Boise’s Snake Charmer

By Chris Lombardi, 6-14-07

Does it bite?

Is it poisonous?

If Boise’s Frank Lundberg had a nickle for every time he’s been asked these questions, he’d be able to afford some very nice photography equipment. As proprietor of Reptile Conservation Resources, educator, and advocate for reptilian wildlife, Lundberg frequently finds himself in public accompanied by one of the many snakes and lizards that have come under his care. And the answer is sometimes, yes, his companions are poisonous. The snake pictured here (photographed by Garren Evans) is “Lucky,” a Western rattlesnake who, before he died of old age last year, helped Lundberg teach biology courses at Boise State, as well as a Rattlesnake Awareness program through his business.

Lundberg is also a dedicated photographer and a FLICKR photosharer. He and his friend and assistant Garren Evans maintain a FLICKR blog under the name Ecosnake. This photo of Lucky was the first or what has become hundreds of photos of snakes, reptiles, and amphibians (along with other nature and landscape photos) on the Ecosnake photoblog, which, through educational captions and comment discussions, has become an extension of Ecosnake’s mission to educate people about these often misunderstood creatures.

Of his experience with FLICKR, Lundberg says: “Flickr opened up a new world: I was afraid at first that people would be turned off by EcoSnake posting pictures of reptiles; to my surprise, the opposite has happened. Now, folks from all over the world are sharing pictures of snakes and lizards and asking questions; it’s wonderful.”

If you’d like to explore Ecosnake’s reptilian world, start with their snakes, lizards and education photo sets. For more on Reptile Conservation Resources, see Ecosnake.com.