It’s with a heavy heart we announce the passing of Larry Battson on Sept. 1,2023.

He was born May 16, 1952.

He is survived by his mother, Elizabeth Battson; his sister, Melanie Battson; his two brothers, Kevin and Keith Battson; his son, Mark Dunn; and his loving wife, Cheryl Battson.

Larry was a wildlife expert, educator and entertainer, as well as a Bigfoot authority. He spent 45 years doing school programs with his wife, Cheryl, throughout the Midwest, bringing animals to the classroom and providing an educational forum.

He appeared on many national television shows with his animals, including “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” with Jim Fowler, “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson, NBC’s “The Today Show,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Mike Douglas Show,” “The Merv Griffin Show,” “CNN Headline News” and “The Dick Clark Show.”

He was a regular guest throughout the 1980s on Channel 8 news, “Cowboy Bob’s Corral,” and “The Jim Gerrard show” and most recently appeared on Patty Spitler’s “Pet Pals” TV program. He co-starred in the movie “The Escapist” as Bubba the Animal Guy. He assisted Bill Shirk in his escape career with rattlesnakes, pythons, scorpions, tarantulas and other creepy critters.

Larry was a disc jockey on WIRE (Radio Mom) in Lebanon for 10 years. He had three national podcasts, “Blog Talk Radio,” “Animal Stories” and “Talking Bigfoot.” For 30 years he did sports shows throughout the U.S. with his famous show “Rattlesnake Roundup.” He also did numerous shows to benefit various charities such as muscular dystrophy, the Indiana School for the Deaf, Crossroads Rehabilitation Center, Shriners, the Marion and Monroe county public libraries, Gleaners Food Bank and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

There will be a celebration of life on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. at the Battson compound. For information, call 765-739-6719.

Donations can be made through PayPal or Venmo to Wildlife Educational Services Inc., 4140 N. CR 600 West, Greencastle IN, 46135.