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Mark Timothy O'Shea (born 9 May 1956) is an English
herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...
, 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 focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...
/
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 that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...
series ''O'Shea's Big Adventure''.


Career

Originally from
Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
, Mark O'Shea moved to
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
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, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
since 1986 when he first visited the country as a member of the scientific directing staff of Operation Raleigh. He continued fieldwork in the country as a member of the
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
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 (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
. 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, 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 Bitter-Suermann (born 1940), German-Canadian pathologist and professor of surgery *Hinrich ...
. The primary aim of the project was to conduct the first herpetological survey of
Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
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 and
sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
. 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 The king cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah'') is a species complex of snakes Endemism, endemic to Asia. With an average of and a record length of , it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus ''Ophiophagus'', i ...
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 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 channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
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 subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
& Pacific'', ''
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
& 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 and the Ongava Game Reserve, filming in the UK and
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
, and has presented or appeared on other programs, including a report on the Dangerous Wild Animals Act for the BBC strand '' Inside Out'', filming in the UK and the Netherlands. 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 cong ...
's ''Handbook to Reptiles and Amphibians'' (2001, with Tim Halliday of
The Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
), ''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 for ex ...
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 musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...
(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 a ...
(Artists), Michael Wood (History), Sylvia Earle (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, ...
(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 extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...
(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 to 1986 and its president from 2003 to 2006. 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 A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...
degree from the
University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...
, for "services to herpetology". In September 2018 O'Shea was appointed Professor of Herpetology at the
University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...
. 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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 20th-century British explorers Members of the Order of the British Empire