While the public mainly thinks about zoos for the work they do with exotic species like lions, tigers, and giraffes, much of their critical and often unsung work revolves around endangered native species. They serve as an "ark" for species threatened or endangered in the wild. Often zoos will be brought in to work with federal and state agencies, as well as private organizations, to provide assessment and oversight of species, and often manage their recovery plans. In this role, Doug Hotle of the Albuquerque Biological Park has worked with a variety of native species, including the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, and is currently working on a program that focuses on restoring New Mexico's rarest reptiles and amphibians like the Mexican garter snake, sand dune lizard, northern leopard frog, Sacramento Mountains salamander, and Jemez Mountains salamander.

Hotle has been active as a professional herpetologist for about 30 years and has worked at several AZA institutions as a keeper, senior keeper, manager, general curator, and an executive director. In addition to improving husbandry and propagation techniques with zoos, Doug has served as a contract biologist for the state of Indiana and US department of the Navy, heading up a Timber rattlesnake conservation program where he served as primary investigator for seven years. He routinely assists in training for individuals who come in contact with venomous snakes as a part of their occupation and has also worked as Curator of Herpetology for the Natural Toxins Research Center at Texas A&M University-Kingsville where he oversaw the husbandry at serpentarium of over 500 venomous snakes, performed daily venom extractions and conducted research on the biomedical applications of snake venoms. Hotle has published for both general audiences as well as in peer-reviewed journals.

Currently Hotle serves as Curator of Herpetology for the Albuquerque Biological Park, and is working in conjunction with state and federal agencies on conservation programs for native endangered herps in New Mexico.

Doug Hotle will be a panelist at the free National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium in Washington, D.C., November 8-10. For more information and to register to attend, please click here.