HERP NEWS 214/2009
100 MILE HOUSE FREE PRESS (British
Columbia) 04 August 09 Threatened amphibians dodge cattle, ‘boggers
(Laura Kelsey)
“So, I guess
the big question is, are they frogs or toads?”
It was 10:32
p.m. on a warm summer night and I was in a 59 Mile cabin with two young,
aspiring student biologists. I was there to find out more about — and,
hopefully, witness for myself — the Great Basin Spadefoot.
I had just
arrived and my first question brought puzzled looks to my hosts’ faces.
Jocelyn Garner
explained the small amphibians have attributes of both frogs and toads, so “no
one has made the classification yet.”
She said not
much is known about spadefoots, who were only discovered in the area in 2006;
and, because of their small population, the Committee on the Status of
Endangered Wildlife in Canada has them listed as threatened.
For these
reasons, Garner, contracted by the Ministry of Environment, and species
technician Jonquil Crosby are immersing themselves in prime spadefoot habitat
to find out as much as they can about the small creatures.
Spadefoots
prefer arid grasslands, but it is believed that human encroachment has brought
their numbers down. According to the Environment ministry, “their habitat is
under great pressure, since human beings also enjoy living in warm dry areas.
The dry grassland habitat is one of the rarest habitat types in BC, making up
only six percent of the province’s land area.”
Their known
domain stretches south into the States; and sightings suggest the Green Lake
area is the northern-most of their range.
Whether
spadefoots have always been here, undetected, or are moving northward because
of climate change or other reasons is one of the animal’s aspects the spadefoot
team are hoping to discover.
The species’
name was derived from the small, black “spade” on the first toe of each hind
foot. This unique feature is used as a digging tool, allowing spadefoots to
quickly disappear into the soil to hide or rest.
Habitat
assessments and behavioural analyses are all part of their ever-compiling research.
“They’re
constantly surprising us,” said Crosby. “We’ll think the ground is too hard and
they’ll be buried in it. We’ll think the brush is too thick but they’ll be
walking through the forest.”
And, although
smaller than a human palm in size, the researchers are finding out they ain’t
no slow turtles.
“They can
cover some serious ground and can really book it if they want to,” said Garner.
During the
day, spadefoots are almost always underground and most active at night when
they come out to call for mates, eat and use the darkness to avoid predators.
This is why Garner and Crosby must conduct much of their research nocturnally.
As I felt the
urge to suppress fatigue-induced yawns, I wondered how they stay up trekking
the countryside.
“Pure
enthusiasm keeps us going,” replied Garner.
We left the
cabin, driving a few kilometres down the road and through off-roads. Ten
minutes into our adventure, Crosby, driving, screeched to a halt.
“There’s a
spadefoot on the road.”
Adorned with
headlamps, we exited the truck and crouched down to see a small specimen making
his way along our path.
Garner
explained they outfit found spadefoots with a radio transmitter, fashioning a
small, unimposing harness around their tiny waists. Then, with the help of
radio receiver, the researchers track the spadefoots’ moves.
The spadefoot
has to be a certain size, however, and the road warrior we found was too small.
We continued
to a pre-determined spot and began tracking Donovan, named after Olympic
medalist Donavan Bailey because of his speed.
They explained
that staying up late sometimes inspired weird monikers for their study
subjects.
Finding him
and marking down coordinates, we continued to an open field where I was
surprised to see a sea of eyes reflecting off my head lamp.
Coughing could
be heard, reminiscent of an elderly man.
“Cows,” I was
told. Lots of them. Mooing erupted as we ventured further into the field and it
didn’t stop for the rest of the evening.
Being used to
the bovines, Garner and Crosby were unfazed. They were focused and their
determination paid off when they found the largest spadefoot they had seen yet.
They weighed
the female, recorded stats and brought out a new transmitter to harness around
her surprisingly thin waist.
It took awhile
and, I’ll admit, my mind wandered to the cattle gauntlet we had just put
ourselves in the middle of; every time I raised my head, the light on my
forehead reflected more eyes looking back, mostly mothers and calves.
But it was a
long-horned larger livestock animal that had me a bit worried.
The
researchers were oblivious to these mammals and only had eyes for the robust
amphibian they harnessed in their hands.
In recognition
of my visit, they kindly named this spadefoot — the fattest one they have ever
found — Laura. I had mixed feelings about this.
Leaving Laura
the Spadefoot behind, we used the receiver rod to eventually find Danny — named
for his resemblance to short and stocky Danny DeVito — and Grace, who happened
to cross the researchers path and “grace” them with her presence.
Ministry of
Environment senior ecosystem biologist Roger Packham is very happy with the
work the student researchers are doing; but, he says, there are some
discouraging activities endangering the local batch of spadefoots: mud-bogging,
where people take their vehicles off-road to splash through mud puddles, is a
popular pastime in prime spadefoot habitat.
Packham says
ponds north and west of 70 Mile hold the largest concentration of spadefoots in
the area and mud-bogging is destroying them.
“Lots of
spadefoots are being killed by this activity,” he said. “We just want to get it
out that mud-bogging is not something we want to see and is also against the
law.”
Packham
reminds people that it is an offense to damage Crown land in any way, including
mud-bogging, and fines up to $100,000 or a year in jail can result if caught.
To better the
spadefoots’ chance of survival, a public education campaign has been ongoing in
the area; a door-to-door flyer drop, sign placement and spot patrols have been
taking place.
“We need to
keep in mind spadefoots are living in these ponds and now some of them have
been rendered useless for habitat.”
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_cariboo/100milefreepress/lifestyles/52477297.html
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS (Manitoba) 04
August 09 Secret behind victory: kissing frog on its lips (Doug Speirs)
St.
Pierre-Jolys: Get ready to be very
excited because today I'm going to give you a dramatic blow-by-blow account of
how my frog and I made out at the Canadian Frog Jumping Championship.We competed
in the National Frog Jumping VIP event at the 40th annual Frog Follies Festival
in St. Pierre-Jolys, a village about 50 kilometres south of Winnipeg that is
home to about 900 people and a large number of nervous amphibians.
As
frog-jumping events go, it's an incredibly classy affair, as evidenced by the
fact the first activity we engaged in Sunday was a pre-jump wine and cheese
party.
(Fact: In
elite jumping circles, the wine and cheese party is ALWAYS held first, because
after touching frogs, no one is in the mood to handle anything in the
"hors d'oeuvres" category.)
The first
thing I did was to formally register my frog. It was a tough choice, but I
decided to call him Sir Robert Hoppington Esquire (Bob for short) in honour of
my boss Bob, not that I am suggesting he has any frog-like qualities.
As we sipped
wine, I pressed the defending champion, Morris MLA Mavis Taillieu, to reveal
her winning technique.
"Last
year, I just put my frog down on the spot and he took off," Mavis
confided, "I didn't do anything. It's all up to the frog."
"The
secret is to blow on its hindquarter," said Luc Catellier of the local
chamber of commerce.
Soon it was
time to march over to the competition tent, where our frogs were patiently
waiting and having their nerves soothed by a rock band.
There were 23
competitors and each of us was called on stage and handed a random frog in a
bucket. We had to scoop the frogs out with our hands, plop them down on the
green carpet, then encourage them to jump via the technique of yelling and
slapping our hands on the floor while audience members tried to avoid wetting
themselves.
Our frogs had
to jump three times. The winner was the one with the longest combined leaps.
Every once in
a while, a frog would make a break for freedom, hopping away in some random
direction, causing the crowd to cheer wildly, until a child wielding a
butterfly net captured the escapee.
The crowd was
also deeply moved when St. Boniface MP Shelly Glover motivated her frog via the
shocking method of kissing it on the lips, which are tough to find on a frog.
But it clearly
worked because her frog, Greta Grenouille, rocketed into the lead with a
three-jump total of 112.5 inches. As a professional journalist, I asked Shelly
what it was like to kiss a frog.
Shelly:
"It was wet and slimy."
Me: "Kind
of like high school?"
Sadly, there
were a few "bad apple" frogs in the barrel. For example, when local
RCMP Staff Sgt. Ron Poirier plopped his frog down, instead of jumping, it just
turned around and glared at him.
"Taser
him! Taser him!" the crowd howled as the standoff dragged on.
Happily,
nothing that dramatic occurred, but the sergeant was forced to take his frog
back into custody.
As I scooped
Bob out of his bucket, he bolted, causing me to shriek. For the next five
minutes, a kid with a net would capture my frog, which I would gingerly
retrieve, only to watch it squirt away again like a bar of green soap as I
resumed shrieking.
"I may
not have any teeth, but I will gum you to within an inch of your life!"
was the telepathic message Bob was sending me.
In the end, I
crawled, shrieking, after my frog, which leaped 93.5 inches, earning me sixth
place. The day's big winners were Shelly Glover and her teammate, Greta.
"This is
one of the proudest moments of my life," Shelly told me after her victory,
then, tears in her eyes, squealed: "But the funniest moment ever was when
you were cringing in fear in front of your frog. The little girl screams -- I
was laughing so hard I cried!"
So I've got
that going for me. Which is fine, because my frog and I have been invited to
come back next year. I'm definitely up for it, but something tells me Bob is
going to "croak" before then.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/secret-behind-victory-kissing-frog-on-its-lips-52421977.html
KOSA (Odessa, Texas) 04 August 09 Woman
Finds Snake in Toilet (Lindsay Martin)
Andrews,
Texas: Strange things have ended up in
toilets, but one woman in Andrews found something rather unsettling in hers.
The woman
lifted the lid to discover a 4-½ foot diamondback rattlesnake coiled up in the
bowl.
The woman, who
lives in a "new housing district" in northwest Andrews, called the
exterminator, still in hysterics.
The
exterminator grabbed the snake with a special device, then took it outside and
killed it.
He says
someone lifted the clean-out plug on the sewer line next to the house, which
provided an open invitation for the snake.
Experts say
more rattlesnakes are coming out now, due to the cool ground.
http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=14121
TIMES OF INDIA (New Delhi) 04 August 09 Snake
scare hits Ajmer
Ajmer: The
dreaded hood of the black cobra is sending the chill down the spine of people
in Ajmer these days.
At least 10
people have fallen victim to snakebite in the district and many have sustained
injuries and have been admitted to different hospitals in last one month.
Cobras have been caught twice from the premises of district collector's
resident and dozens from residential areas of Ajmer city.
At least seven
to 10 cases of sighting snakes or snakebites are reported daily to forest
department. Scared citizens have not only spotted snakes in large numbers, they
have also reported several cases of snakebites in their area. "After the
unusal heat this summer with delayed monsoon, the snakes have been spotted in
large numbers. The scattered rain has worsened the scenario, say experts.
"Buildings
constructions and deforestration have forced the reptiles to "invade"
homes and, gardens and farms," said K C Meena, divisional forest officer.
The department is flooded with calls from several parts of the town. The
department, these days, is busy and has a lot to do. charmers have been hired
to catch the snakes and release them in the dense forest of Nag hills.
"We have
caught at least seven snakes, mostly cobras, in just one week from various
parts," said Sudhir Mathur, forester, Ajmer range. He cautioned people not
to press the panic button and inform the department instead. He also said wary
citizens have fallen prey to the reptiles as they went on the defensive mode.
One Shayeed
aged 22, a labourer of Khoda Ganesh area, was recently biten by a snake when he
was working in a farm. He was admitted to JLN hospital, but succumbed.
Similarly, Maya, wife of Baldev, resident of Bombani village, was bitten by a
snake while she was tilling the land. she died on-the-spot. Four days ago,
42-year-old Kalu was found dead in his field by his relatives.
Later, it was
reported to be a sanke-bite case.
Snakes have
also invaded urban homes. "I spotted a snake, at least seven-feet-long,
few days ago. I immediately call forest department and they caught the black
cobra" said Sanwar lal Sharma of Bihari Ganj. A cobra was found in the
garage of district collector's bungalow. The district collector's driver raied
an alrm when he saw the reptile. most complaints are pouring in from Ajay
Nager, Foisager, Naka Madar and Dholabhata region of the city. This year's
census shows that the number of snakes has come down.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/jaipur/Snake-scare-hits-Ajmer/articleshow/4854150.cms
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (Washington,
DC) 04 August 09 New Frog Picture: Species Changes Color With Age, Sex (Christine
Dell'Amore)
What's black
and white and red all over? Hint: This time, it's not a newspaper.
A new frog
species discovered in the Talamanca mountains of southern Costa Rica sports a
range of colors depending on its gender and age.
Females are
generally black with white belly splotches, such as the one pictured above. The
males, meanwhile, have black, white, and brown markings peppering an orange-red
base.
Young frogs of
either sex are mostly brown with some beige and black blotches on their
undersides.
This type of
color divergence is "amazing" in the Diasporus genus of frog, the discoverers—led by the University of
Costa Rica's Gerardo Chaves—write in the May edition of the journal Zootaxa.
In fact, to
"see such striking color differences between male and female frogs [in any
genus] is really rare," said Valerie C. Clark, a Ph.D. student at Queen's
University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, who was not involved in the research.
In general,
red-and-black coloration in frogs is a red flag to predators that what they're
about to eat is toxic, added Clark, a frog biologist who has received funding
from National Geographic's Committee for Research and Exploration. (The
National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
But the
chemistry of the new frog species—part of the dink frog group, so named for
their bell-like calls—hasn't yet been studied, Clark said.
The newfound
amphibian was "remarkably abundant" in the high-altitude rain forest
where it was found. Even so, its limited known habitat of fewer than 1.2 square
miles (3 square kilometers) makes the frogs' survival tenuous, the study
authors say.
"This
study demonstrates that there is a great chance to discover new species if one
takes the risk to explore remote areas," Clark added, "even within
well-explored countries like the U.S.A. and Costa Rica."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090804-new-dink-frog-picture.html
HERALD AND NEWS (Klamath Falls, Oregon) 04
August 09 Snake finds home in car - Rattlesnake not happy about removal from Geo
Tracker (Ryan Pfeil)
Marvin Schenck
has been in the automobile service business for 28 years and he’s still having
first-time experiences. This time it was with a venomous snake.
On July 30,
Katie Prewitt pulled her Geo Tracker in for work at Prewitt’s Auto Body in
Klamath Falls. She saw what looked like a rope hanging from the undercarriage
down to the ground.
The “rope,” it
turned out, was an angry 3-foot diamondback rattlesnake, which had probably
snuggled up to the Tracker’s warm V6 engine while Prewitt had the vehicle
parked at her Pine Grove home.
The snake
checked in, but didn’t check out.
“It didn’t
take too long to figure out that sticking our hands in any part wasn’t a good
idea,” said Schenck, who works across the street at Downtown Automotive.
Dave Prewitt,
Katie’s husband and owner of the body shop, had called his friend Schenck to come
across the street to listen to a funny hissing sound, maybe from a faulty
emissions valve.
“You couldn’t
see it at that point,” Prewitt said.
After a few
minutes, Schenck saw a flash of slithering movement between the engine
components and understood the ruse.
“You could see
a glimmer of the color of it,” Schenck said.
U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service biologist Trisha Roninger said a rattlesnake seeking out such
a habitat is unusual.
“They’re
looking for warmth, usually for basking, so that’s really bizarre, especially
with as warm as it’s been in the Klamath Basin,” Roninger said.
Bizarre or
not, Schenck had to get the unhappy tenant out of its quarters.
He and Prewitt
tried removing the intruder by squirting it with water. The buzzing of the
snake’s rattles continued. The commotion cleared the Prewitt’s building.
Customers and employees crowded around to witness the struggle.
Every time
someone got close to the vehicle, the buzzing sound started.
“It knew when
you were getting close to the rig,” Schenck said.
“We assumed it
could see us through holes or something,” Schenck said.
The tide
changed in Schenck’s favor when the snake’s rattling tail flopped out over the
right front tire. Using a shovel and another tool as makeshift chopsticks,
Schenck yanked on the tail and the snake popped out. Schenck pinned it to the
ground by the neck with the shovel. The rattle continued buzzing while the
snake hissed and snapped at the air, trying to land a poisonous bite on someone
in the crowd.
“It was very
upset,” Schenck said.
Schenck
beheaded the snake and the Prewitts removed the rattle to keep as a memento.
They were not charged for the service on their vehicle.
“(And) we did
not order (an emissions valve) replacement,” Schenck said in an e-mail to the Herald
and News.
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2009/08/05/top_story/doc4a79264a06536958567443.txt
MATLOCK MERCURY (UK) 04 August 09 Bikers
spot metre-long snake in Matlock Bath (Danny Carden)
A metre-long
snake was discovered hiding among motorbikes in a Dales car park on Sunday
afternoon.
Bikers spotted
the black snake, which was initially believed to be a rat snake, at 2.15pm in
the Pavilion car park in Matlock Bath and called the police.
The RSPCA have
now confirmed the snake, pictured, to be a Mexican black kingsnake.
Animal
collection officer Helen Fielden caught the slippery reptile – which she
described as appearing well looked-after – then brought it to her Chesterfield
headquarters.
Ms Fielden
said: "This was definitely one of the more unusual rescues I have been
called to.
"The
snake could have potentially climbed aboard the bike at any point. It probably
hasn't been straying for long so we need to hear from anyone who has lost a
black kingsnake recently."
It is now
being looked after by an expert in Northampton until its owner can be traced.
Pc Malcolm
Spencer, from Matlock police station, said: "On our arrival the tail could
just be seen disappearing behind the fairing of a Yamaha sports motorcycle.
"This was
all much to the fascination of the large number of bikers present."
Pc Spencer
said: "We are not aware of any local reports of missing snakes so it is
possible it has travelled to the area in a vehicle then decided to emerge into
the car park.
"If
anyone has mislaid their snake they can contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999
quoting incident 1250," he added.
Kingsnakes are
native to North America and are often kept as pets in other countries. They can
survive in the wild in the UK, particularly during warm periods.
http://www.matlockmercury.co.uk/news/Bikers-spot-metrelong-snake-in.5520332.jp
LAURINBURG EXCHANGE (N Carolina)
04 August 09 Turtle haven (Jason Balduf)
Corn may be
the cash crop at the Magnolia Twin Farm in Laurinburg, but owners Thomas and
Sharon McKinnon say the farm's most priceless commodity are its turtles.
For more than
four decades the couple have been collecting these turtles. The farm, which
borders Laurinburg and South Carolina, now has more than 100.
"I have
had some of my turtles for 40 years now," Sharon McKinnon said.
The family has
box turtles, yellow-bellied slider turtles, a red eared slider turtle, and
spotted turtles. The McKinnon family has been in Scotland County since 1788
where they lived in Wagram.
The McKinnon
family has owned Magnolia Twin Farm since 1933 when they bought the land from a
bank in Scotland County.
"I love
turtles and nature and the country-side," she said. "I have always
lived in the city but when we moved out here to the country, I fell in
love."
Sharon and
Thomas, both retired school teachers, like to have students visit the farm,
which is several hundred acres. Young participants from the Adventure Camp
toured the McKinnon Farm last month to observe the turtles.
"It is
such a good feeling when the children see the turtles and their eyes gleem with
joy," she said. "We have adults call now wanting to see the
turtles."
The McKinnon's
have up to 20 yellow-bellied slider turtles.
"Yellow
bellies are Sharon McKinnon's favorite.
The
yellow-bellied slider is an attractive, hardy and fascinating turtle. They are
called sliders because they slide from their basking sites, where they enjoy
the sun, to the coolness and safety of the water. These turtles are easy to
keep and almost always thrive in captivity.
Yellow-bellied
sliders are native to the southeastern United States in the areas of North
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
They need
space to swim, clean water, an area to dry and bask, suitable water and air
temperatures, proper lighting and a healthy diet.
"I change
the water on hot days at least two or three times a day and I feed them five
hands full of dog food," she said. "They absolutely love dog
food."
The McKinnon's
started out with two spotted turtles on the farm and has multiplied to over 20,
according to Thomas.
"We
started out with two spotted turtles, and they breed up to 20 or more," he
said.
"We
didn't breed them initially, it just happened," he said jokingly.
As its name
implies, this semi-aquatic, small, dark turtle can be identified from the
yellow spots that are scattered on its smooth and broad carapace. Occasionally,
the carapace of some individuals may be devoid of spots, and this most
frequently occurs in older individuals and juveniles. However, the presence of
yellow and orange spots on the head, neck and limbs will aide in identification
– further characteristics that this is a truly “spotted” turtle.
The
distribution of the Spotted Turtle is largely confined to two main areas, the
Eastern Seaboard and the Great Lakes region.
There are also
several disjunct populations in South Carolina and North Carolina.
"The
spotted turtle gets no bigger than 5 to 6 inches long," Thomas McKinnon
said.
One of
Sharon's favorite turtles is the red eared slider turtle. The McKinnon's have
one on their land. It's name is 'Taz'.
"Taz was
given to me by one of my former students," she said. "He is one of my
favorite turtles."
The Red-Eared
Slider gets its name from the red strip that can be seen from behind the eyes
and extending all the way to the neck. The turtle is greenish in color with
yellowish stripes. The carapace usually has yellow and black stripes as well.
The plastron is generally yellow with a dark blotch on each scute. Males can be
identified by their longer claws on the front feet and smaller size when
compared to females.
Red-eared
sliders can often be found basking on logs or stumps in or near water.
"'Taz'
loves the water, like most water turtles do, but he 'loves' the water,"
she said.
There are 24
different species of turtles in North Carolina.
The one thing
the McKinnon's emphasized, if you see a turtle crossing a road, stop.
"I have
seen people just run turtles over just for fun," he said. "Turtles
might be slow, but they are a living thing."
Thomas
explained, if you help a turtle cross the road, make sure you move it in the
direction that is going, or it will turn around and go back the way it came.
NEWSDAY (New York, New York) 04 August 09 Reptiles
taken from W. Babylon home; man faces charges (Carl Macgowan and Marissa
Bholan)
Suffolk
authorities called it an alligator. The animal's owner said it was a caiman.
Either way,
Kevin Marshallek of West Babylon should not have had a 2-foot-long reptile in
his pool, the Suffolk Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said
Tuesday.
Marshallek,
40, was charged with animal cruelty after the underfed reptile and a small
turtle were removed from the pool, said Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk SPCA.
Marshallek did
not have permits for the animals, Gross said. He said the gator was about 2
years old. Alligators grow about a foot a year.
"They
were severely neglected," Gross said. "They were malnourished."
Marshallek
said the reptile is a caiman and posed no threat. He said it and the turtle are
normally kept in his house, but he puts them in the pool occasionally.
"They're
pets," he said. "They don't bite nobody."
Gross said
Marshallek broke the law, no matter what kind of reptile he had.
"It's basically
the same thing," he said. "A caiman is in the alligator family and
falls under the same category."
Marshallek
said his three children and several other relatives live in the house. The
turtle is his daughter's, Marshallek said.
The animals
were taken to a veterinarian for an exam. They will be transferred to an
out-of-state animal sanctuary when they are well enough, Gross said.
Marshallek was
charged with two counts of failure to provide proper sustenance, a misdemeanor,
and is due to appear in court Oct. 5. He faces up to a year in prison and a
$1,000 fine.
DACHAU KURIER (Germany) 04 August 09 "Schlangen
sind einfach schön" (Anna Schmidt)
Schongau: Nach ungewöhnlichem und gefährlichem
Feuerwehreinsatz: Wehrleute kritisieren Reptilienbesitzer, die wiederum
verstehen den Wirbel nicht.
Besitzer
Manfred Dietrich mit Königsnatter Ringo, die am Freitag aus ihrem Terrarium (im
Hintergrund) ausgebrochen ist und für einen Feuerwehr-Einsatz gesorgt hat. jos
Ringo hatte
wohl die Enge seines Terrariums und die eintönigen Mahlzeiten satt. Unbemerkt
von seinen Besitzern Manfred und Tina Dietrich schlängelte sich die zweijährige
Königsnatter durch einen kleinen Spalt im Deckel ihres Terrariums in die
Freiheit. Die Erkundungstour der 1,40 Meter langen Würgeschlange endete im
Lagerraum eines Restaurants am Lechufer, wo sie die Feuerwehr am Freitagabend
in Atem hielt (wir berichteten).
Rückblickend
bewertet Michael Benkert, Kommandant der Feuerwehr Schongau, den Einsatz als
„äußerst gefährlich, da wir nicht wussten, ob es sich um eine eher
ungefährliche Würgeschlange oder ein sehr giftiges Exemplar handelt“. Benkert
und seine Kollegen sind verärgert über diesen Einsatz, da sich die Familie
Dietrich ihrer Meinung nach falsch verhalten hat. Wenn sie das Fehlen ihres
Reptils der Polizei mitgeteilt hätte, wäre bekannt gewesen, dass es sich bei
dem Tier im Lagerraum um eine harmlose Königsnatter gehandelt hat.
Familie Dietrich
dagegen versteht den Aufruhr um ihren Ringo nicht: „Man muss ausgebrochene
Tiere erst nach 24 Stunden bei der Polizei anzeigen“. Da Ringo erst seit
Freitagvormittag fehlte, haben sie aus ihrer Sicht richtig gehandelt. An Ringo
fasziniert die Familie vor allem seine Schönheit. Mit einer Königsnatter im
Haus zu wohnen, ist für sie ganz normal, und auch Sohn Fabian ist von Ringo
begeistert.
Die Feuerwehr
musste bei ihrem Einsatz trotzdem auf Nummer sicher gehen. „Den Feuerwehrmann,
der sich der Schlange genähert hat, haben wir dreifach mit Schutzkleidung
verpackt“, schildert Benkert das Vorgehen in dieser prekären Situation. Die
normale Schutzkleidung der Feuerwehr reicht für den Kontakt mit giftigen Tieren
nicht aus.
„Jedoch sind
solche Haustiere im Raum Schongau Einzelfälle“, beruhigt Karl Theilacker vom
Schongauer Ordnungsamt, bei dem die Halter die gefährlichen Tiere anmelden
müssen. Ringo ist nicht meldepflichtig, da nur giftige oder äußerst gefährliche
Tiere sowie Würgeschlangen, die länger als 3,50 Meter werden, eine Erlaubnis
brauchen.
Auch Benkert
ist froh, dass solche kuriosen Einsätze in Schongau eher selten sind. Aber er
weiß, dass „die Haltung von gefährlichen Tieren in Großstädten schon
verbreiteter ist“.
Doch fest
steht: Familie Dietrich ist froh über das glimpfliche Ende des
Schlangen-Ausflugs. Glücklicherweise ist weder den Feuerwehrleuten noch der
Schlange etwas passiert. „Ringo dagegen genoss den Ausflug sichtlich“,
berichteten die Besitzer der Schlange, die aus dem Vorfall gelernt haben. Auf
das Terrarium haben sie nun Panzerglas gelegt und es damit hoffentlich
ausbruchssicher gemacht. Ringo ist damit überhaupt nicht einverstanden und
verschmäht seit- dem sein Fressen.
http://www.merkur-online.de/lokales/nachrichten/schlangen-sind-einfach-schoen-431581.html
HARBURGER (Hamburg, Germany) 04 August 09 Schlangen
und Leguane hautnahNeu im Wildpark: Das Reptilium (Margrit Rohmann)
Nindorf: Um eine kleine Attraktion reicher geworden
ist der Wildpark Lüneburger Heide. Vor einiger Zeit ist aus der Biologieschule
des Parks mit den antiquiert wirkenden, ausgestopften Tierexponaten ein Kleinod
geworden: Das "Reptilium".
Initiatorinnen
dieser in sich geschlossenen Präsentation sind Svenja Oßenbrügge (28),
diplomierte Umweltwissenschaftlerin und Umweltpädagogin, und Alexandra Urban
(25), Obertierpflegerin im Wildpark. Im Januar kam ihnen spontan die Idee, man
könne doch in den großen Glasvitrinen lebende Reptilien zeigen. Sie stellten
eine Kostenrechnung auf und erhielten von Parkchef Norbert Tietz die
Genehmigung, ihre Pläne umzusetzen. Hierbei kannten ihre Kreativität und
Baulust keine Grenzen. Bei der täglichen Arbeit wurden sie von den Kollegen,
bei den Bauaktionen von Schulpraktikanten begeistert unterstützt. Mit dem
"Reptilium" schufen sie ein kleines Schmuckstück für den Park, das
auch schnell zum Publikumsmagneten avancierte.
Hier betritt
der Besucher eine kleine exotische Welt, die bis ins letzte Detail liebevoll in
verschiedene Kontinente und Lebensräume unterteilt ist.
Da gibt es den
Bereich Asien mit einer Wüstenlandschaft aus Sand, Strohmatten und Baumwolle.
Dort leben Maurische Landschildkröten zusammen mit Leopardgeckos. Die
Nummerierung auf den Rückenpanzern der Schildkröten mutet merkwürdig an, sie
dient zur Unterscheidung der Tiere. Das ist sehr wichtig, da einige dieser
Schildkröten Winterschlaf halten und die anderen nicht. So ist eine optimale
Haltung gesichert, und ihr tägliches Bad erhalten sie obendrein.
Im Bereich
Südamerika leben drei grüne Leguane friedlich zusammen. Die Zusammenführung
dieser Tiere ist nicht einfach, deshalb war man froh, dass diese drei sich
bereits in der Auffangstation angefreundet hatten. Die meisten Tiere in der
Ausstellung sind aus Auffangstationen, wo sie nach Beschlagnahmung bei
illegaler Einfuhr oder nicht artgerechter Haltung vorübergehend untergebracht
waren.
Von Südamerika
geht es direkt weiter nach Australien. Hier lebt in schön anzusehender, mit
Sand und Klettermöglichkeiten bereicherter Landschaft ein Bartagamenpärchen.
Die Tiere sind handzahm, so dass sie auch zur Freude von Oßenbrügge in den
Kursen für Umweltpädagogik bei den Kindern eingesetzt werden können. Es ist
schon ein Erlebnis, mal eine Bartagame oder auch aus dem benachbarten
Nordamerika eine ungiftige Kornnatter streicheln zu können. Ein dicker
Baumstamm ziert das Gehege der fünf Kornnattern. Sie können senkrecht an einem
Baumstamm hochkriechen, was für sie von Vorteil ist, da sie Eierräuber sind.
Weiter geht es
zu den südamerikanischen Blattschneideameisen, die beileibe keine Blätter fressen.
Mit ihren Schneidewerkzeugen zerkleinern sie diese nur, darauf werden
Pilzkulturen angesiedelt, die dann das eigentliche Futter sind. Das sehr
komplexe System eines Ameisenvolkes kann hier sehr gut beobachtet werden.
Oßenbrügge erzählt das mit leuchtenden Augen - kein Wunder, ihre Diplomarbeit
schrieb sie über die faszinierende Welt der Ameisen. Weiter geht es zu den
riesigen, afrikanischen Achatschnecken. Der Bummel durch vier Kontinente macht
den Besucher viel Spaß, und die Anlage kann ebenso sinnvoll für die
umweltpädagogische Arbeit eingesetzt werden.
Wer sich zu
Hause Reptilien halten will, sollte sich vorher genauestens über die Haltung
informieren. Lufttemperatur, UV-Licht und Luftfeuchtigkeit müssen genau auf
diese Tiere abgestimmt werden, da sie keinen eigenen Wärmeaustausch haben.
Weitere Infos
zum Wildpark unterwww.wild-park.de
http://www.han-online.de/HANArticlePool/00000122e1641e320057006a000a00524ea8f324/view
PTI (New Delhi, India) 03 August 09 Rare
tortoise recovered; seven poachers held
Lakhimpur
(UP): A tortoise of an endangered family
was recovered today by a joint team of police and forest department officials
at Mahewaganj area here and arrested seven persons in this connection.
Divisional
forest officer, north Kheri, Kartik Kumar Singh told PTI that the rare
tortoise was often used for "vasstu purposes" and in mystic worship.
He said the
recovered "Eastern Hill" tortoise, zoological name of which is
Melanochelys Tricarinata, falls under schedule one of endangered species.
The tortoise
is a native of hilly areas of Assam, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh, but
occasionally found in certain pockets of Kheri district, Singh said, adding
that it is often used
Police said
they arrested seven poachers while they were finalising a deal to sell the rare
reptile.
http://news.google.com/news/search?pz=1&ned=ca&hl=en&q=tortoise&cf=all&scoring=n&start=220
DAILY TIMES (Maryville, Tennessee) 03 August
09 Testing
takes aim at amphibian fungus (Morgan Simmons)
Townsend
(AP): It would be several hours before
the first wave of tubers floated by.
On this summer
morning, researchers had the Little River all to themselves. They were in the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park looking for hellbenders, the largest
salamander in North America, an amphibian whose size is exceeded only by the
giant salamanders of China and Japan.
Wearing wet
suits, they snorkeled against the current, turning over rocks in the
crystal-clear water. A 4-inch crayfish -- a favorite hellbender snack --
scooted across the bottom, and in some places, the snorkelers had to struggle
to hold their position.
This summer,
investigators with the University of Tennessee and the Knoxville Zoo are
collecting hellbenders to test for a pathogenic fungus linked to the sharp
decline of frogs and other amphibians throughout the world.
The fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, was
first identified in 1998 after it caused widespread frog deaths in Australia
and Central America. Scientists now believe it may have entered North America
as early as the 1970s, and likely was introduced by infected African clawed
frogs sold in pet stores and used in research.
The fungus
causes a disease that infects not just frogs, but salamanders, too. So far, it
has only been identified in the Ozark hellbender, a subspecies of Arkansas and
Missouri.
In Tennessee,
hellbenders are listed as a species of special concern. They're found in clean,
cool streams throughout the Eastern U.S., and they're considered an indicator
species thanks to their sensitivity to siltation and other stream impairments.
Marcy Souza,
assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Medicine at the UT College
of Veterinary Medicine, said there is no evidence at this point that the fungus
has spread to hellbenders in the Southeast.
"At this
point, we don't think they're susceptible," Souza said. "It's a
unique species, and if we don't look, we won't really know."
The project's
goal is to collect 50 hellbenders from the Little River in the Smokies and the
Hiwassee River in the Cherokee National Forest over the next three summers. So
far, they have captured and released 22 specimens, most of them from the
Hiwassee.
An hour into
the survey, one of the snorkelers caught a juvenile hellbender 5.4 inches long.
An inflatable raft carried all the lab equipment. A microchip was inserted
under the skin to identify the hellbender in case of a recapture, and they
swabbed its skin to test for the fungus.
They also took
a tiny skin sample to test for a virus that is contributing to the global
amphibian decline.
After they
were finished, the research team released the hellbender and resumed their
search.
In 2004, an
international convention of amphibian experts determined that 32 percent of all
amphibian species -- frogs, toads, salamanders, newts -- are threatened with
extinction. By comparison, 12 percent of birds and 23 percent of mammals are
threatened.
Biologists say
the decline has occurred worldwide over the last three decades. In addition to
disease, a range of causes including habitat loss, pesticides, climate change
and increased ultraviolet radiation are believed to be involved.
Just before
lunch, Michael Ogle, a herpetologist at the Knoxville Zoo, nabbed what turned
out to be the largest hellbender collected this summer. Through his face mask,
he spotted about two-thirds of the body hidden beneath several rocks, with the
rest of the hellbender barely exposed.
Hellbenders
have earned their share of colorful nicknames, including mud devil, water dog
and walking catfish. Grabbing the hellbender, Ogle immediately understood why
they've also been called "snot otters."
"It was
real slippery," Ogle said.
A full-grown
adult, the hellbender weighed just more than 1 pound and measured 16 inches
long. It had blotchy skin and small, beady eyes with starburst pupils similar
to a snapping turtle's. From its flat head to its long, powerful tail, every
anatomical detail suggested a creature adapted to life on the bottom of
fast-moving streams.
One of the
team members that morning was Phil Colclough, curator of herpetology for the
Knoxville Zoo, who ranks hellbenders among his favorite critters.
"They're
unlike any amphibian in the U.S.," Colclough said. "Their size alone
sets them apart. They're unusual, rare and so weird looking, they're kind of
cute."
http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20090803/NEWS/308039981
THE RECORD (Stockton, California) 03 August
09 Rare
garter snake reappears in S.J. - First sighting in 15 years (Alex Breitler)
Stockton: The timid and foul-smelling giant garter
snake has been spotted in San Joaquin County for the first time in 15 years.
While ordinary
folks shiver, biologists shout for joy.
It's been many
years since an in-depth search has been conducted in this area, and the
presence of the giant garter snake indicates that the federally threatened
species is hanging on despite having lost 90 percent of its wetland habitat.
"It is
really very exciting news," said independent biologist Eric C. Hansen of
Sacramento, who discovered the first of eight giant garter snakes in a wetland
northwest of Stockton about three weeks ago.
Though
"giant" by name, the giant garter snake is hardly a man-eating python
of the Delta. It's a harmless serpent, maybe 5 feet long, that spends most of
its time sunning itself and eating small fish and frogs, Hansen said.
The discovery
occurred after Hansen snagged a federal grant to determine how many of the 13
historic subpopulations of giant garter snakes still exist. He rigged floating
traps to capture the snakes as they swim across streams.
In about a
half-acre of tule wetlands, he's found six males and two females - including
one that was pregnant and has since given birth. (In case you were wondering, a
giant garter snake can have anywhere from 10 to 46 babies per brood, according
to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.)
"This
shows they are reproducing," Hansen said. "It's a population
cluster."
Fish and
Wildlife officials agreed to discuss Hansen's find on the condition that the
exact location of the snakes be kept secret. Poachers are known to kill the
snakes or sell them as pets for their unusual color patterns.
"The more
rare things become, the more valuable," Hansen said.
While some
snakes deal with conflict by aggressively striking their enemy, the giant
garter snake is a pacifist that will merely slither away. Because it lives in
marshes and eats slimy things, it has a "fishy musk" it excretes to
the displeasure of, at least, the human nose.
Populations
exist as far south as Mendota and as far north as Chico, though there is a
60-mile gap south of Stockton.
The snakes
once slithered along Duck Creek and the Stockton Diverting Canal; since their
last sighting 20 years ago, however, those snakes are presumed to be gone,
Hansen said.
The good news
is that by monitoring 2,000 traps all over the Central Valley, he has been able
to confirm that 11 of the 13 historic populations remain.
Biologists are
putting microchips in the trapped snakes to keep track of them and better
estimate their population.
"It takes
a very determined interest in this animal to locate them," said Hansen,
whose father, George, was also a leading giant garter snake expert.
Local
officials were equally pleased. The snake is one species covered under San
Joaquin County's Habitat Conservation Plan, which is intended to mitigate for
land that is paved over and developed.
"This is
pretty big for the biological community," said Steve Mayo, a habitat
planner with the San Joaquin Council of Governments.
"Now we
can at least point and say that, yes, there are garter snakes out there."
"Giant"
ones at that.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090803/A_NEWS/908030313
LLANELLI STAR (UK) 03 August 09 Man
bitten three times by adder snake
A man was
airlifted to hospital after being bitten several times by an adder on the cliff
path at Caswell Bay, Swansea.
Yesterday's
incident comes just two weeks after a seven-year-old boy was bitten by an adder
while playing near rock pools at nearby Langland Bay.
"It's the
third such incident in as many months between Langland and Caswell," said
a Mumbles Coastguard controller.
In Sunday
afternoon's incident a 31-year-old man was bitten three times by an adder, he
said.
An RAF
Chivenor rescue helicopter was sent to the scene as RNLI lifeguards at Caswell
Bay and Mumbles Coastguard rescue team dealt with the casualty.
The Sea King
helicopter winched the injured man from the beach.
"The
lifeguards provided first aid at the scene until the helicopter got
there," said the coastguard spokesman.
"The
helicopter winchman is a qualified paramedic and he would have administered all
the appropriate drugs during the transit to hospital, which would have taken
only two or three minutes."
Chris Vaughan,
RNLI Area Lifeguard Supervisor in Swansea, said: "The RNLI lifeguards
patrolling Caswell Bay were first on the scene and administered first aid. They stabilised the casualty until he was
airlifted to hospital."
A warning to
be on the lookout for snakes on Gower beaches was issued by lifeguards two
weeks ago after Ryan Craig was bitten at Langland.
The youngster
from Blaenymaes was rushed to Singleton Hospital where he was given anti-venom
drugs and monitored for a time in the high dependency unit.
Following the
incident, Gower ranger Huw Lloyd warned: "There is no big problem in Gower
with adders but I'd urge anyone who comes into contact with an adder to show
common sense and avoid trying to touch them or pick them up.
"Snakes
such as adders are shy creatures and will tend to hide if they hear footsteps
nearby."
MODERN GHANA (Accra) 03 August 09 Sakawa
Snakes Criminal (Nathaniel Y.Yankson)
The Wildlife
Division of the Forestry Commission says it is illegal for persons to possess
and keep wild animals like snakes as pets in their homes unless a permit has
been issued by the Executive Director of Wildlife, formerly Chief Game and
Wildlife Officer.
It is also a
breach of the law to use them for trade such as money doubling or 'sakawa' and
for other spiritual purposes without permission from the same authority.
The measure is
to protect all non-domesticated animals from being collected, killed, trapped
or traded. Licenses obtained to deal in any of the aforementioned are not
transferable and expires in a period of six months.
It is clearly
stipulated in the amended Wildlife Conservation Regulations of 1971 (L.I. 685)
that the Executive Director, in granting a license under this section, would
indicate the conditions under which the wild animal should be kept in terms of
feeding and other things required by law.
“Any person
who contravenes any of the provisions or regulation 6A or 6B, commits an
offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding twelve months or both,” it said.
According to ,
Public Relations Manager at the Wildlife Division, the type of snakes allegedly
being used as money producing machines is the Royal Python.
Speaking to Daily
Guide about the recent mysteries surrounding the infamous 'sakawa'
business, she pointed out that due to its calm nature, mallams, magicians and
other spiritualists, used them as baits to swindle innocent but
hungry-for-money individuals.
Such snakes
are kept at shrines, homes and at times secret places where no one could have
access to.
When in its
natural habitat, a python feeds on mice, day-old chicks and rats but if it is
in a different environment, it does not get such meals regularly as expected;
it becomes weak and eventually dies.
Her
observations were that if generally snakes could indeed be used for rituals
such as human beings turning into them; why not try the use of Cobras since
they are also snake types.
Spiritualists,
Mrs. Nuhu noted, run away from the use of Cobras for fear that they could be
harmed, hence the relative resort to non-poisonous ones like the Royal Python.
She hinted
however that the use of animals for evil or witchcraft practices do not promote
their conservation, calling on those engaged in such activities to desist from
it.
In the
interim, she said that it is never true that human beings could be turned into
snakes unless people still go by superstitions, stressing that these are common
psychological pranks for people to fall prey to.
Although
spiritualism existed, she stated that there has not been any scientific proof
which suggested human beings could be changed into snakes.
Mrs. Nuhu saw
the situation as the real 'sakawa', aimed at cheating innocent people.
“If really
people can turn into snakes then they can equally turn into anything else and
we would not be safe,” she added.
Asked if the
Division would go in for the snakes, she said no, since they would serve as
evidence in police investigations.
“We would be
interfering with investigations if we go out there to get them and because we
have not had any report from the police to do so,” she explained.
She further
noted that should the case be reported to them and their investigations proved
that those animals were possessed illegally then the person or persons involved
would be charged by the powers vested in them under Act 685.
In last
Friday's edition of Daily Guide, it was reported that two out of four
young men, whose desire for riches led them to the shrine of one Nana Ogya at
Aburi New-Town, in the Eastern Region and purportedly turned into snakes for
failing to put menstrual pads of their girlfriends into some ritual pots, which
were given to them by the fetish priest.
The four, Kofi
Adjei, 28, Kwame Tetteh, 28, Yaw Goro, 26 and Filco, 23, are said to be masons
and hailed from Sakyikrom except Filco who emanated from Teacher Mante in the
Eastern Region.
Filco and Goro
had earlier told Daily Guide that they had done everything possible to
be rich but were still poor and got envious of their friends who rode in big
cars.
They therefore
decided to go for ritual money and were subsequently introduced to Nana Ogya at
Aburi New Town, who is allegedly on the run.
When they
consulted the fetish priest, on May 27, 2009, they were charged GH¢500.00 each.
Since they did
not readily have the money, they left and promised to bring it during their
next visit by which time they would have brought the menstrual pad, which was
demanded of them by Nana Ogya.
Two weeks ago,
the four went to Nana Ogya with money but it was only Filco and Goro that
fulfilled the other side of the bargain by producing the menstrual pad.
When Nana Ogya
asked why the two others failed to comply, they remained silent and never gave
any explanation.
Nana Ogya
reminded them of an earlier warning that they could become animals or die for
flouting his orders.
The priest
however performed the money-making rituals and gave back the pots to the four
for safekeeping in their closets with the assurance that Goro and Filco will
start enjoying their money two weeks after by which time the money-making-spirits
would have been invoked.
On Tuesday
July 21, 2009 however, the homes of Kofi and Kwame became a gory spectacle to
behold when their relations started shouting for help over the sudden
transformation of their kins into Royal African Pythons.
Filco and Goro
had to disclose the secret behind the snake-men. However, the two also became
dumb soon after.
Quickly, the
parents of the snake-men who had heard of one Mallam Fatau at Ablekuma, Accra,
headed for his sanctuary with the hope of having their kins turned back into
humans while the other two healed of their dumbness.
The snakes,
which were then in a clay pot had vomited huge sums of foreign currency mainly
dollars.
http://www.modernghana.com/news/230668/1/sakawa-snakes-criminal.html
SOMERVILLE JOURNAL (Massachusetts)
03 August 09 Snake found in Somerville backyard (Auditi Guha)
Somerville: Animal Control Officer April Terrio rescued a
snake from a Davis Square backyard last week.
Terrio
responded to a Highland Avenue backyard at about 4:30 p.m., where the landlords
were freaked out to find a snake wrapped
around a tire in their backyard.
It was
identified as a 5-foot ball python and was too small to be threat to anybody,
Terrio said. Terrio caught it with her cat grabber, put it in a net and gave it
to a friend who knows about snakes and has a similar one of his own.
"It was
obviously someone's pet snake and it wasn't as big as I thought it would
be," Terrio said. "It was docile and didn't try to do anything."
The owner has
not been found.
Terrio has
received many calls for snakes in Somerville in past years but this is the only
time she saw one as they usually escape before she can respond.
"It
could've been serious if it was a different kind of snake. This one would have
to be really huge to be a threat," she said.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x1551838992/Snake-found-in-Somerville-backyard
THE STATESMAN (Kolkata, India) 03 August 09 Love bites of poison pets
Jalpaiguri: He is neither a ‘herpetologist’ in the formal
sense, nor a snake charmer; yet Mr Mintu Chowdhury has been dealing with snakes
over the past four decades. His name conjures up reverence amongst the forest
officials concerning any snake related case.
Mr Chowdhury
has already opened a hospital for the snakes in his residence at Dhupguri to
treat the ailing reptiles. “Way back in 1967 my childhood friend Shankar
Chattapadhaya died of a snake bite which shook me badly. It set me wondering
why people keep dying of snakebites? This was the beginning of my story with
snakes. The first snake caught around my house was ‘Shakhamuti’, a special
category of reptile, notorious for its deadly poison. I studied it minutely,”
recounted Mr Chowdhury.
Mr Chowdhury
participated in the first snake enumeration in India after independence. “The
British regime conducted the last snake enumeration in 1823 and the next one
was held in 1999 at Garumara National Park. Mr Niraj Sinhal was then the DFO
Wild Life II and the survey revealed that as many as 25 reptile species existed
in the Garumara forest. Amongst these five were new ones and I named these
according to their characteristics. A book named ‘Snake Guide Book of Garumara
National Park’ was published which provided details on the subject,” added Mr
Chowdhury.
His interest
is principally focused on the more deadly of the species like Indian Rock
Python, Indian Cobra, Kalnagini and the like.
“Once I come
to know about a snake roaming about in a domestic area I rush to the spot.
These are then freed in the forest. If any of these is somehow injured I treat
and cure it before releasing it to its habitat,” Mr Chowdhury claimed.
“I have so far
rescued and released over ten thousands of snakes in the forests and had
snakebites over 350 times, but these have not dampened my enthusiasm. I love
snakes and this is the reason why I do not want to leave these hapless, yet
unique creatures of nature to the care of the snake charmers whose crude ways
of treatment cause these injuries,” he said.
The snake
lover recalls how the monarch of Bhutan called him in 1982 to cure his two
domestic Indian Rock Pythons. “I cured them and the king thanked me. This is a
nostalgic treasure of my life,” said Mr Chowdhury.
He has also
formed an organisation named Dooars Nature and Snake Lovers’ Association to spread
awareness among the common people, particularly the students. “My mission is to
ensure a safe existence for the reptiles and also to dispel superstitions
around these dangerous, yet beautiful creatures of Nature,” added the snake
lover.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=10&id=295766&usrsess=1
HERALD-TRIBUNE (Sarasota, Florida) 03 August
09 Lobbyists
push pythons (Jeremy Wallace)
U.S. Rep. Tom
Rooney has discovered there are snake people on Capitol Hill.
Rooney thought
a bill to ban the importation of pythons would be a relative slam dunk because
the snakes are overtaking the Everglades and have no natural enemies. Besides,
the media was buzzing about it.
Even both the
Humane Society of America and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had
given the green light for the legislation.
But it was not
that simple.
"The
snake people thought it was too broad," said Rooney, a Palm Beach County
Republican who represents most of Charlotte County. Those people are lobbyists
with the U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers and the Pet Industry Joint
Advisory Council.
Rooney said
snake owners were calling and e-mailing members of Congress to oppose the bill.
To make sure the bill would succeed last week in the House Judicary Committee,
Rooney had to limit the importation ban to just two breeds of pythons: the
Burmese Python and the African Rock Python.
The snake
people insisted there was no proof that other breeds of snakes cause damage. If
they are wrong, Congress will have to come back and add more species to the
list, Rooney said.
The
legislation is expected to go to a full vote of the House in the fall.
Rooney and
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, are also working on a plan to allow hunting
of pythons in the Everglades National Park.
Currently, all
hunting is banned in the park.
DE STENTOR (Apeldoorn, Netherlands) 03 August
09 Kaylee
vindt twee pythons (Jarno Bleumink)
Apeldoorn: Met dank aan speurhond Kaylee uit Wenum
Wiesel kunnen bewoners van de Laveranhof in Hoogeveen weer met een gerust hart
slapen. De vijfjarige Duitse Herder spoorde vrijdagmiddag twee ontsnapte
slangen op die de gemoederen in de Drentse stad een paar dagen bezighielden.
Het ging om
zogeheten koningspythons van ongeveer een meter lang die tijdens de vakantie
van de eigenaar wegglipten uit hun terrarium. Kaylee, die al een reputatie
heeft opgebouwd als het om opsporen van verdwenen dieren gaat, werd
ingeschakeld om de slangen op te sporen. ,,Het is een begaafde speurhond'',
zegt Yvette van Veldhuijsen van hondenschool Alert uit Wenum Wiesel. ,,Kaylee
is getraind om geurcombinaties te leggen. Ik hou haar een geur voor, en die
zoekt zij dan op.''
Dat leidde in
het verleden al vaker tot geslaagde zoekacties, vertelt Van Veldhuijsen. Zo
heeft Kaylee eerder al vermiste honden, een paard en een andere slang
opgespoord. In Hoogeveen had Kaylee vrijdag zo'n drie uur nodig om de ontsnapte
koningspythons te achterhalen. Uiteindelijk
bleken de slangen niet ver van huis te zijn gegaan. De twee pythons, die niet
giftig zijn en muizen en vogels eten, werden gevonden in het huis waar ze ook
verdwenen. Ze zaten achter een terrarium van een andere slang. De hond heeft
plezier in de zoekacties, vertelt haar baasje. ,,Het zoeken op zich vindt ze zo
leuk. Daarna mag ze een spelletje met de bal doen. Dat vindt ze ook geweldig.''
Liefhebbers
die Kaylee willen inlijven, vangen echter bot, vertelt Van Veldhuijsen. ,,Ik
leid regelmatig honden op die later als narcoticahond aan de slag gaan. Maar
Kaylee hou ik zelf.''
http://www.destentor.nl/regio/apeldoorn/5334443/Kaylee-vindt-twee-pythons.ece
LOS ANGELES TIMES (California) 02 August 09 Snake
hunters scour Everglades for Burmese python (Robert Nolin)
Reporting from
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: Go ahead, stretch out in the soft grass. It's
comfortable. You're surrounded by a smorgasbord of prey. You may belong half a
world away, but here in the Everglades, life is good.
Except you're
a Burmese python, and the state wants to hunt you down and kill you. It hasn't
put a bounty on your head, but it may as well have: If caught, you're
decapitated.
In this
moonlit world of marsh, bug and fanged danger, snake hunter Jeff Fobb is top
predator.
He's one of seven
snake experts licensed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
to stalk the slithering python, whose intrusion into the Everglades upsets the
ecosystem's delicate balance.
Of the six
snakes captured since the three-month trial eradication program began July 17,
Fobb and his team have accounted for four: three hatchlings found at once and a
6-footer snared Thursday night.
"The best
thing that's going to come out of this is the collection of scientific
information for the state," says Fobb, who as part of his license must
weigh, measure and determine the sex of the snake, log in its GPS coordinates,
kill it humanely and examine its stomach contents.
But first he
has to find them.
Throughout the
night Thursday, the snake hunters traversed Everglades access roads, shining
headlamps into the roadside where pythons lurk to ambush prey.
Marinating in
a mix of sweat and bug spray, Fobb and another reptile enthusiast, Michael
Tisdale, trekked a 10-mile route under a hazy sky.
"I'm not
looking at making money," says Fobb, 43, a longtime snake expert with the
elite venom response unit of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. "This is an
excuse to go fool around in the Everglades."
The exotic
snakes, which escaped or were released by owners, have been in the Everglades
for years, competing for food with native species. They can grow 6 feet in a
year, up to 20 feet and 200 pounds.
The trial
program, in which certified snake experts are licensed to hunt pythons on state
land from Lake Okeechobee south, is designed to thin the snakes' ranks and
gather data.
Officials with
Everglades National Park, where several private agents hunt pythons on federal
land, say the snakes could number 5,000 to 140,000. "They have huge
clutches, 40 to 100 eggs," park spokeswoman Linda Friar says.
On Thursday's
hunt, Fobb, and Tisdale, 46, encounter minor marsh denizens: owls, yellow
striped lubber grasshoppers and bufos, the largest of Florida's frogs and
toads.
Unseen but
ever present are deadlier swamp inhabitants: water moccasins, diamondback
rattlesnakes, coral snakes and pygmy rattlers.
The ubiquitous
poisonwood plant is another hazard. Brush against its sap and your flesh may
swell and discolor. The mosquitoes come in waves.
Another
licensed hunter, Robert Sonner, 41, joined the trek with three volunteers from
the wildlife center he operates. One of those helpers, Willie Cabrera, 25, is
accompanied by Chino, a Shar-Pei mix. "Our Burm bait dog," Cabrera
jokes.
Cabrera snags
the night's sole python. "I just saw it there and grabbed it," he
says.
The hunters
carry snake hooks, like long-handled question marks, but they usually snatch a
python by hand, tail first, then behind the head. "So it doesn't wrap
around you," Cabrera says.
The snake
still tries to strike, stretching wide its mouth with six rows of recurved
teeth. "This size, they'll make you bleed a little," Cabrera says.
But the
hunters maintain control. "We have hands -- that's the advantage,"
Fobb says. "Hands and brains."
At hunt's end
the snake, a 70-inch female, is stretched across a pickup's tailgate. Another
helper, Lauren Rosenthal, 27, places a knife at the base of its skull. The cut
must be quick and sure, like a chef chopping a carrot.
Once the head
is severed, Fobb uses a small rod to pith it, or scramble its brains, ensuring
a quick death. Veterinarians recommend this as humane.
"It
breaks my heart to kill them, but we're protecting our native wildlife,"
Sonner says.
Adds Fobb,
"That's the least pleasant part of this experience."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pythons2-2009aug02,0,6384797.story
ODESSA AMERICAN (Texas) 02 August 09 Plentiful
rainfall is a giant leap for one species (Ken Brodnax)
Every few
years, the long-suffering residents of the high and dry Permian Basin are
treated to the miracle of significant amounts of moisture falling from the sky.
That’s not to
say they are unfamiliar with rain. They joke that a 6-inch downpour in these
parts consists of several drops falling 6 inches apart. Or they admit that the
average yearly rainfall total sometimes falls in one afternoon when a
particularly nasty thundercloud finds its way into the area.
But when the
stars align just right, and a weather pattern gets struck in a rut, there are
rare times when West Texans trade dusty days for soggy nights — in the latest
case, night after night with accompanying thunder, lightning and chronic power
outages.
Naturally, the
natives demonstrate their flexibility when these rare soaking times arrive.
That’s to say they immediately shift from complaining about the arid and hot
conditions to griping about the inconveniences of humid and muggy atmosphere.
But there are
gears to be shifted when the rain genie comes along and grants your fondest
squishes.
First, you
have to adapt to all the puddles and ponds. Dang, you forgot how maddening this
mud stuff can be.
Then there is
all the sudden greenery. Some is welcome, if it comes in the form of grass for
the bare spots in the lawn. Unfortunately, into each yard a mess of
fast-growing weeds must rise.
But by far the
most confounding and confusing offshoot of a good soaking is the almost
immediate appearance of croaking creatures we fondly call frogs.
Technically,
most of these critters are toads, but who cares what you call them? The better
question is: where did they come from? We’ve been in a prolonged drought for
years and a day or two into the monsoon, they’re back — and apparently happy as
pigs in slop.
The answer was
provided in the March 2003 issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.
Loren M. Smith, a professor of ecology at Texas Tech, wrote that the answer
lies in the playas, where amphibians bury themselves deep to ride out droughts
and then emerge when surface water is plentiful.
Here are some
excerpts: “It’s strange that such a dry place can sometimes be such a wet
place, but the playas, with their hard clay bottoms that hold water for months,
can be transformed in a couple of days from a dry, hard-pan depression to a
wetland teeming with life. … Toads, frogs and salamanders are key indicators of
the health of this fragile ecosystem. … Within a couple of days of the storm,
male toads throughout the playas are inflating their vocal sacs and making
their distinctive calls for mates. A day or two after the males emerge, the
females show up. The males grab them, and fertilize the eggs expelled by the
female. In their breeding frenzy the males often grab other species or even
other males.”
Well, enough
of that. But at least we all now know where they came from, what they’re doing
and why they’ll be everywhere if the water holds out long enough.
http://www.oaoa.com/opinion/miracle-34669-few-years.html
BBC (London, UK) 02 August 09 Hopes
over grass snake recovery
The first
sighting of grass snakes in seven years at a Tyneside site has led to hopes
that a project to restore them has been a success.
The Gibside
estate in Rowlands Gill, has one of the most northerly recorded populations of
grass snakes in the UK.
However, as
none had been seen since 2002 it was feared that the population had become
extinct.
A recovery
programme at the National Trust-run site attempted to improve the habitat for
the reptile.
The £25,000
funding came from the SITA Trust Enriching Nature Programme.
A team, mostly
consisting of volunteers, cut down trees in important locations to allow snakes
to bask in the sunlight, and constructed hibernation piles and compost heaps
for egg laying.
No snakes were
found during regular surveys by an ecological consultant in 2007 and 2008.
However,
recently two female grass snakes were spotted, basking in the sunshine.
Helen Carlton,
assistant landscape manager at Gibside, said: "This is fantastic news as
the grass snake population at Gibside has severely declined over the last 20
years with no records since 2002.
"The
recovery programme is in its last year of funding and at the end of this year
we will review the work that has been carried out to ensure we continue to
encourage the population of grass snakes in the area."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/8180323.stm
NEWS JOURNAL (Daytona Beach, Florida) 02 August
09 Police
catch 5-foot boa constrictor (Anne Geggis)
Leaving her
Ridgewood Avenue home to take her daughter to work Saturday morning, Annemarie
Principe said she could barely believe the traffic she saw on the four-lane road.
Slithering
west to east across the street just north of Fremont Avenue was a 5-foot snake
-- later identified as a boa constrictor, another exotic on the loose -- with
the thickest head she's ever seen on a snake, she said.
"It was
like something you'd see on TV, in Africa," she said of the sight that
greeted her at 9:24 a.m.
A white truck
was stopped in front of Principe, and its driver also watched the snake. In
fear for her five cats and her neighbor's three cats, she called her neighbor
who owns the garden where the snake was heading. Then Principe called 9-1-1.
Neighbor
Charles Applegate said he took Principe's call, grabbed a shovel and headed
outside. His cat had come within 6 feet of the boa before backing off, he said.
Then he noticed the snake spitting up blood and guessed it had been run over by
a car.
"I
couldn't hit it," he said.
Daytona Beach
police and animal control arrived within six minutes of Principe's call and
caught the snake in Applegate's garden, Principe said.
City animal
control officials were not available for comment Saturday, but a law
enforcement services dispatcher confirmed the call and the snake's capture.
Daytona Beach police Sgt. Paul Barnett said the snake died soon after its
capture.
The boa was
the second nonnative snake found locally and at least the sixth found in
Florida in the past few days. A 10-foot male python was found wandering around
a Port Orange farm on Thursday and turned over to state wildlife officials.
Saturday
morning's encounter does not make Principe anxious to resume gardening any time
soon, she said.
"I
thought, 'I can't mow the lawn,' " she said.
After
examining a photo Applegate took of Daytona Beach police Sgt. Greg Burns
holding the snake, Carl Barden, director of Medtoxin Venom Laboratories near
DeLand, confirmed it was a young boa constrictor that was "non-venomous
and, at this size, largely harmless."
In fact,
Principe and Applegate need not have worried the snake was a danger to their
adult cats, Barden said, adding a 5-foot snake likely wouldn't attack a cat
unless it was a very small kitten, he said.
"Cats are
fantastically defensive against reptiles," he said.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD01080209.htm
THE OKLAHOMAN (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 02 August
09 About
Alligators in Oklahoma (Ed Godfrey)
Alligators are
native to the Gulf Coastal Plain of southeastern Oklahoma, occurring in the Red
and Little River systems of Choctaw, McCurtain, Bryan and Love counties.
Sightings of
alligators have increased over the past decade, mainly in the Little River
drainage systems. On the Red Slough, alligators live on reclaimed rice farms
that are part of 2,500 acres of wetlands on the 7,600-acre wildlife management
area.
Nocturnal
surveys of alligators are taken each year. Only seven adults were seen last
April, but state wildlife officials think as many 15 adult gators live on the
Red Slough, said Richard Beagles, biologist for the Oklahoma Department of
Wildlife Conservation.
A creek runs
through the Red Slough that also leads to a lake and the Red River, he said.
Alligators move up and down the Red River corridor, he said.
Southeastern
Oklahoma is on the western edge of the alligator’s home range, said Tim Patton,
associate professor of biology at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
http://newsok.com/alligators-in-oklahoma/article/3389681?custom_click=rss