PORT TOWNSEND — A high school sophomore’s love and respect for reptiles has turned into a fledgling business that provides education and entertainment.
By the end of the school year, Lauren Taracka, 16, will have led 25 seminars bringing her animals to more than 500 students in six different local schools.
She calls her business Lizardopolis.
She faced her largest audience Friday during an assembly at Blue Heron Middle School.
She told about 100 fourth- and sixth-graders about reptile care and feeding while providing contact with animals ranging from a small gecko lizard to a 13-foot, 40-pound Burmese python.
Taracka usually makes presentations using her own animals but Friday she included several from Clallam County Snake Pit, a Port Angeles-based reptile rescue organization founded in 2015.
Taracka is assisted in the business by her mother, Heather, and sister, Grace, 12.
“At these presentations, there is always one child who is terrified of snakes that gets turned around,” Heather Taracka said.
“This is a change of a lifetime. If there is an adult with a fear of snakes, there is nothing you can do.”
Heather Taracka said that people can gain a reptile’s trust but not their love.
‘Like an alien’
“They aren’t like a puppy or a kitten,” she said.
“They are more like an alien.”
The assembled students were told to keep quiet to not disturb the animals but their enthusiasm sometimes took over, prompting reminders.
Each animal was discussed and taken around the room for students to touch if they wished.
While many declined the opportunity, others stroked the animals gently and reverently.
The most enthusiasm was generated by Jasmine, a 3-year-old Burmese python.
Clallam County Snake Pit owner Jonathan Shanur said that many people who buy reptiles as pets are unprepared for their rapid growth and want to get rid of them when their size gets out of hand.
In this area that means releasing them into the wild which is a death sentence because of the cold temperatures, he said.
Shanur said that reptiles are misunderstood by the public.
“They are noble creatures,” he said.
“They are like living dinosaurs.”
Lauren Taracka wants to continue working with animals, especially amphibians and reptiles.
She was one of four youth runners up in a contest sponsored by the International Herpetological Symposium.
Herpetological conference
That allows her free admission to its conference in St. Louis from June 22 to June 25.
There are still expenses involved and she has sponsored a crowdfunding campaign to raise the needed cash.
As of Saturday, she had raised $225 toward a $1,700 goal.
To contact the Clallam County Snake Pit, go to www.clallamcountysnakepit.org.
For information about Lizardopolis, go to www.lizardopolis.com.
For information about Taracka’s crowdfunding campaign, go to tinyurl.com/PDN-reptile.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
