Civic duty

We were invited to the Nature Center, in Springfield, to show off some of our animals, namely the local venomous and non-venomous, to coincide with the Venomous Snakes of Missouri program, put on by one of the naturalists.  For a variety of reasons, they do not have their own venomous animals for display.

The naturalist, Kim Banner, gave a wonderful power-point presentation to a packed auditorum, and then we ushered interested parties to a separate room to view the animals, ask questions, and gather literature.  We had well over 200 people come to the program, and afterwards even more, who just came to see the snakes.

We like doing this to try to persuade, even if its just one person, to not kill each and every herp they see.  We try to show the extreme difference in patterns between prairie kingsnakes and copperheads.  We try to differentiate between watersnakes and cottonmouths, although when in the water, that's a close call for a non-herper, but the majority are just watersnakes.

Is it time consuming?  Sure!  Is it a hassle, as outside temps were in the 90s?  Sure!  Do we get paid?  No!  Would we do it again next year?  Yes!  If it saves one snake's life, it's worthwhile!  And if it brings us one customer who wants to buy some rats or mice to feed their own herps, well, we're there for that reason too!