“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 outdoor area was not evident. “He doesn’t have enough space …
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, we recently purchased a small home near Tucson, Arizona, where …
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 of our plastic ends up at sea and finds itself …
“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 “Texas Snake Man” and who stars on Animal Planet’s …
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. “Sure. What’s the question?” She opened her mouth to continue, …
“A 15 foot Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake – the largest ever caught on record,” declares the latest e-mail we received forwarded from a friend. In fact, even though the dead rattlesnake pictured appeared taller than the man extending it, further inspection revealed that it was merely an optical illusion created by clever photography. Repeated E-mails This …
“What good are they?” a woman recently asked wildlife writer Shannon Jacobs about skunks. “Are you asking what good are they for humans or what good are they for the web of life?” Shannon retorted. Eyes rolled with that comment. Good for What? So what good are skunks? What good are manatees? What good are …