The reptile world is in mourning this week after losing two of it's own, people that changed the reptile world for everyone in a good way and whose loss leaves big holes in our communiuty.

Center for North American Herpetology Co-founder and Director Joseph T. Collins suffered a heart attack and died on 14 January 2012 in Florida. Joe Collins was the driving force behind the Center for North American Herpetology. The CNAH brings a variety of herp news, some of it shared here on this page, and provided a data bank for researchers and professionals across the country a central networking data base. His list of books that he authored is immense and I would venture to say most herpers own at least one. His passion for the field was obvious and it was in the field herping that he left this community.

But for others who knew him more intimately, Joe was a major inspiration. Mike Rochford, a wildlife research assistant for the University of Florida, knew Joe, and his life's path was forever changed because of that. From Mike:

He was just an all-around great guy. He could always make you smile, laugh, or get excited about the future. He was the brains behind the Kansas Herpetological Society, the number one state herp society in the nation. And he had the ability to excite a passion among people in that state that will never be rivaled. In fact, KHS field trips brought in many people from other states as the reputation for a good time and great herping became more and more well-known. The state of Kansas really lost a champion for wildlife. Joe was "The Crocodile Hunter" before that ever became cool. And by that I mean he inspired a lot of people with his enthusiasm.

Andy Price, former state herpetologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife died January 16th, 2012, at Christopher House in Austin, TX, after a long fight against Multiple Myeloma. He was an avid field herpetologist and worked for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department from 1986 to 2008. From 2009-2010, Andy worked with the Texas Natural Science Center and taught at Southwestern University. Andy was passionate about fieldwork and was granted awards for his lifetime efforts in conservation of Texas reptiles and amphibians by the Southwestern Association of Naturalists and Texas Herpetological Society. He was given the Southwest Book Award for Literary Excellence for his book, Amphibians and Reptiles of New Mexico. He was Editor- in-Chief for the Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles from 1994 to his death.

I was long time friends with Andy, we sat on many committees, panels, and discussions groups together and I and all the other Texas herpers that had a close bond with him will miss him greatly. And Andy was a friend to kingsnake.com, participating in the site in many ways. Andy was a kingsnake.com chat week guest way back in 2002. You can read the transcript here. I will miss Andy deeply. His sense of humor got me through some bad times and long meetings.

Both Joe and Andy will be missed greatly by our community and their loss will be felt by all in many ways. Donations in Andy's name should be sent to support the “Field Research” section of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Grants in Herpetology program: Dr. Kirsten Nicholson, SSAR Treasurer, Museum of Cultural and Natural History, 103 Rowe Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859.

Thanks to Cindy for helping with this post ~