Reptile expert reflects on association with University spanning more than 40 years

A snake expert who has been associated with the University of Wolverhampton for more than 40 years has reflected on his career both as a student and academic.  

At the age of eight, Professor Mark O’Shea MBE, Professor of Herpetology, had a snake draped around his neck for the first time. And it was this moment that sparked his interest in reptiles.  

In 1980, after working in the NHS for seven years, Mark wanted to get back into education and further explore his passion for herpetology having spoken to Dr Lintonbon, Deputy Head of the School of Applied Sciences at Wolverhampton Polytechnic at the time.  

Mark explained how he recorded all the British native reptiles in one day on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, and had already organised two herping trips to Florida. 

He said: “I wanted to take my interest in herpetology much further. Having spoken to Dr Lintonbon, I was offered a place at Wolverhampton Polytechnic, now the University of Wolverhampton, to study Applied Sciences.  

“I often say you come to Y-junctions in life where you must take a decision to either carry on as before, or to take a more interesting route. I am a strong believer in taking the interesting branch of the Y, so for me it was no surprise that I grabbed this opportunity with both hands.”  

In September 1981, Mark’s journey at the University began and this was just the beginning of his transition from being a snake enthusiast to becoming a snake scientist. Mark was also the first person in his family to go to University.  

Mark did not graduate until 1985 because he took a six-month sabbatical to organise a seven-man expedition into the heart of Borneo in 1983-84.  

Having graduated from the University in 1985, Mark was involved with Operation Raleigh running herpetological projects in Central America, Papua New Guinea and West Africa for up to four months, and he spent seven months in the Amazon for the Royal Geographical Society.  

Whilst acknowledging he enjoyed the expeditions, Mark also realised he needed to earn a living.  

He said: “In 1987, West Midlands Safari Park (WMSP) approached me to become the first Curator of Reptiles of their newly constructed reptile house. I accepted provided I could go overseas whenever I was needed, and my job would remain open.  

“They agreed and in the 33 years I worked for them, I never worked a complete year as there was always an expedition on the horizon. However, it was a symbiotic relationship because when I landed my own international Animal Planet television series, O’Shea’s Big Adventure, WMSP re-branded the reptile house Mark O’Shea’s Reptile World, and benefitted from people coming to meet me or attend my Reptile Encounters.”  Two seasons of OBA are now on Amazon Prime. 

Mark was awarded an Honorary Doctor for Sciences for his contributions to herpetology in 2001 by the University of Wolverhampton. 

Wolverhampton Polytechnic became the University of Wolverhampton in 1992. In 2012, Mark was invited by the University, celebrating its 21st birthday, to contribute to Graduate to Great, telling his story of how attending Wolverhampton Polytechnic had been instrumental in driving his career.  

It was also at this point Mark was keen on becoming more involved with the University which then led to him teaching on the Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Conservation course as a Visiting Lecturer.  

Having conducted Papuan snake research in four Australian museums in 2016, Mark was approached by the University to present a keynote presentation BCAS International Symposium in Sri Lanka and attend their student graduation event.  

Following the event, Mark visited the University of Colombo Herpetarium, home to a collection of Sri Lankan venomous snakes used for snakebite research.  

He said: “Four professors from the University of Wolverhampton were with me on the visit. They expected to see venomous snakes in cages, but they did not expect me to remove each cobra, krait, or Russell’s viper from its cage, place it on the floor, and demonstrate some of it’s defensive behaviour.”  

In 2018, Mark accepted a professorship from the University of Wolverhampton to become Professor of Herpetology and to expand his teaching as well as formalise his snake research which has led to the description of twelve new snake species. A group of German herpetologists also described a new Indonesian pipesnake Cylindrophis osheai in his honour. 

Two years later, he was awarded an MBE in The Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to ‘higher education, reptile conservation, zoology and snakebite research.’  

In 2021, he won an "Outstanding Contribution to Research” award in the Vice-Chancellor's 10th Staff Excellence Awards, and in 2023, Mark won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the University of Wolverhampton Alumni Awards. In the same year, Mark chaired the team that brought the 22nd European Congress of Herpetology to the Springfield Campus, with delegates from 27 countries attending.   

Reflecting on where he is today, Mark said: “As a 25-year-old snake enthusiast embarking on my journey at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1981, I could never have envisaged the journey I would take to where I am today.  

“Of all the Y-junctions in my life, accepting Dr Lintonbon’s offer to study at Wolverhampton Polytechnic was the most important one, the one that set the train of events in progress that would lead to who I am today and what I have achieved.  

“When I stand in front of students today, I start by saying “I’m Professor of Herpetology here at the University of Wolverhampton, and forty-plus years ago I was sitting where you are now.”  

Anyone looking to study at the University of Wolverhampton should register for one of our Open Days.   

Image 1: Mark introducing a Speckled Racer (Drymobius margariferus) to the camera in Sonora, Mexico, during filming of “Monsters of the Madre” for O’Shea’s Big Adventure on Animal Planet Season 1.

Image 2: In 2014, Mark working on Toxicocalamus at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.