Kevin Messenger

Herper of the Month

February 2008

Kevin Messenger

"I was born and raised in Charlotte (more specifically Mint Hill), NC. My dad, an emergency vet, was as much into snakes as I was. When I was 3 years old he brought home a 15 ft Indian python that had an upper respiratory disease for us to rehab. This was personally my first memory of a snake and from the moment I saw it I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. Most of my childhood was spent catching snakes around my neighborhood: eastern kings, black rats, waters, and worm snakes."

"When I was 9 years old, dad took me on my first “real snake hunt.” And by that I mean we drove a “long distance” to a destination for the sole purpose of looking for snakes. Of course when you’re 9 years old, an hour and half is a long time. We drove down to the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge. Dad had equipped me with a golf putter for my first snake hook, while he used the more traditional hoe with the hammered off blade and grinded down smoothly; which I envied greatly. He told me I would have to earn such a “grown up hook.” That day in April of 1992 was a day that changed my life forever. The day was filled with the usual suspects, racers, eastern kings, and my very first cottonmouth coiled up in the middle of the road in the typical mouth display. Towards the end of the day we were walking along a sand road:"

(scanned photo from 1992)

"In the “sand dune” I saw a coil sticking out. It was a corn snake. I grabbed the snake and pulled but it wouldn’t budge. We started digging the snake out and discovered it was actually a mating pair and I had unfortunately interrupted them. I was pretty happy. We photographed the snake and then sent him on his way."

"From here we hit some downed pine trees. Dad told me you could peel the bark and sometimes find snakes that way. I used my putter, and he used his hook and we went to town on all the trees that Hugo had cleared out years before. Not too long into one of the trees that we were working together, dad gave up and moved on to another. I, not knowing any better, just kept on going. I peel a piece back and a brilliant red, black, and white snake slides out. I grab the little snake and yell to dad “I think I have a scarlet king!” Dad, who had yet to find a scarlet king, comes over and says “it’s probably just a scarlet snake.” He flips the snake over to check the belly and explains that that is one of the ways to tell the difference between the two. He sees the rings encircling the entire body and a huge smile came across his face. The day was incredible."

"Throughout high school, whenever a bad day came up, I would drive down to the sandhills and just enjoy the scenery. The sandhills is also where I fell in love with photography. My dad had given me his 1970’s Minolta and each time I went down there I experimented with it:"

(one of my first images from back in the day)

"The sandhills was my home away from home. As part of a requirement for anyone in the Charlotte-Meck school system, you have to complete a senior exit essay project, a huge chunk of your senior grade. The project is meant to prepare you for college-like research assignments. My biology teacher and I discussed some options in August of 2000. I came up with an idea to survey the refuge. The title of the project was “the herpetogeography of the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge.” The project provided me with a special use permit that granted me access to the refuge at night (it is of course closed to the public at night). That fall was an incredible fall. I found my very first Carolina pigmy rattlesnake, a lavender phase very similar to this one:"

"This species would turn out to play a very large role in my future. The senior exit essay had three main parts; a paper, an oral presentation in front of a “committee” and then finally a “product” – an application of the project to an audience that would find the research relevant. So in December of 2000 I presented my research to a group of herpetologists at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. Dennis Herman, David Cooper, and Dave Davenport were a few of the individuals present. After my slide show, of course I opened it up to questions and comments. I got a lot of great feedback, part of which was that I should show my research to Dr. Heatwole at NC State. At the time I hadn’t selected a school for college yet."

"So, come April I set up an appointment with Heatwole. My mom and I drove up. By the time he finished reading my report it was time for him to give a lecture, so he asked if I wanted to come along and sit in and afterwards we could continue our chat. During the lecture (the introductory zoology class) he gave the class a pop quiz, which I took for the hell of it. Walking back to the office I handed it to him and he said I made a 100 (years later he told me that the class average for that quiz was a 60 and that my result really “got his attention”). Later that day he showed me the school’s black-necked spitters and water cobras. After the snake tour we sat down and talked about the research. While we were sitting there I noticed a really cool looking picture. He mentioned that it was from Australia. He taught down there for 30 years. I told him how going to Australia was a dream of mine (as it is almost any herper’s). He said “well I’m giving a coral reef ecology class this summer down there, you’re welcome to come if you want.” I jumped at the opportunity."

"In late July I flew down to Australia – a week before the class. I wanted to travel as much of the country as possible before the class started. It was my first time over seas. My first time anywhere by myself. I traveled Frasier Island for 3 – 4 days before meeting up with Heatwole and the rest of the class in Gladestone. From here we headed to Heron Island to start the course. The first night on the Barrier Reef, at the lecture hall Heatwole looked at me and told me “Well Kevin, since this is your first class at State, welcome to the University.” The rest of the students looked at me and told me that not all the classes were going to be like this."

"While on Heron Island, I worked on a mark-recapture study of Lepidodactylus lugubris and site fidelity. This research ended up being my first publication."

"My time in Australia was great. Heatwole and I talked about the future of my sandhills work. He recommended I keep it going and could turn it into a Master’s or PhD project. The fact that I was starting now would only add to it in the future. This year will be year #9. Over the years the project has changed, and currently the primary focus is on snake behavior and movement patterns. I am also tracking the biodiversity from year to year and measuring how refuge interaction affects the location populations in the various habitats."

"The summer following, I went to the Galapagos with Heatwole for another NC State course. The trip didn’t results in any publications, but I definitely acquired the traveling bug."

"The rest of my college career was spent working with my sandhills study. In 2003 I worked at SREL and come across some new ideas and avenues to take. I met a lot of great friends, lots of new contacts. Dr. Robert Reed has since had a huge impact in my life. Through him I was able to get more funding and make some more contacts. In 2004 I gave a talk at the first SC Herp Conference at the Riverbanks Zoo."

(me and the previous sandhillers; John Garton (1975), and Jeff Camper (1995)

"My talk opened up yet even more doors. I met several incredible people there. This conference basically got me in touch with one of the coolest guys I’ve ever hunted with; Wade Kalinowsky."

"Wade grew up in the gorgeous low-country of SC and worked for several years he at the Webb center with Steve Bennett studying diamondbacks. He is undoubtedly the states diamondback expert, having found well over a thousand dbacks in his years. He has helped me countless times in the sandhills and my only regret is not knowing him sooner.

"My work and time in the sandhills has been a dream come true. The sandhills has been kind to me and the refuge has given me a place to stay free of charge. During the good ol’ days (the days of lots of funding) I would spend nearly every day down in the sandhills, almost summer long. Road cruise, work up data, sleep, eat, repeat. Nothing like getting out of bed, and beginning a night of cruising as soon as you pull out of the driveway."

"I have countless memories and times well spent in my home away from home (now literally). Since starting my research pigmy rattlesnakes have taken over as one of my favorite species and my current PhD topic."

"In December of 2005 I was awarded a job with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. My job was to conduct a herp survey in the mountains of central China within the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve in western Hubei Province. The area had never been surveyed before (for herps) and they had no idea what all lived in the region. I had a couple months to learn some Mandarin before flying out three days after graduating in May. I spent 4 months in China. It was an incredible experience and I loved every second of it. Due to the size of the reserve (800,000 acres) the project has me returning in July of 2008 and another summer long trip is in the making for 2009. The project, once completed, I am intending on using towards a Master’s degree (once accepted into a graduate school!)"

"Several people have had a tremendous impact in my life. My father, Dr. Heatwole, Steve Hughes, Robert Reed, Wade Kalinowsky, and Steve Bennett. Some of my closer friends that have helped me with my research, put in a lot of hours, time, and money to help me out would be Adrian Yirka, Joe Flowers, Mike Martin, Nate Shepard, and Ross Maynard."

"Currently I am working full time as an emergency vet tech and taking Chinese classes as I shop around for grad schools."

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