Bill Brooks Gives an Engaging Presentation about Central Texas Reptiles
Wild Basin friends, neighbors, supporters, and staff were treated to a highly informative, fun, and at times spellbinding presentation by herpetologist Bill Brooks on September 26th. Bill, who was the first Caretaker of Wild Basin in the 1990s (living in the Visitor Center), educated and entertained both adults and children with his presentation about Central Texas reptiles.
After his presentation, Bill brought out some of his live “friends” – live snakes! With these beautiful reptilian friends wrapped around his arms, Bill spoke about each species’ natural history, conservation status, and even some of the stories of how they ended up in his care.
Attendees of this “Fall Wild Basin Mixer” benefited from Bill’s more than four decades of experience studying and working with native reptiles of Texas. Also known as “the Horny Toad Man”, Bill has made it his life’s mission to not only study and work for the protection of native Texas reptiles, but also to educate everyone he can about their diversity and importance. In particular, Bill believes it is critical to reach young people with his message – inspire them to get involved and to spend more time outside. This was clearly evident in the way he interacted with the young people in the audience. One of the younger attendees was clearly moved by the presentation. At the beginning of the presentation the young boy was seated in the back with his mother and brother. By the end of the talk, he was in the front row with the largest eyes and smiles one can imagine!
Interested in these types of talks? Come to our next Wild Basin Mixer in January. Stay tuned to your email for an announcement of the date and presentation topic.