Reptile Gardens

Reptile Gardens is an animal park located in Rapid City, South Dakota. Their mission is "To educate the public on important environmental issues, while working closely with many major zoos worldwide to promote species survival".

History

Beginning as a one-man-show in 1937, this family attraction was founded by 21-year-old reptile enthusiast Earl Brockelsby. Earl, a native of Kadoka, South Dakota, had been fascinated with snakes ever since he was a child. He observed many people, while initially expressing a fear of reptiles, also were intrigued by these fascinating creatures, so he set up a small display of snakes and charged people to see them.

Earl began adding other reptiles to his collection - giant tortoises, alligators, crocodiles, lizards, and exotic, poisonous snakes from the four corners of the globe. Alligator, snake, and bird shows were also added to the list of exciting family experiences offered by this Rapid City family attraction. Although Earl passed away in 1993, the Brockelsby family continues to carry on his proud legacy - Reptile Gardens remains a thriving family owned and operated business.

Animal Overview

Reptile Gardens houses a diverse collection of reptiles, from crocodiles and alligators, to turtles, lizards, and snakes; as well as amphibians ranging from salamanders to frogs. They also have a variety of birds of prey and a prairie dog town.

The animal park maintains many rare species of snakes from around the world; these include Rough-scaled Pythons, Fierce Snakes, and Samar Spitting Cobras.

During the summer, they also have educational interactive animal shows. During performances, the animal keepers discuss safety techniques and conservation efforts to aid in species survival.

Conservation

The members of the Reptile Gardens’ team are very aware of the importance of preserving vital wildlife habitats, especially the native lands of many of their animals - wetland and rain forest areas. They make special donations to various environmental conservation organizations, like the Charles Darwin Center in the Galapagos Islands, for example. The money donated to these wildlife organizations helps to protect the natural wildlife of these spectacular environments.

Conservation Green Committee

The stockholders of Reptile Gardens have created a task force to explore energy conservation applications and the exciting potential for introducing energy efficient technologies to their grounds.

Members from this team of reptile experts attend community seminars in order to educate themselves about the possibility of wind and solar power in the area. They hope to eventually install solar panels and/or wind turbines on their grounds.

References

External links

* [http://www.reptilegardens.com/ Official Site of Reptile Gardens]