Most of us who grew up loving snakes, find ourselves in a situation of explaining why. Naturalist and ophiophilist Trisha Douda volunteers her time teaching people the basic in and out of all things serpentine but also ways to avoid natural pit falls in Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.

“There’s 2,900 species of snake, and it’s impossible to know everything about all of them, so I stick to the Santa Monica Mountains,” Douda said. “I just got involved because I knew these hills so well and was always sharing what I knew anyway.”

A distance runner who grew up near King Gillette Ranch, Douda has been studying snakes for nearly three decades, dating back to her childhood when she used to catch snakes and keep them in her room. Noticing that they looked miserable in captivity, she has long since refrained from keeping them as pets and instead enjoys observing them in nature.

Anyone who wants to learn how to do the same is welcome to join her guided hour-long hikes, which usually begin in the morning when snakes are most likely to be seen during hot summer months.

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“Snakes have a lot of redeeming qualities with a limited body structure,” Douda said. “They have survived quite beautifully.”

One of their most positive contributions to humankind is their consumption of rodents, which significantly reduces the spread of diseases brought by mice and rats.

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