Tell Hicks, doing what he did best, painting reptiles at NARBC. Photo by Cindy Steinle

The reptile community lost one of our great leaders this Friday when artist Tell Hicks passed away. Tell was always a great friend to kingsnake.com and to me.

Tell was one of the founders of the International Herpetological Society in the UK along with John Foden (passed 1999), Tony Phelps (passed 2021) and Dave Turnbull. He was one of the leaders of British Herpetology along with being a world renowned artist. Exceptiontionally well known in the UK, Tell spent a great deal of time in the US working closely with International Herpetological Society and NARBC as well as designing a lot of the wonderful art you see at the Chiricahua Desert Museum. Tell was an amazing atyist but more Tell was a wonderful human. For those of us in the US, we often saw him set up at NARBC events with his easel working on his next masterpiece. He became paralyzed 7 years ago in a freak accident, but never gave up. Eventually he did start painting again and at every NARBC, Bob Ashley would make sure Tell got to see his friends. One of my favorite parts of any NARBC was Bob coming around with the Tell visit.

Tell was such a kind and wonderful human. He welcomed everyone who stopped to say hi as if they were an old friend because they soon would be. Tell made you feel like you were family. He was truly a proper English gentleman with a "cheeky" sense of humor.

Im glad I had the priveledge to spend time outside of the shows with Tell and I have some fantastic memories from a bizarre trip to Texas. Thank you for the memories Tell. You will live with us all always through your amazing art.

Our most sincere condolences go out to his wife Eileen, his children as well as all his herper family.

I never say goodbye, so Tell, I love you and see you soon.

Aldabra giant tortoise foraging for food in a forest on North Island, which is part of Aldabra – the world's second-largest coral atoll. Credit: Rich Baxter/IOTA Seychelles

In 1997, North Island located in the Seychelles was purchased by private investors for ecotourism and rewilding. Today, that venture took 200 heavy steps forward as 50 Galapagos tortoises were released to the island to roam free again as they did once before. Many of the tortoises were actually pets surrendered for the joint project with Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA) and North Island Environment Department.

Before the tortoises left Mahé, they were microchipped for the national tortoise census and fed only native leaves to prevent the spread of invasive plant species via their droppings. They underwent two quarantines, one in Mahé and one on North Island, before taking their first steps into their new wild home.

Now, every day, they walk a little farther and explore a little more. “After months of planning, seeing them walk free was incredibly rewarding,” says IOTA assistant project officer Santosh Albert.

To read more about this amazing release, visit here.