Jeff Corwin by Jeff Corwin

CHAPTER ONE
    Snake Boy
    Have you ever had your teeth cleaned by a live shrimp? Jeff Corwin has, and that is just the beginning of the adventures he has had with animals. Jeff Corwin is one of the most celebrated wildlife biologists in the world, and his path there was paved with snakes. Yes, snakes! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
    Jeffrey Scott Corwin was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 11, 1967. Quincy is an urban community located near the big city of Boston. Jeff lived in a three-family row house with his mom, Valerie, his father, Marcy, and his younger sister, Amy.
    Jeff began learning about animals when he was just three years old. That was when he was given his first pet—a goat! Jeff’s parents purchased the goat from a farm on Cape Cod. Jeff’s mom named the goat Billy. The Corwin family thought Billy was a Nubian dwarf goat, which are good pets since they are small and weigh only about twenty to thirty pounds. But to everyone’s surprise, Billy grew to be a hundred pounds! That’s because he was actually a billy goat, which gets much larger than a Nubian dwarf goat.
    Jeff loved Billy, and Billy was a part of the family. He even appears in family photos from Jeff’s birthday parties. The Corwin family made a pen for Billy the billy goat on the lawn of their house in Quincy. Goats normally live on farms, so the sight of a goat living in the Corwins’ front yard got a lot of attention from the neighbors! Jeff says that local people sometimes still mention Billy, saying, “You guys had that goat!”
    Aside from Billy the goat, Jeff had few chances to experience animals in Quincy. Quincy is home to many tall buildings and paved streets, but little wildlife. Jeff had a hunger to explore the natural world and have adventures in it. But Quincy did not offer much opportunity for that. So Jeff had to make his own adventures.
    When Jeff was a small child, he built a lean-to fort in the courtyard outside his house. He spent his time searching the neighborhood for wildlife. Jeff looked in the neighbors’ yards and sheds for things like insects and abandoned nests. When he found something, he brought it back to his lean-to retreat. There, Jeff would examine, study, and display his findings. And he’d invite kids from the neighborhood over to have a peek, too. It was like he set up his own little museum!
    Jeff’s parents encouraged his interest in wildlife. Jeff’s father, Marcy, loved nature. But he worked a lot, doing many different types of jobs. Marcy did everything from selling homes as a real estate agent to delivering doughnuts. He wanted to make sure there was always enough money with which to support his family. Eventually, Marcy Corwin got a well-paying, stable job as a Boston police officer.
    After that, Marcy spent most of his time patrolling Boston’s streets, keeping the city safe. But whenever he had the time, he would share his love of nature with Jeff. Marcy always loved birds and animals, and he was excited when Jeff took an interest in these things as well.
    Whenever Marcy had time off from work and other responsibilities, he and Jeff would often head out to the country—to the Blue Hills Reservation area of Massachusetts. The Blue Hills Reservation is a seven-thousand-acre historical and natural area with many different types of animals, plants, and habitats, like forests, marshes, ponds, and meadows. There, father and son looked for local wildlife, like frogs and turtles. Sometimes Jeff and Marcy would take fishing trips. While Jeff loved to fish, he also searched for bugs and turtles on these trips. On other occasions, Jeff and his dad would simply head to a nearby pond at a golf course, where they looked for frogs.
    Jeff’s mom, Valerie, worked as a nurse when Jeff was growing up. She was also supportive of Jeff’s love of nature. Valerie allowed him to watch animal-related television shows. When Jeff was a child, Animal Planet and other cable networks that now show nature