PIPESTEM, W. Va. -The Pipestem Resort State Park is no stranger to connecting guests with nature. On Sunday, however, guests had the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the creatures to be found in nature, both here and around the world, thanks to a visit from the Herps Alive Foundation.
The Herps Alive Foundation is rescue for animals that normally aren’t the focus of other humane societies: herptiles, a term which encompasses both reptiles and amphibians. Based out of Ohio, they rescue these herptiles all over the country, including more than one hundred rescues in West Virginia, to help fight the rise of people abandoning these animals or releasing them into the wild.
They use interactive educational presentations like this one to help fund this rescue mission and showcase a variety of rescued herptiles. But the presentation has another purpose, using education to dispel irrational fears that people may have towards their cold-blooded friends.
“People know about dogs and cats; they don’t know about snakes. If you’re driving down the road and you see a cat running loose or a dog running loose, you say, okay, there’s a dog running loose or a cat running loose. If you see a boa constrictor running along the side of the road, it’s leading your news, okay, so that’s why it’s important to educate folks to make sure them understand that these animals aren’t going to kill them; they’re not going to run across the street and bite you; cottonmouths don’t chase you; things of that nature,” says Keith Gisser, executive director and founder of the Herps Alive Foundation.
Gisser says he enjoys seeing people of all ages overcome their fears toward these animals, adding that he got his start with herptiles at nine years old. If you would like more information about his foundation, you can go to the Herps Alive website.
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