SNAKES AND SNAKE HUNTING

by Carl Kauffeld ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

The herpetologist's dream world comes alive in this collection of experiences of the curator of the Staten Island Zoo, who reports them with the care of a scientist and the gentle humor of a person fascinated by his work. The chapters range the United States from Arizona to Florida to New Jersey. They begin in the thirties when the author and three companions motored to Okchobes in the spring to hunt for the Diamondback Rattlesnake. One of the things the author did there was to capture an eight foot Indigo Snake by hurling himself over the ground as it began to crawl away. But the Diamondback was there too, sitting peacefully under the shade of a palm leaf and waiting to be photographed before it was taken in. Hunting snakes at night along the roads (where they come to warm themselves), gauging the proper temperatures for them by the appearance of other reptiles, thorough discussions of habits and physical characteristics- these are only a small measure of the abundance of information in a book that takes, as well, the whole of the out of doors as its concern. There is a very rational plea for the conservation of snakes too. An exciting book not to be overlooked by anyone with the least interest in snakes of in peripheral fields of botany and zoology.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Hanover House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1957

Categories: NONFICTION