Rob Bredl "The Barefoot Bushman" June 2003
In May of 2003 I got a call about a "new" Australian TV host who was looking to shoot an episode in Florida about our indigenous wildlife. I offered up my services and from there we planned the details and began scouting for locations to film and look for our native herpetofauna. I was intrigued by this chap they called "The Barefoot Bushman". They said he never wears shoes. Indeed, when I picked him and the film crew up at the Orlando Airport he was shoeless; he remained shoeless for the next several days as we traveled all over the state filming and herping. Rob Bredl was a fine herper and I really enjoyed working with him. He told many great stories of life in the Australian outback and his work with Saltwater Crocodiles.
A couple of friends spent time helping me with the various aspects of assisting Rob. Gordon Cates and Jeff Finger provided invaluable assistance and I am grateful for all of their help. Chris Harper also was the pointman for getting this whole deal going from the getgo so to speak. Enough with the talk.........here are the pics!
Day one was spent out in the vicinity of the Kissimmee Prairie. This first pic is of us unloading people and equipment from our 4x4 truck.
Jeff Finger and his girlfriend helped me scout out spots.
There were many flowers in bloom and I took pics of a few.
We found a nice Yellow Rat Snake crossing the dirt road next where we were filming. Rob shows the camera how adept they are at climbing.
A nice Florida Pine Snake. They are still fairly common in undisturbed areas of Central and North Florida.
A nice Eastern Diamondback.
Rob shows the difference between a harmless Scarlet Kingsnake and a venomous Coral Snake. The Coral snake is much bigger than the Scarlet Kingsnake in these pictures.
A beautiful Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake lies motionless at the base of a palm frond.
We came across two dead Alligators that had apparently been shot by someone for target practice.
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