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Did anyone watch the Snake Wranglers episode last night with Dr. Bruce Means about the Appalachicola King? It was pretty interesting. The only thing that surprised me was that he was planning on releasing CB babies back into the wild. I thought that was mostly frowned on by conservationists? Or is it one of those things where they don't want the public to release stuff since God knows what would end up out there? And as long as a biologist/expert is controlling it it's ok? Just curious.

BTW, there was also an episode on the day before where Bruce and his son Ryan were hunting for Eastern Diamondbacks. That was cool also.

Anyone else as disappointed as I was? Okay, the show is called "snake wranglers" so I guess it is normally focused on the people instead of the animals, but it would have been nice to see more kingnakes. On the other hand, I now know a lot about Means’ truck. You would think that on the National Geographic channel you could assume your audience is interested in, you know…nature. Some other stuff that bugged me:
--It seems all these nature docs now are infected with ‘Croc Hunter’ disease, the chronic need to over-dramatize everything. Trapped in the mud!! Inches from a Cottonmouth!! If he doesn’t catch a kingsnake, in this half-hour, the subspecies is doomed!!!
--So when scientists start a captive release program, they go to an expo and buy a couple of snakes? Isn’t this sending the wrong message?
--I thought the show failed to explain the uniqueness of the snake in question…not surprising, considering how few of them we saw. They gave the impression that the patternless snake was the true Apalachicola subspecies. So when, after all the build-up, Means finally caught a blotched one, I could imagine the average, non-snake-keeping viewer saying "huh?" Maybe if they had concentrated more on the snakes, it would have conveyed better why its conservation is important.

All of your points are good. I thought it was odd they didn't get more into the whole history of the animal and confusion over the taxonomy. But the show's only 30 minutes long so I guess that doesn't leave a whole lot of time after the commercials...

It seems all these nature docs now are infected with ‘Croc Hunter’ disease, the chronic need to over-dramatize everything. Trapped in the mud!! Inches from a Cottonmouth!! If he doesn’t catch a kingsnake, in this half-hour, the subspecies is doomed!!!

I agree. But I guess they have to keep viewers entertained. To someone like me, I'd be more than happy just seeing a show without all that. People out there that aren't all that interested in snakes though need a little something more to keep their attention. So the drama is built up.

I thought the show failed to explain the uniqueness of the snake in question…not surprising, considering how few of them we saw. They gave the impression that the patternless snake was the true Apalachicola subspecies. So when, after all the build-up, Means finally caught a blotched one, I could imagine the average, non-snake-keeping viewer saying "huh?"

The reason we saw so few of them in the show is because Bruce didn't have any. In fact, he borrowed one of mine. It was the one he played off as finding in the snake trap he built. But if you heard what he said about that particular snake, he said it was indeed an Apalachicola King...not in it's purest form but still an Apalachicola King. It's proof that they're still out there. I think the intent of the show was to convey the message of the importance of these kings and how they have declined in numbers. But their still is hope in finding and learning more about them. Sure we didn't get an hour long episode with lots of Apalachicola Kings to see but I was very happy to watch the show at all.

You cant make everyone happy all the time. If the show was super technical people would say its was boring etc... I liked it for what it was a 1/2 hour probably more like 2o minutes of some pure Kingsnake entertainment !

Keith
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Hi:
Since your friends with him.Please tell him my dad and I love his shows.We love them all but the one when he owned a croc farm in India was fascinating and the one with Cobras in India we loved to.
Tell him to keep up the great work.We would like to see more shows with him.
Bianca

The only thing that surprised me was that he was planning on releasing CB babies back into the wild.

I taped the show and was a little surprised he mentioned releasing CB offspring as well. Especially since that pair came from Gulf Coast Reptiles. Gulf Coast doesn't even know where their stock came from and many people have bred Florida Kings into them over the years. I would think he would at least like to find a WC pair...or even buy some CB babies from Len Krysko who has a pair of WC adults. Working with Kenney Krysko, I'm sure he must know Kenney's dad has those. Other than that, I enjoyed the show as it was nice to see the area I herp in on TV. And they used one of my kingsnakes in it. Wish it could have been longer. I could easily watch a 3-4 hour show on Apalachicola Kings!

I taped the show and was a little surprised he mentioned releasing CB offspring as well. Especially since that pair came from Gulf Coast Reptiles

That is disgusting. Might as well grab some junk from a few select 'Tampa bay' area breeders and release those as well. Truly disturbing!

kk

Am I to assume you mean every breeder in "Tampa Bay" breeds/ sells junk??
:Mark

No way Mark!! Definitely not every breeder in Tampa. Sorry! I was referring to certain people that create crummy hybrids.

kk

Oh hey, I know man! I was just tryin' to get a response. Yep there are a few here that "make their own" as it were. I imagine it will get worse before it gets better however. Living down here you get to meet many different breeders/hobbyists and like just about any other cross section, has it's good and bad.
I was astonished really, to see Dr. Means purchase those snakes then imply he might release them. I know of other well respected people in this hobby and particularly this forum who have released hypo FL. kings into their area of south FL. When scientists and the like start doing it, what can we expect from the general population?
:Mark