June 2021 Meeting

Fangs of Fury

Chuck Swatske

Location:  First United Methodist Church, Waxahachie
View Remotely: ** Zoom **

The State of Texas is home to 15 potentially dangerous snake species or subspecies which include our rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and the Texas coral snake. Despite this, each year there have been more deaths in Texas attributed to lightning strikes then venomous snakebites. As a Master Naturalist, many of us are now active outdoors as Spring is here; but as we go about our various projects, we must remember we are not alone. As a Master Naturalist, you are going to encounter a native Texas snake at some point, and it is a good bet that snake will be a venomous snake. Your knowledge and awareness of what is around you, and your ability to share your knowledge with the others is invaluable on many levels. This includes our Texas snakes. The “Fangs of Fury” presentation will provide simple and timely identification tips, safety and first aid information, prevention, and other helpful information about our venomous snakes found in the State of Texas.

 

 

Chuck Swatske has done many presentations to Master Naturalist chapters, youth groups, schools and many others on the subject of Texas Snakes.

Chuck also presented his “Snakes of Texas” at the 2019 Texas Master Naturalist Annual meeting in Rockwall, Texas. In May 2020, Chuck was featured on the local Dallas NBC 5 news affiliate discussing snake encounters in Dallas, Texas. Chuck was also featured in an article entitled “The Wild Snakes of Texas” in the March 2020 edition of Texas Highways Magazine.

You can also visit Chuck’s Facebook Group and like his page by searching Facebook for SnakeCity -Texas.