September 6, 2006
President Cindy appears to be making sure Ed's hand is empty as she
thanks
him for the program.
A special note:
Secretary Sandy White deserves the credit for the great write-up this
week.
Thanks Sandy for filling in and getting so much detail on the
"pets".
'SNAKEHEAD" ED VISITS ATTICA-WILLIAMSPORT ROTARY CLUB
Retired Middle School Teacher, Ed Ferrer, visited the Attica-Williamsport Rotary Club on September 6, 2006 and brought along some "interesting" pets. Ed taught school for 30 years and was always looking for ways to get kids interested in science. He tried many different tricks, but finally hit the right button when he started bringing snakes into the classroom. His kids became so interested, that he took them on tours all over the mid-west to visit displays of snakes in museum, parks, zoos, etc. He had a total of 18 snakes in his classroom when he retired.
Once Ed retired, he decided to take his show on the road and has been entertaining school children, day cares, scout troops, libraries, attending birthday parties and groups, such as Rotary. He has snakes from all over the world in his collection.
Ed was quick to point out four very important safeguards when working with snakes:
1. They do not see very well
2. They do not hear very well
3. They do not like fast movement
4. They do not like to be touched on the head
If an individual is looking to collect snakes, a good place to start is with a Corn Snake. He showed us, "Reba", a real red-headed beauty. Notice how her tongue flicks in and out as she chemically analyzes whether you are a friend or a foe.
Next, he presented Zorro, his Mexican Black King Snake-what a handsome devil he was-although Judy Hollander did not get a real good look at him as she was sitting in the other room carefully watching each step Ed made when meandering around the room with his friend.
Ed asked if there were any poisonous snakes in Indiana, and in response, several members said, "Yes!". Wrong! In order to be poisonous, you would have to eat them-there are "venomous" snakes in Indiana. Actually, there are four varieties in Indiana. There are rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, water moccasins and copperheads.
Ed was asked if he ever suffered a snake bite and he said, "yes" when a snake mistook his hand for the warm rat he was ready to feed it.
Out of his bag of tricks, came a Coral Snake, the most venomous snake there is. Trick of the trade-if the snake is brightly colored-stay away! Everyone was on the edge of their seats while this slithery creature made its rounds. Then Ed informed us that this was really a harmless Milk Snake, known as Rainbow, commonly confused with the Coral and then he shared the following tidbit.
Red on yellow - kill the fellow,
Red on black - OK Jack
If you find a snake in the wild, simply leave it alone. They are not ordinarily aggressive, they just want to go on their merry way.
Next, Ed shared his African snake, also a good beginning snake for a collector. His Ball Python, Barry, will wrap himself into a ball when he feels threatened.
From Central and South Africa, Ed introduced us to Vincent, his Boa Constrictor. Vincent was adopted when Ed was contacted by the Animal Control when the pet owner decided they are no longer were interested in keeping the pet and dumped him out in the wild. Fortunately for Vincent, Ed came along and made him a part of his family.
Snakes usually shed about 3 times a year. The longest snake on record is a Reticulated Python measuring in at 32 feet 9 inches. There is currently a $30,000 reward available if anyone finds a Reticulated Python measuring 30 feet. Because their habitats are disappearing, they are rare, indeed. The Anaconda, rates second place as far as size is concerned.
The rule of thumb when showing snakes is that any snake over 8 feet long requires two handlers. Having made that statement, Ed asked for a volunteer. Wouldn't you know it, up pops the Award Winning Cookie Baker, Mark Mason. This Reticulated Python is 3 years old and measures about 11 feet in length. His name is Tigger-but he is no "pussy-cat".
The largest Burmese in captivity can be found at Gurney Mills, measuring 27 feet and weighing 300 pounds. Normally, the Burmese is brown, black and white, but Ed had a very special treat with him today. At this point, he asked for a female volunteer from the group. Amazingly, neither Judy Hollander, nor shy Valerie Maus, jumped up to help-but here comes guest and Rotarian Want-To-Be, Lisa Rainwater. Gorgeous George, a 12 foot, 65 pound albino Burmese Python charmed us all.
When asked why he works with snakes, Ed told us he enjoys teaching people about nature and the creatures around us.
To see all of Doug's picture of the program participants please click .....>>MORE