Sul Ross faculty member publishes book on “American Snakes”

By Steve Lang,

News and Publications

As an infant, Sean Graham was photographed holding a plastic snake. Years later, as an assistant professor of Biology at Sul Ross State University, Dr. Sean Graham has combined his life experiences and research of the reptile into a book.

“American Snakes,” published by John Hopkins University Press, is scheduled for release in the near future. Graham’s two-plus-year project includes photographs, anecdotes and facts about snakes designed for casual, yet informative reading.

“The book is a summary of the biology of snakes, including their daily activities, seasonal activities, and reproduction, along with additional information, including snake conservation,” said Graham. “It is a readable summary of our (American) snakes, an extension of a field guide…once one is done identifying snakes, he or she may want to learn about their daily lives.”

The 11-chapter (with preface and epilogue) book is over 300 pages long, with an extensive index and more than 100 photographs. Sul Ross student Noah Fields, Newnan, GA, snapped the cover photograph, as well as a number of other photos in the book.

Graham signed a contract for the book project shortly after his arrival at Sul Ross in August 2014. “The manuscript did not take as long (to write) as finding all of the photos,” he said, adding that the writing usually occurred in two-hour segments between teaching assignments, field trips and subsequent research.

“The main challenge was finding the time to write,” Graham said. He said that his wife, Crystal, also an assistant professor of Biology, assisted with indexing and proofreading.

“We have gone through it (book) so often that now neither of us wants to look at it again,” he laughed.

Graham said that as a child, he actually overcame his own fear of snakes. “People taught me to be scared of them…but snakes are nothing like anyone describes them. They are intelligent, elegant creatures, and I learned from my own experiences that snakes aren’t scary.”

Each chapter begins with a story – “My own experience or someone else’s,” Graham said, followed by corresponding information and details. “I wanted to take all that information and make it a fun, interesting read.”

For the record, there are over 100 species of snakes in the U.S. among more than 2,300 worldwide. Only 23 percent of the U.S. species are venomous, “and around here, that proportion is actually lower,” according to Graham. “We have a handful of rattlesnakes (species) and copperheads (found mainly in higher elevations with pine forests).”

“The first thing you have to know about snakes is that they are secretive; they like to hide and they are very timid,” he said. “We are trained from a young age to run and catch snakes, but if you resist that urge, you can sit back, observe and learn a lot more about them, as they are less apt to head for cover.”

Graham, who grew up in Georgia and received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Georgia State University, and Ph.D. from Auburn (AL) University, first visited the Big Bend region as an undergraduate student.

He called his Sul Ross experience “incredible.”

“When I think about what I wanted for my career, to teach “ology” courses – desert ecology is my dream course – and take field trips in a place I used to travel 24 hours non-stop just to visit, I couldn’t have gotten luckier than to land in a place like this.”

For more information, contact Graham, (432) 837-8084 or [email protected].

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