Michael Ralbovsky has taken his lifelong love of reptiles and developed an approach to natural history education that has made Rainforest Reptile Shows, his North Boston-based, educational outreach company, famous throughout New England. Childhood asthma kept Michael out of the furry pet world most of us are used to, and planted him firmly in the realm of scales and claws. He got his first pet snake when he was five years old and he has been learning from his reptilian encounters ever since. Michael is now sharing these educational experiences with as many people as he can!

As the child of an Air Force Serviceman, Michael is widely traveled and never misses a chance to learn about the local slitherers and crawlers. While living in Florida, Michael had many opportunities to interact with the neighborhood alligators, venomous and non venomous snakes, and various other reptiles and amphibians. He can not resist devouring every herpetology publication he sees, and has developed an extensive cache of knowledge that makes his presentations unique and fascinating.

Ralbovsky obtained a BS degree in Biology, but gained his most valuable experience as an animal keeper at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park. While working at the Alligator Farm, Michael also helped in conducting behavioral research studies with Dr. Kent Vliet from the University of Florida.