find, is more difficult than spotting lizards. Over a period of a couple weeks, we’ve seen three rattlesnakes, two patchnose snakes, a coachwhip, and a gopher snake. On just one two-hour hike, however, we observed seven different species of lizards.
Snakes after Dark
One activity Chuck and I enjoy this time of year at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge is driving the road in the evening, searching for snakes that have slithered out to take advantage of pavement that holds warmth from the day’s high temperatures. Although we hadn’t seen a snake for some time, tonight we went trolling for wildlife.
Snake Doctor
By the time a snake or other reptile appears ill, it is usually too late to treat it. Because their metabolism is slow, they don’t react quickly to medication. So when our gartersnake, Karma, developed a lump near her stomach area, we debated whether or not to take her to the veterinarian.
Education Tarantula
Earlier this year while driving through Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, we encountered a tarantula crossing the road. Instead of moving it to safety, we collected the spider and placed him on display in the visitor center.
Be a Volunteer in Demand
Five years of volunteering at national wildlife refuges has brought my husband Chuck and me into contact with many other volunteers whom we’ve enjoyed working with and living near in our RVs.