Carl J. Franklin is a herpetologist with over 30 years of experience specializing in
turtles. He has worked as a zoo herpetologist at the Fort Worth and Dallas Zoo and
served as the Collections Manager at the UT Arlington Amphibian and Reptile Diversity
Research Center. He is also the Founder and President of Texas Turtles.
Carl has participated in scientific expeditions across the U.S., Latin America, and
Southeast Asia, contributing to the discovery of numerous new amphibian and reptile
species. He has bred and maintained various reptile species and was honored with the
Joseph Laszlo Award for contributions to herpetoculture. An avid outdoorsman,
photographer, and speaker, Carl has also worked on reptile-focused television and cinematic documentaries. If he’s not in the field, he’s somewhere in Texas enjoying his passion for
herpetology, Tex-Mex, BBQ, Chicken fried steaks, music, friends, family and or dogs.