It was a great week in the Phoenix area (HOT...but very dry unlike our terribly humid Midwest climate) as I attended and spoke at the IHS (Eastern Indigos and Sedge Vipers). Although the other speakers were fantastic and I enjoyed all of them, I enjoyed my nightly forays in the Tucson area the most looking for rattlesnakes and other herps. I caught my first Tiger (tigris) and saw several other species; a lyre snake was especially attractive. My family and I got to enjoy these outings together which made it even more special. The weirdest thing we saw was a short stretch of road in which 100's of tarantulas were crawling across the street....I laid down in the middle and let them all just walk right over me much to my daughters' horror; it was quite a strange experience (and a strange thing to do...but I am sure a few of you would have done the same!).

I was pleasantly surprised by how many folks were interested in my eastern indigo talk. For those of you who couldn't make it, it was another fabulous event and I would encourage everyone to try to make next year's (I believe its in San Antonio...and I hear that there's a populatio of HUGE atrox just south of there). I learned quite a bit and took back a lot of info that will help us improve our husbandry program. A big thanks goes out to Dean, Doug and Dirk Stevenson for the great info that they have provided to me over the years. Dirk also provided some incredible field shots that everyone loved. I spoke to a number of curators at zoos and found it surprising as to how few zoos in the couperi's natural range keep this species. We (now speaking as a private hobbyist working with couperi) need to go the extra step in inviting museums, nature centers and zoos to take donations of offspring from the private sector. I realize that some folks need to make a living but even donating one or two from a clutch will help our conservation education efforts. I know of at least 4-5 zoos actively seeking animals and I am going to be sending a few out next week.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

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