Love ’em or hate ’em, we live alongside snakes here in the Hi-Desert and while many fear snakes, they are widely misunderstood. However, an upcoming event in Wonder Valley may help change that. Reporter Heather Clisby has the details…
Any informed desert dweller knows we live side-by-side with wildlife here in the Morongo Basin but while we love the bunnies, accept the coyote, admire the jackrabbit, and gape in awe at the bighorn sheep, snakes often evoke fear.
Which is exactly why retired park ranger Jane Fawke will make an educational presentation on Saturday, May 18, called “Living With Snakes.” Fawke will teach attendees how to identify local venomous and non-venomous snakes and how to create a snake habitat, if interested. Fawke will encourage questions and offer tips on how to safely co-exist with these amazing creatures.
Fawke will be bringing live, non-venomous snakes to the event, including a California kingsnake, a rosy boa, a glossy snake and a yet un-named celebrity serpent. All snakes will be displayed in secured, heavy-duty, plastic containers. The snakes will not be removed from their containers and there will be no handling of snakes by anyone.
The two-hour presentation begins at 11 a.m. on May 18 at the Wonder Valley Community Center on Amboy Road. The presentation is open to all ages.
