David & Tracy Barker

This is a tale of two snake-lovers named Dave and Tracy Barker.

Tracy’s interest in reptiles and amphibians began at age fifteen.

Dave’s interest started for reasons unknown when he was small. Throughout his childhood he hinted, pleaded, finagled, and plotted to keep snakes, but it was not until his seventeenth birthday that his mother finally agreed to allow snakes in the house.

In the ensuing years, there has been no period of Dave & Tracy: April, 2006time in which Tracy and Dave’s lives did not include snakes, other reptiles, and amphibians. Today their combined experience in working with snakes spans more than 65 years.

Throughout their adult lives, the Barkers have worked with and had experiences with a wide variety of animals—from dart-poison frogs and moray eels to toucans, otters, and monkeys—but there’s no denying that their foremost fascination has always been with snakes.

In the years before they met, Dave and Tracy both worked as zookeepers, field biologists, researchers, and graduate students.