After reading just a few of the humorous, sometimes dangerous, encounters with the suburban animal kingdom, Tim Harrison will immediately strike readers as part Dr. Doolittle, part Indiana Jones. Complete with leather jacket and safari hat, Mr. Harrison has been pursuing, capturing and rescuing wildlife gone astray since the age of 13.

        In the ensuing 30 years, this former policeman-fireman-paramedic has been involved in hundreds of animal rescues and traveled the world with a production crew in tow filming wildlife shows. He has also served as a consultant to PBS, and the Nature and Discovery channels.

        Whether it is a monocle cobra trapped in a garage, an African lion roaming a cul-de-sac or a family alligator that has outgrown the bathtub, no job seems too big or too small for this Springboro resident who describes himself as a "wildlife enthusiast.”

        As the dozen or so stories testify, Mr. Harrison is certainly enthusiastic about entering situations in which he is not the highest member of the food chain. He prides himself on never having to kill an animal by honoring a simple motto: “Do no harm,” regardless of whether it is a thrashing reptile or a rare venomous snake for which there is no antivenom.

        A good storyteller when it comes to the bizarre and overblown, many of his more humorous chapters are built around humanity's amazing fear of snakes. This particular species seems to take on mythic proportions when sighted by the average suburbanite, and his cue is to step in before man and beast get any closer.

        Realizing the “fisherman's mentality” when it comes to the unusual and exotic, he has developed a caustic wit in relating stories of 30-foot long snakes (none exist), deadly to the whole of civilization and reported by someone who barely escaped with his or her life.

        Mr. Harrison also has quite a bit to say about those who take such deadly animals as wolves, tiger cubs or bears as pets only to find the once cute, cuddly animal grows into a large carnivorous animal, constantly hungry and very destructive. As is so often the case, a child or visitor is accidentally bitten, or neighborhood pets start to mysteriously disappear. In proving a correlation between intoxication and selecting the wrong pet, Mr. Harrison finds it here with the decision to bring a wild predator into one's home.

        The main reason for taking time out to collect and publish these stories is to make the public aware of the increase in dangerous animals found in residential environments.

        Mr. Harrison lays the blame partly on the myriad wild animal shows on cable television and partly on the lack of ordinances prohibiting venomous or other potentially harmful animals in populated areas. His goal is to let readers know of the growing chance that they may one day run into something other than the neighbor's Labrador in their backyards and, more important, how to act in such a situation.

        An appendix offers useful information on public agencies and hospitals trained to deal with these matters. A snake bite protocol, followed by suggestions on what to do until the priest arrives, is also of interest.

        For those still unconvinced that a baby alligator or fuzzy bear cub will offer nothing but companionship and domestic bliss, you may want to be introduced to the Burmese python or American crocodile that accompany Mr. Harrison on his public appearances before running out to make that purchase.
       

SIGNINGS

               Tim Harrison will discuss and sign Wild Times at 7 p.m. Friday, Barnes and Noble, 9891 Waterstone Blvd. (just off Fields-Ertel Road), Deerfield Township; 683-5599; and 2 p.m. Saturday, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Edwards and Madison roads, Norwood, 396-8960.

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