GERALD KEOWN - A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Gerald Keown was born and raised in the brush country of South Texas. Although his lifelong vocation has been law enforcement, his avocation for the past 50+ years has been herpetology. In addition to his herpetological interests, he is also a wildlife photographer whose work was published regularly in numerous outdoor and hunting publications during the 1980s.

Gerald Keown in 2005 - Photo by Susan Keown

Back in 1955, on his 10th birthday Gerald was given a paperback copy of the Golden Nature Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians by Herbert Zim and Hobart Smith and thereafter his family found him spending all his spare time at the neighborhood ponds and creeks collecting ribbon snakes, leopard frogs, tiger salamanders, assorted lizards and turtles. He was 12 years old when the first edition of Roger Conant's A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians was published and Gerald quickly obtained a copy. In fact, today that well-worn old book still has a place on his bookshelf. By this time Gerald had developed a serious interest in reptiles and amphibians and that interest has remained over the years. According to some of his family, "That's the part of the boy in him that never grew up." In both 1960 and 1961 Gerald won first place in the biology division his high school's science fair for his continuing efforts in surveying and identifying the reptiles and amphibians that occured in Jim Wells County, Texas. Having little formal training in the field, other than a single college herpetology course, most of his knowledge relating to reptiles and amphibians has been self-taught. Gerald, who describes himself as an avocational herpetologist, has had papers and notes published in Herpetologica, Journal of Herpetology, Herpetological Review, and Captive Breeding in addition to several regional publications. Gerald's primary interest has always been the herptofauna of of the Southwestern United States and Mexico. During his life, he has spent many days and nights in the field throughout the South

This is where  it  all  started.   In 1960,  14 year-old high school freshman Gerald Keown won first place in  the biology  division of his  local science fair  for his ongoing work  surveying the  species of reptiles and amphibians native to Jim Wells County, Texas. Photo Courtesy of Alice Daily Echo-News Archives

Texas brush country and the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. During the 1970s he obtained the necessary permits and made two trips into the interior of Mexico to study, collect and photograph the herpetofauna of that country. Over the years, he has personally collected and/or maintained 45 of the some 84 recognized forms of rattlesnakes (Crotalus and Sistrurus). Currently, his specific herpetological interests are the rattlesnakes (Crotalus and Sistrurus), kingsnakes and milksnakes (Lampropeltis), and rat snakes (Bogertophis, Pantherophis and Senticolis) of the Southwestern U. S. and Mexico. In 2001 he retired after serving over 35 years in Texas law enforcement and spent the next 6 years near Cody in northwestern Wyoming, where he operated an Internet hosting and web design business in addition to working for the Security Department of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.  In 2007 he returned to his home state of Texas.  He currently resides in south-central Texas with his wife, Susan and their two Golden Retrievers, Lady and Ginger.  He continues to work in the security industry, and provides technical and consulting services on herpetological related matters as he continues to pursue his interests in both herpetology and wildlife photography. From 1997 until 2009 Gerald operated The Venomous Snakes of Texas web site which was originally designed to provide assistance to Texas homeowners and outdoorsmen in identifying snakes that they encounterd.  During the twelve years that this site was in operation, he logged and responded to over 5,000 snake identification requests from across Texas.  After several years, he found the The Venomous Snakes of Texas site growing to include material that went beyond the original intent and scope of the site. As a result, in early 2007 the Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research came into being.  In August, 2009 the The Venomous Snakes of Texas site closed down in order for Gerald to devote more of his time to the further development and operation of the Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research. In 2010 the Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research became a non-profit association governed by a board of officers and directors.  Gerald, who is now Charter Life Member of SWCHR, currently serves as the Association's Executive Director. Today, in addition to the Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research, Gerald's other  herpetological affiliations  include the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, and the Texas Herpetological Society.  He is also a Senior Life Member of the Arizona Herpetological Association and a Lifetime Member of Herp Conservation Unlimited.

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