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 CHARLIE
BARNESNEWS NOTESCOMPRESSONIN MEMORIAMFAVORITE PROFARCHIVESUNDERWRITING |
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Ecologist's message: respect the snake--it can kill you or feed you |
By Vida VolkertBruce Means, an FSU adjunct professor and three-time alumnus, has turned to the small screen-but large enterprises-to help him protect the environment. "Television allows me to reach more people and educate them with values of nature," said Means, 61, an ecologist, writer and researcher whose latest documentary film was aired on MSNBC in July. "Quest for the Rainbow Serpent"-a scientific and cultural documentary on the world's most venomous snakes-was co-produced by Means for National Geographic Television. Means, who was involved in the writing and storytelling of the film, said he decided to produce it to "instill appreciation for wild animals." Means himself has been bitten by poisonous snakes twice and has survived because he knew exactly what to do. He has studied the reptile's biology and behavior for more than 25 years. He earned a bachelor's (1968), master's (1972) and doctorate (1975), all in biology, at FSU. Means made his latest film on the island continent of Australia, where 70 percent of the snakes are venomous. Among them is the Taipan Inland snake, which is "90 times more venomous than the American Rattlesnake" and a featured character in the film. The production occupied two men, Means, the scientist, and cinematographer David Wright, for five months of strenuous physical and mental work. In a Toyota Land Cruiser, they crossed Australia's long deserts and plains and captured colorful images of 5-to-7-foot snakes, sometimes in life and sometimes in art. An ancient painting of a 26-foot-long "monster snake" is featured in the film during Means' visit to a remote canyon in the Kimberley, in the northern part of Western Australia. The painting illustrates the myth of the Rainbow Serpent, venerated by the indigenous people of Australia. "In their minds," Means said, "the snake was the creator and destroyer of the world, the provider of food and the survivor, a powerful creature they perceived as a deity." Means also flew to Chappel Island, in the south beaches of Australia, where hundreds of birds come from Alaska every year to lay one egg each. Each mother stays with her chick until it is big enough to fly away. During that time, the 7-foot black tiger snake eats as many chicks as it can swallow because, after the season, the snake will go one year without more food. Means also found that the Aborigines catch water file snakes in the rivers and use them for food. Between the killers and the food providers, snakes represent a full circle of life. "If you learn about a creature, you can appreciate it," Means said, "If you don't know anything about it, all you can do is fear it." Means has also co-produced "King Rattler," another National Geographic documentary, and "Viper's Kiss," for the Discovery Channel. "Quest for the Rainbow Serpent" is expected to run again soon, according to Denise Jones of National Geographic Television, but the date is undecided. |
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