Product Description

Dr. Robert Mason, the current recipient of the National Science Foundation's Young Investigator Award, has been studying a mysterious phenomenon for over fifteen years: the reemergence of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes — the world's largest concentration of snakes — after a winter spent in a state of suspended animation in subterranean caverns.

This gathering each spring in the forests of Manitoba, Canada, is one of the most extraordinary events of the natural world and is the subject of study for Dr. Mason, a.k.a. the Snake Scientist.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #653224 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-26
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-The excitement of science in action fills the pages of these two books. Montgomery focuses on one man and his research on the red-sided garter snake in Canada. The lively text communicates both the meticulous measurements required in this kind of work and the thrill of new discoveries. Large, full-color photos of the zoologist and young students at work, and lots of wriggly snakes, pull readers into the presentation. A list of "unsolved mysteries" about the snakes and instructions on visiting the snake dens will keep interest high to the very last page. Swinburne gives a historical perspective on the extermination of wolves from the Lower 48 states and details the work of biologists in their efforts to reintroduce the animals into Yellowstone National Park. Vintage illustrations (including pictures of dead wolves) and excellent full-color photos document a struggle that, unfortunately, is far from over. A map showing current and historical wolf ranges and a list for further reading that includes books, periodicals, and Web sites are helpful additions. Two outstanding titles that show scientists at work.
Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American
The park guides at Narcisse Wildlife Management Area in Manitoba, Canada, will tell you to watch your step¾there might be a snake underfoot. With 18,000 red-sided garter snakes slithering around, they are likely to be right! Each spring, after eight months of hibernating underground, the snakes make their way to the surface and pour out of the earth. Some people might prefer to stay away from the site of the world's greatest concentration of snakes, but others, such as scientist Bob Mason, are drawn to it. There he "can see more snakes in a day than in the course of a three-year field study" anywhere else. Mason and his assistants have been studying these snakes for 15 years. Author Sy Montgomery, with the help of Nic Bishop's exceptional photos, enables the reader to join Mason and his team in the field and look over their shoulders as they work. (Montgomery also wrote "Eat Your Lawn!" on page 8 of this issue.) They gather pillowcases full of snakes, record the length, weight and temperature of each one, and perform experiments, such as sending snakes through mazes. Questions they are investigating include: Why are only adult snakes found in the dens? How do these snakes find mates? And how do they navigate the 20 miles between the marshes where they feed during the summer and their winter dens? The Snake Scientist is a must-read for any snake lover or budding naturalist. It may even make grown-ups want to grow up to be scientists.

Joan Silberlicht Epstein

Review
Each spring, 18,000 red-sided garter snakes emerge en masse from three underground dens in Manitoba, Canada, where they have spent the winter stacked on top of one another like cordwood. As the snakes spill out of the dens, Earthwatch volunteers and students gather them up and stuff them in pillowcases bought in bulk at the Salvation Army. The captured snakes then participate in a day's behavioral experiments directed by Bob Mason, a zoologist at Oregon State University. (In 1989 Mason identified the pheromone, or scent, that draws the male to the female garter snake.) The snakes might interact in colorful "arenas" that look like upended box kites or attempt to follow a path marked with scent through a maze. Mason is trying to figure out why female snakes prefer bigger males and how the snakes find their way to the marsh twenty miles away from the dens....A solid introduction to the ethos of experimental science as seen by a genial scientist with a research topic whose kid appeal is hard to beat.

Customer Reviews

A unique look into one of the wonders of the world.
Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop have managed to bring this awesome display of nature and the man who studies it to life! This book would be a wonderful addition to any household, library or school, as it describes the work of a dedicated scientist who has committed his life to understanding what we as humans can gain from the lives of garter snakes. Dr. Mason obviously loves his work and loves passing along his knowledge to others, young and old. "The Snake Scientist" is an accurate picture of an almost undescribable phenomenom.

An inspirational book for kids
This book about the adventures of Bob Mason, an Oregon State University scientist who studies snakes all over the world, is a must-read for any child (grades four to seven would be great) who loves science or nature - and a good gift idea for any parent who would like to steer their kids in that direction. Easy to read, great photography, compelling stories about snakes, science, the growth of a young boy who just started out watching nature shows on TV and turned that interest into a career as a world-class zoologist. Excellent choice!

Stunning photography
A fabulous book, replete with color photographs of the snakes. Kids will gravitate to the pictures first, and then the text will engage them in Dr. Mason's research. His comments are child-oriented, yet will not insult the older readers in the audience. Bob's stories of his childhood and career path are an added bonus to this book....and may even encourage more budding "Snake Scientists"! Well done!