Mark Timothy O'Shea (born 9 May 1956) is an English

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

, photographer, author, lecturer, and television personality. He is known internationally as the presenter of the

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

series ''O'Shea's Big Adventure''.

Career

Originally from

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, Mark O'Shea moved to

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

in 2001. Since 1980, O'Shea has conducted herpetological fieldwork in over 30 countries on six continents but he has special interest in the Australo-Papuan region. He has worked in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

since 1986 when he first visited the country as a member of the scientific directing staff of

Operation Raleigh Raleigh International is a youth expedition organisation based in the UK. On 19 May 2022 Raleigh International Trust ceased operations and entered Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation. The Raleigh International brand was bought by Impact Travel Group ...

. He continued fieldwork in the country as a member of the

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine snakebite research team throughout the 1990s, and now researches there under the auspices of a fellowship from the Australian Venom Research Unit (AVRU), based in the Department of Pharmacology at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. In 2006 O'Shea designed a set of six postage stamps called "The Dangerous Snakes of Papua New Guinea", for Post PNG. The launch of these stamps coincided with the snakebite workshops and fieldwork O'Shea and his colleagues from AVRU were conducting in that country. O'Shea is also involved in the Tropical Research Initiative at

Victor Valley College Victor Valley College is a public community college in the southeast corner of Victorville, California. It is part of the California Community College System. The Victor Valley Community College district includes Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Val ...

, initiated and led by

Hinrich Kaiser Hinrich is both a masculine given name and a surname, a variant of Heinrich, the German form of Henry. People with the name include: Given name: *Hinrich Braren (1751–1826), Danish sailor and writer *Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf (1893–1961), German po ...

. The primary aim of the project was to conduct the first herpetological survey of

Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

and to provide education and research opportunities for local researchers and students in their native environment. An additional goal was to assist government policy-makers and to educate the citizens of Asia's newest country as they tackle issues related to

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

and

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

. The research has identified significantly greater amphibian and reptile diversity than previously known. O'Shea held the position of Curator of Reptiles at the West Midland Safari Park from 1987 until 2002 when he became Consultant Curator of Reptiles. In 2012, he was bitten by a king cobra while feeding it at the safari park. He had to be treated in hospital after becoming dizzy and unable to speak.

Television programs

''Giant Snake'' and ''Black Mamba''

In 1997 and 1998, respectively, O'Shea made two films: ''Giant Snake'' in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and ''Black Mamba'' in South Africa.

''O'Shea's Big Adventure''

''O'Shea's Big Adventure'', or OBA, known as ''O'Shea's Dangerous Reptiles'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

in the UK, chronicles his many field excursions to find reptiles around the world. The programs were divided into four series, ''The Americas'', ''

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

& Pacific'', ''

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

& Southeast Asia'' and ''Africa & South America''. The first two series each contained 13 half-hour films, the latter two each comprised four one-hour films. They were filmed between 1999 and 2003 and have been aired worldwide.

Other series

Since OBA, he has filmed two episodes of the series ''Safari Park'', charting the day-to-day activities of

West Midland Safari Park West Midland Safari and Leisure Park is a safari park located in Bewdley in Worcestershire, England. It was opened under the name of West Midland Safari Park in spring 1973. The park holds over 165 species of exotic animals, among other attracti ...

and the Ongava Game Reserve, filming in the UK and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, and has presented or appeared on other programs, including a report on the

Dangerous Wild Animals Act The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (22 July) is a law of the United Kingdom that was originally enacted to deal with the increasing fashion of people in the late-1960s and early-1970s keeping interesting pets which were often from the more dangero ...

for the BBC strand '' Inside Out'', filming in the UK and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. O'Shea is represented by David Foster Management.

Publications

O'Shea has written several books, including ''The Book of Snakes: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World'' (University of Chicago Press, 2018), ''A Guide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea'' (1996),

Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media co ...

's ''Handbook to Reptiles and Amphibians'' (2001, with

Tim Halliday Professor Timothy Richard Halliday was a British herpetologist and artist. He was born on 11 September 1945 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, to Edna (née Barlow), was a housemistress at Marlborough College and her husband, Jack Halliday, a biology ...

The Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

), ''Venomous Snakes of the World'' (2005), and ''Boas and Pythons of the World'' (2007). He has also contributed chapters to books on subjects ranging from rainforest ecology to snakebite, and written numerous popular and scientific articles.

Honours

O'Shea is a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

of New York. In November 2000 he received the Millennium Award for Services to Exploration (Zoology) from the British Chapter of The Explorers Club. The other recipients were

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

(Aerospace), F.

Story Musgrave Franklin Story Musgrave (born August 19, 1935) is an American physician and a retired NASA astronaut. He is a public speaker and consultant to both Disney's Imagineering group and Applied Minds in California. In 1996, he became only the second as ...

(Artists), Michael Wood (History),

Sylvia Earle Sylvia Alice Earle ( née Reade; born August 30, 1935) is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence since 1998. Earle was the first female chief scien ...

(Marine Sciences), Sir

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, w ...

(Mountaineering),

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...

(Outer Space), and Sir

Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

(Navigation). He was Chairman of the International Herpetological Society (IHS) from 1983–86 and its President from 2003–06. In July 2010 the IHS awarded O'Shea with a life membership and fellowship for his "contributions to the Society and herpetology in general". In September 2002 O'Shea received an honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree from the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mech ...

, for "services to herpetology". In September 2018 O'Shea was appointed Professor of Herpetology at the

. O'Shea is a patron of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability. and the Small Woods Association. He was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to higher education, zoology, reptile conservation and snakebite research.

References

External links

University of Wolverhampton
Graduate Feature: Mark O'Shea
University of Wolverhampton * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, Mark English zoologists Living people 1956 births People from Wolverhampton Alumni of the University of Wolverhampton British herpetologists Fellows of the Explorers Club Members of the Order of the British Empire