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Nice article on ROARK
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by tigers9 on March 7, 2008
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Mail this to a friend!
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Since these 'exotic owner positive' articles are so rare, we need to thank the reporter so they will keep doing these, often these reporters supporting exotic ownership get lots of hate mail from AR activists, so we need to let them know they are doing great work.
Z
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http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/mar/01/roark_ferguson32140/
High Profile: ROARK FERGUSON
By Bryce Donovan (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Most people have a dog. Or even a fish.
Roark Ferguson has snakes. About 1,100 of them, to be precise.
Photo Gallery
Roark Ferguson
Part conservationist, part reptile lover at home with the critters of South Carolina and beyond.
Enlarge photos | View gallery
The Cincinnati-born conservationist, herpetologist and wildlife adventurer who owns and operates Roark's Reptile Safari in North Charleston has come to love the slithering creatures almost as much as he loves his family.
For more than 20 years, he has educated children and adults about the wonders and importance of not just snakes and reptiles, but wild animals in general. Between his outreach center and 21-acre wildlife refuge in Dorchester County, Ferguson owns animals as diverse as crocodiles, tarantulas and cobras.
His purpose: To help tear down myths people have about these so-called "scary" animals.
"Did you know," Ferguson says in his trademark booming voice, loud enough to hear across a busy intersection at rush hour, "that your child has a better chance of choking on a HOT DOG than being killed by a spider or a snake?"
That can't be right, you think to yourself. But then again, who's going to argue with a guy holding a 12-foot Burmese python?
Roark Ferguson
BORN: Cincinnati.
AGE: "I'm too young for Medicare and too old for you to care."
PROFESSION: Conservationist, herpetologist and self-proclaimed "showman extraordinaire."
FAMILY: Wife, Felicia; daughters, Jennifer, Amber; son, Riddick.
PETS: You name it, he's got it.
CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Becoming the first person to ever successfully train an adult crocodile.
ON HIS COLLECTION OF ANIMALS: "Referring to me as a reptile keeper is like calling the Chicago fire a weenie roast."
ON HIS HEALTH: "It's a miracle, doing what I've done over the years, that I've never come down with rabies."
ON FEEDING MORAY EELS OUT OF HIS MOUTH: "It was right about then I thought I might be an adrenaline junkie."
ON LOVE: "People who can't love animals cannot love people."
CATCH HIM: On Animal Planet, MTV and animaltalkradio.com (he has a nationally syndicated show at 8-9 p.m. every Sunday).
MORE ROARK: reptilesafari.org or myspace.com/bigsnakedaddy
Not so crazy
Over his decades-long career, Ferguson has worked with snakes, chimps, sharks, bears, alligators, poisonous snakes — you name it, he's held it.
Kissed a 20-foot-long crocodile on the snout? Check.
Lived with a pack of wolves? Check.
Fed moray eels from his mouth? Not the brightest move, but check.
Slept in a pen with Komodo dragons? Check.
To put it mildly, Roark Ferguson makes Chuck Norris look like a wimp.
"People tell me I'm crazy," he says. "I'm not crazy. I actually know what I'm doing. Crazy is sticking your head in a meat grinder."
He doesn't need to tell you this twice. Because this much is clear: With biceps the size of toaster ovens and a fearlessness that would make Johnny Knoxville proud, you're pretty sure you'd agree with him even if he told you he was the Queen of England.
Drawn to water
When Ferguson was 6, he caught his first snake. At 11, he had his first pet vulture. And by 13, he was helping direct birds of prey seminars for the state of Ohio.
One of his mentors at the time, Ronald Austing, suggested he consider being a wildlife photographer. It didn't take Ferguson long to realize he wasn't cut out for it. He explained: "When you see an animal and the first thing you do is throw the equipment to the ground and head off with a full head of steam after it, that's probably not a good sign."
After graduating early from high school, Ferguson enlisted in the Navy. For the next 10 years, he bounced all over the United States from Texas to California to Virginia. This was followed by stints in Cuba, Panama, Jamaica, Haiti and Puerto Rico.
For a boy who grew up landlocked in the Midwest, being on the water was a welcome change. Though he loved birds, his time on the coast led to a deep fascination with crocodiles, alligators and snakes. And as fate would have it, in the late 1980s, after being honorably discharged from the Navy, he relocated to a place where creepy-crawly things feel right at home: Charleston.
'Big Snake Daddy'
Not long after arriving in South Carolina, Ferguson started collecting animals. In 1995, he opened Roark's Reptile Safari just off Dorchester Road in North Charleston. His primary mission was to educate and enlighten children about the dangers and misconceptions about wild animals. By letting kids get up close with these exotic animals, he was able to grab their attention — and sure enough, actually teach them a thing or two.
In the years that followed, Ferguson affectionately became known as "The Big Snake Daddy." In between hosting large groups of children and speaking at wildlife expos across the country, he began to appear on TV programs and in movies. Much like Steve Irwin and Jack Hanna, Ferguson's carefree nature and good humor made him a darling of the camera. His wacky antics and depth of knowledge made him an immediate favorite.
But Ferguson didn't let that success go to his head and instead remained focused on the things that are most important to him: animals.
Today, Ferguson works with groups such as the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and Charleston Animal Society, as well as serves on numerous conservation advisory boards working to keep reptiles and exotic animals available to professionals and hobbyists alike.
"Wildlife is running out of real estate," he says. "And it's up to us to help them."
Reach Bryce Donovan at 937-5938 or bdonovan@postandcourier.com.
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RE: Nice article on ROARK
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by ssshane on March 7, 2008
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Mail this to a friend!
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Very nice article. I sent a letter to Bryce commending him on his positive report for the reptile communtity.
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