Meet our Rattlesnake Expert

Owain M. McKibbin

Born and raised in South Africa, Owain has been immersed in African wildlife since birth. Having parents that enjoyed the outdoors, a father that as a young man walked from South Africa to East Africa, as well as across most of the western United States and Canada, made wilderness areas a way of life for their family. Owain has worked for over 20 years in wildlife conservation in several southern African countries and has been a Professional Wilderness Guide, Senior Parks Warden managing two wildlife parks and a game area of some 14 000 square km and then lastly as a Senior Wildlife Research Technician.
Ecological Research for the management of Parks was the main focus for the last 7 years of working in South Africa, before moving to Canada. Major projects included fine-tuning the use of helicopters to census game populations, PIT tagging to positively identify individual Rhino and to maximize identification in the unfortunate event of poaching and building of a DNA database of Rhino populations.

Owain is currently working along with assistant Lindsay George, using radio-telemetry and mark-recapture to study the effects of the newly completed snake fence on the rattlesnakes of the Nk’Mip Desert. The fence is designed to keep the snakes and people separate, and Owain is investigating its effectiveness and potential impact.

The Rattlesnake Research Program is the proud recipient of the Aboriginal Tourism British Columbia "Power of Education" award.