Hey guys,

Here's my take on this and for anyone interested, you can take it for what it's worth. First and foremost, I already sent an email directly to Rick apologizing for getting off topic and questioning his education. I've been a private collector and breeder for over 10 years now which is probably a rookie compared to some of the gents on this thread, but with all my animals, I strive to know the history of the animal which to me is more important than the looks of it. I know that nobody on this thread probably knows who the hell I am and believe it's human nature to question something that isn't in the "norm", especially when you have the number of guys here that know and trust who has logged the most hours hunting each particular locale. Let's get back on topic. I never claimed to have collected or produced animals (yet) from the Study Butte area but have released the name (G.F.) and history behind this locale. Let's take a quick background on the source...for those that know Glenn, he has over 20 years experience hunting in TX and went to school there as well. I contacted Glenn last night only because I felt that I had to defend him in this post. He gave me as many details including the dates and area as best to his knowledge considering that the original female was caught over 15 years ago. In my original post I stated that the original female was caught in 1990 which is what Glenn told me at the beginning of this month. Last night he confirmed the dates and stood to correct himself because he confirmed that it was the summer of 1992 that he went to college in Alpine and that was the year he was doing a lot of travelling to and from Alpine and BBNP. He also stated that 1992 was a VERY wet year and presumably a lot of prey was out which could have allowed some animals to travel longer distances in search of prey (in theory). Regardless, every subsequent year he went back to TX and concentrated on this area since he wanted to pair up his original female. It wasn't until 5 years later that he captured a male. Glenn himself told me that he knew there would be scrutiny regarding this locale which is why he never advertised himself or these animals to make any kind of profit and stated that the few animals he sold this year were only sold for $30. Glenn would have no reason to ever want or need to falsify any of this info. Here's some food for thought:

1) In Rick's original reply, he mentioned that he saw some of these animals for sale and the "story was very similar" only the name was changed and the breeder disappeared. That logistically would only make sense since there are definitely other animals out there from the original breeding...Glenn himself sold one of his last clutches this year before that original male died this year. It's kind of like the old game of "telephone"....somebody hears the story (not in it's entirety) and goes out, breeds the animals, and tries to sell the animals as "rare" only to fill in the missing gaps of the story with possible names, dates, and other info. Rick, not sure if you can shed some background on the person who told you that other story but maybe we can see where the story changes. My info comes directly from the source and the name/story is valid and not changing (with the exception of the date changing from 1990 to 1992).

2) In the email I sent to Rick, I agreed with him that there is no doubt, a lack of suitable habitat in the stretch of land between the town and the entrance to BBNP. It is unlikely to have a population living directly in the Buttes, which would make sense why nobody would care to log the hours doing fruitless hunting in this area. The capture of the original female was more of an accident if you will and created incentive to focus on the area a little more each subsequent year to pair up that female.

3) The word "impossible" is a strong word to use in this case although "unlikely" or even "highly unlikely" is not out of context. The town itself butts up to the Christmas Mountains so it could certainly produce an alterna.



I want to end with a reminder that this original thread was a posting of some of your favorite alterna pictures. The last thing I wanted to do was stir a pot over animals that I myself do not plan on advertising or marketing for sale since they are solely for my private collection. If the source were these animals came from can't be trusted, that would be like saying any animals that you don't collect with your own hands and see with your own eyes should be questioned which some alterna purists feel. Anyways, I still have and will continue to hold a high respect for the alterna nuts who I don't even know on this forum as I appreciate how passionate people get with these snakes. Take care, Barin

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