About Don
My interest in reptiles began when I was six years old. While walking home through a field, I paused to rest, looked down and discovered a snake coiled at my feet. Terrified (and frozen in a state of panic) I yelled out to my older brother who came running to my rescue. He calmly picked up the snake (a harmless gopher snake) and, soon thereafter, coaxed me into holding it myself. My fear quickly changed to fascination. I credit this single event as the origin of my life-long interest in reptiles.
Although my interest in herpetology did not rise above the level of "hobbyist", much of my time in my younger years was spent collecting native southern California reptiles. My hobby later broadened to include creating a photographic record of the majority of reptile species and subspecies occurring within both Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Through the encouragement and efforts of Dr. Jeff Lovich of the U.S. Geological Survey, several of my photographs appear in…
Ernst, Carl H., and Evelyn M. Ernst. 2003. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Books, Washington and London. (pages 17, 35, 42, 68, 267, 273, 396, 498).
A single photograph of mine, a rubber boa (Charina bottae), appears in…
Cornett, Jim. 1982. Wildlife of the Western Mountains. Nature Trails Press, Palm Springs, California. (page 88).
In my "former life", I was very fortunate to have lived a long and rewarding career in law enforcement. I retired in 2002 after 28 years as a peace officer for the State of California. My wife, Sue, recently retired after 34 years of teaching elementary school students. We have two grown daughters.