Ross Allen (herpetologist)
Encyclopedia
Ensil Ross Allen was an American herpetologist and writer. Born in Pennsylvania, Ross relocated to Florida with his family when he was a teenager. As a young man, Allen made a hobby of capturing turtles, snakes and other reptiles near his home in central Florida.
Allen began the Reptile Institute in Silver Springs
, Florida
in November 1929. The center was once known for its reptile demonstrations, including alligator wrestling and rattlesnake milking, but is now recognized for its research on native Floridian reptiles. Allen often procured the specimens for the Institute himself, often with the help of swimmer and Silver Springs celebrity Newton Perry. In 1935, a replica of an entire Seminole
village was added to the park on Allen's initiative.
Because of his expertise in handling the animals, Allen was featured in numerous film shorts and newsreel clips. He also served as stuntman and reptile handler on several movies that were filmed in Silver Springs, including Tarzan Finds a Son and The Yearling. He worked at Silver Springs for 46 years, leaving in 1975. He began work on a new attraction that was to be called Alligator Town, U.S.A. After his death in 1981, however, the project was abandoned.
Allen began the Reptile Institute in Silver Springs
Silver Springs, Florida
Silver Springs is a U.S. populated place and spring in Marion County, Florida, just to the east of the city of Ocala. It is part of the Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in November 1929. The center was once known for its reptile demonstrations, including alligator wrestling and rattlesnake milking, but is now recognized for its research on native Floridian reptiles. Allen often procured the specimens for the Institute himself, often with the help of swimmer and Silver Springs celebrity Newton Perry. In 1935, a replica of an entire Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
village was added to the park on Allen's initiative.
Because of his expertise in handling the animals, Allen was featured in numerous film shorts and newsreel clips. He also served as stuntman and reptile handler on several movies that were filmed in Silver Springs, including Tarzan Finds a Son and The Yearling. He worked at Silver Springs for 46 years, leaving in 1975. He began work on a new attraction that was to be called Alligator Town, U.S.A. After his death in 1981, however, the project was abandoned.
Selected list of works
- Florida Water Snakes (1941)
- Fishes of Silver Springs, Florida (1946)
- Keep Them Alive (1960)
- How to Keep Snakes in Captivity (1971)