This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Rattlesnake Rick Charms his Young Audience

A mortgage banker turned reptile advocate gives a presentation on reptiles at Walnut Creek Intermediate School

Rick Olson is not afraid of snakes. In fact, he is quite fond of these cold-blooded creatures and has just as much admiration for other members of the reptilian family. Known as “Rattlesnake Rick,” Olson was on hand to educate and demonstrate to an audience of middle school students at Walnut Creek Intermediate School on Wednesday.

Bringing an array of 30 different reptiles to showcase, Olson began the presentation by telling the captive young audience the story of a boy he encountered when he was 12 years old while fishing on a camping trip. 

He said the boy, around 10 years old, was tripping as he walked carrying a string of fish. When Olson caught up with the boy, he asked how he was able to catch so many fish and why was he tripping as he walked?

Find out what's happening in Walnut Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The boy said he had lifted a rock nearby and noticed a bunch of worms underneath. The boy had grabbed a handful of the worms and had shoved them into his pocket to use as bait. These “worms” turned out to be venomous baby rattlesnakes and the boy was tripping as he walked because he had been bitten at least 20 times. The boy did not survive.

Olson tells the story of the boy who died not to rattle the nerves of his young audience, but as a lesson of warning for all “to leave the snakes alone and not lift any rocks out in the wilderness.”

Find out what's happening in Walnut Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Snakes are meant to be preserved,” said Olson. “Many people are in fear of them, but they are not actually something to fear, but something to embrace. But do not touch -- leave them alone and just let them be.”

While working as a mortgage banker at Bank of Commerce Mortgage, Olson decided to pursue his passion for reptiles by giving presentations at local schools in order to educate students on the important role reptiles play in the natural environment.  He focuses on rattlesnakes because they are the most prominent snake in the East Bay. In fact, in the past month and a half, Olson and his associate Matt de Villers have caught 21 rattlesnakes at the open space near Indian Valley campus.

During the presentation, Olson and his associates brought out an assortment of reptilian animals including Western Fence and Alligator lizards, a California Kingsnake, a Gopher snake and, of course, a Western Rattlesnake to showcase for the wide-eyed sixth graders. His talk focused on their habitat, environment, prey and most importantly, what to be aware of during an encounter.

“Reptiles are cold blooded which means they stay the same temperature as their surroundings,” said Olson. “During the winter when it is 40 degrees or below, they cannot eat. Most of these animals lay eggs, and some give live births and they all have scales. They are known as the longest living species on the planet.”

Olson and his team walked around the room with each animal allowing closer views and even allowed two sixth graders to participate in the demonstration. A slithery green Emerald Tree Boa wrapped its body around a stunned sixth grader while kids gasped in amazement.

“I thought that was really cool that the snake was around Liam,” said Brittany, a sixth grader. “I liked seeing them up close too.” Another sixth grader, Paige, agreed and said she also enjoyed seeing the large Green Iguana the most.

Olson's fascination with reptiles began at the age of 7. By the time he was 8, he had caught his first rattlesnake. Since then, he has caught thousands more and has relocated the venomous reptiles to safer locations away from people and animals.

He also said he idolized Steve Irwin “The Crocodile Hunter” because he was “the biggest known person on the planet that has made reptiles respected around the world.”

“My goal is to educate the people to let the environment be, let the animals be and of course I am here to save the rattlesnakes,” he said. “I go into people's back yards that are backed up to open space and relocate them to Mount Diablo, miles away from homes.

Students were not the only ones enjoying Rattlesnake Rick’s reptile show. Maria Gregory, a sixth grade teacher at Walnut Creek Intermediate, said it was important to have a presentation of this nature especially for sixth graders since it is not part of their curriculum.

“It was very informative and it was nice to have something different for the kids, a real hands-on learning experience,” she said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?