Whit Gibbons, Herpetologist and Author
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF CORKSCREW BURROWS? Extraterrestrial aliens have been given as an unscientific explanation for a variety of engineering marvels, including the Egyptian pyramids, Easter Island statues and Stonehenge. Little green men with shovels might also have been … Continued
TORTOISES COME IN ALL SIZES What do you think of when you hear the word “tortoise”? The giant tortoises that lumber along like tanks over the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean? The gopher … Continued
MILLIPEDES GLOW IN THE DARK At night we saw a vicious predator attacking a much larger prey. In the morning we saw the brightest red blood I have ever seen. We were not anywhere near African big game. A larval … Continued
THE LEOPARD IS THE PRINCE OF PREDATORS The leopard, the most graceful of Africa’s predators, is feared throughout the continent. Leopards do not consider humans to be special, aside from their being easy prey that neither bite nor scratch and … Continued
NATURE TALKS GONE AWRY CAN BE MEMORABLE Environmental education may be more important these days than it has been in decades. Some ecologists, including me, have elected to deliver the message through public talks about the wonders of natural history … Continued
WHAT ANIMALS HUNT IN PACKS? Q. Most folks know that lions and wolves hunt in groups to catch what they’re going to eat. I was wondering if any other animals hunt in packs or team up to catch their food, … Continued
RIVER OTTERS ARE IMPRESSIVE ANIMALS The last time I wrote about otters I stated that sea otters are in my top 10 list of “most appealing adult mammals.” First, they are engagingly cute, especially when floating on the ocean’s surface … Continued
WHY DO SOME FISH MAKE SOUNDS UNDERWATER? Chris Kehrer, Science Program Manager at Port Royal Sound Foundation in South Carolina, recently answered a question I have wondered about since childhood. Why does the Atlantic croaker, a marine fish commonly found … Continued
SOME INVASIVE SPECIES ARE HERE TO STAY In southern Alabama or southern Georgia, seeing an American alligator gobble up a beaver amid white water lilies would be a memorable sight, and an entirely natural one. To see a Nile crocodile … Continued
Q. In a recent column you said bushmasters are the largest pit vipers in the world. I was told pit vipers have vertical pupils, which is one way to determine if a snake is venomous. However, you included a photo … Continued