AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT... we welcome Ken McCloud, who will discuss “Saving Endangered Flora and Fauna” based on his experience in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; where he tracked and caught smugglers of endangered flora and fauna during his 31 years as a special agent - including 10 years as a deep undercover agent who infiltrated smuggling cartels including wildlife, drugs and the child sex trade. Ken was the first (and so far only) agent to capture and convict Cycad and Orchid smugglers. After any new discovery of a plant, the next year all specimens will be GONE - taken by poachers and smugglers; the more endangered a plant or animal, the greater the value to poachers. As a herpetologist, Ken will discuss the endangered reptiles being smuggled in to the U.S. as well as warm blooded animals, too. Ken says his wife, Rose, has raised everything he confiscates as evidence in their home - from tiger, lion, leopard and jaguar cubs to Komodo dragons and Australian death adders with no mortalities. I have asked Rose to come listen to the talk - she is tiny in stature but tougher than she looks.

Since retirement, Ken has been active in the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA as a major crimes investigator for over 6 years - he still participates in emergencies such as freeing a rattlesnake entwined in string. Currently, Ken works for Larry Ellison’s Pacific Animal Initiatives (PAI) at their Endangered and Imperiled Species Facility. He is active with Behring Global Educations Foundation (BGEF) designing new wildlife conservation educational museums in China and ten other countries. This is going to be GOOD! Guests are welcome to attend - fee is $5. Judy Hogan, Program Chair