HERP NEWS 219/2009
WPTV (West palm Beach, Florida) 01 August
09 Giant
python will live on...well, sort of (Carolyn Scofield)
Okeechobee
County, FL: He was slithering where he
shouldn't be, on the shore of a drainage canal near Okeechobee Veterinary
Hospital.
Veterinarian Doc
Harvey dispatched the 17-foot python with a shot to the head.
No one will
ever be able to say the snake didn't exist, because Janice Floyd is preserving
the skin.
She owns Rut
N' Strut N' Taxidermy in Okeechobee.
Floyd says in
an email, "I received the Okeechobee python a few hours after it was
skinned. A snake's skin has a lot of
stretch, and once the muscles were released from the skin, it gained four
feet. The full length of the snake at
this time is 21 feet. I have prepared
the skin for the tanning process and the length could exceed 22 feet when
properly mounted."
She says the
snake skin will make an excellent educational display.
"It's one
thing to tell someone we have nonnative species disrupting our ecosystem, but
to see the actual snake in person is more than one could even
imagine."
"I'm
still in awe everytime I look at it."
SAMMAMISH REVIEW (Washington) 01 August 09 Frogs
versus toads (Christopher Huber)
Experts say
the native amphibian populations in Sammamish are threatened and more
vulnerable than ever due to predation, more competition for food and
urbanization which leads to loss of shelter. Their plight has potentially serious
implications for the local food chain and ecosystem overall, said Klaus
Richter, a frog expert.
For years
during the 1980s and 1990s, Richter studied native amphibian habitats and
populations on the Sammamish Plateau. Back then, he and fellow researchers
found healthy western toad populations around Beaver and Pine lakes. That was
before Sammamish was a city and before much of today’s development happened.
It’s been a
while since Richter, a senior ecologist with the King County Department of
Natural Resources and Parks, did formal frog research in Sammamish. However, he
said he has not come across western toads in the past several years. He knows
things have changed for the native populations here with expanding development
and the introduction of non-native bullfrogs. Both of these factors are
stressing the native population of frogs.
The role frogs
play makes them a bellweather for the local environment as a whole.
“Frogs are
bio-indicators, so we can judge the health of the ecosystem based on the health
of the frogs,” said Dr. Kerry Kriger, frog expert and founder of Save the
Frogs.
This isn’t
unique to Sammamish, but native frogs and toads are stressed in their habitat
here, the researchers said.
“If you’re
stressed, you’re more vulnerable to predation,” Richter said. “They’re being
stressed to a greater extent than they used to.”
And as the
toads go away, the mosquitoes and ticks have fewer predators.
“The key thing
that people should understand is, they do a lot of insect control,” said Amy
Yahnke a University of Washington graduate student. She and Krieger recently
came to a Sammamish wetland to do research on local frogs.
“These are
little bio controls for all the bugs we don’t want bugging us,” Yahnke said.
They have a huge predator biomass, which means they can eat a lot of bugs.”
Parts of the
problem
Bullfrogs are
considered an invasive species that threaten the toads and other native
species. If bullfrogs become the lone species on the plateau, residents lose
the year-round pest control.
It’s important
to maintain a balance in the various frog species populations on the plateau
because different frogs are active during different times throughout the year,
Kriger and Yahnke said.
“The key to
this is that each of the native species we have fills a niche. They breed and
go through their life stages at different times in the year,” Yahnke said.
Bullfrogs, she
said, are only active when it’s warm. As a result, there would be few frogs
controlling bug populations, and acting as food for larger animals, from
January to June.
“The Sammamish
Plateau is a good example of threatened frog populations because it is an area
that is part of the historic range of Oregon spotted frogs, a candidate for
listing under the Endangered Species Act, and where western toads, a Washington
state Species of Concern, have been recently documented,” Yahnke said.
As bullfrogs
edge out local species, they become a “bio-pollutant,” which Richter equated to
a beer can having babies. You can pick up littered beer cans, thus fixing the garbage
problem. But that’s not the case with animals.
“Western Toads
have undergone serious decline throughout their range due to habitat
destruction, invasive bull frogs (which were at the site) and the chytrid
fungus, which causes a potentially lethal skin disease that has driven nearly
100 amphibian species to complete extinction worldwide,” Kriger said.
Nearly
one-third of the world’s 6,485 amphibian species are threatened with
extinction, according to Save the Frogs. And in recent decades, about 150 species
have gone extinct.
“Ten percent
of the Nobel Prizes in physiology and medicine have come from research that
depended on frogs,” Kriger said.
According to
Save the Frogs, the amphibians produce a variety of skin secretions, many of
which can potentially to improve human health through pharmaceuticals.
How to help
Klaus Richter,
a frog expert with King County, said one misconception people have about frogs
is that they hang around the pond their entire life.
With the
exception of bullfrogs, however, frogs spend most of their life in the woods,
taking only a few weeks in the spring to breed near the water.
“We have a
wrong idea, a misinterpretation, of what they need to stay and to live long,”
Richter said.
Native frogs
need larger buffer zones around area wetlands than currently exist, whereas
bullfrogs tend to stay near the water, Richter said.
A simple way
to help them, said Amy Yahnke a graduate student researching frogs, is to
provide a corridor of cover.
“Plant some
ferns and shrubs and give them a place to hide,” she said. “But generally, if
we can decrease the vast expanse of lawn that they have to cross by planting a
few pretty things to give them a leg up across the yard, it would help.”
She also
suggested rain gardens might help the frogs find cover and reduce changes ot
the water level in nearby wetlands.
Yahnke also
advised curious residents to appreciate frogs where they are, rather than
adopting the cute amphibians into the house, keeping them in a cage or aquarium
— they eat a lot more bugs if they’re outside.
Learn more
about frogs around the world at www.savethefrogs.com.
Six factors
affecting native frogs
Habitat
destruction (development)
Infectious
diseases (chytrid fungus)
Pollution and
pesticides
Climate change
Invasive
species (bullfrogs)
Over-harvesting
(for pet and food trades)
Source: savethefrogs.com.
http://sammamishreview.com/2009/08/01/frogs-versus-toads
STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER (Springfield,
Illinois) 01 August 09 Frog giggers get hunting thrills near area
ponds (Blake Toppmeyer)
Springfield: Buddy Wyatt of Palmyra is a hunting
aficionado.
When deer
season rolls around in the fall, Wyatt is out hunting. Turkey season? Wyatt is
out hunting.
Frog season?
Yes, Wyatt is out hunting. Well, not hunting. The correct term is frog gigging.
“Palmyra is
kind of a small, hick town, and it’s definitely something to do,” said Wyatt,
22, who has been out to ponds gigging with a group of friends several times
this summer. “And I don’t know too many people down in that area that don’t
enjoy frog legs.”
Frog season
began in Illinois on June 15 and continues through Aug. 31.
Although frog
gigging doesn’t have the same effect on Illinoisans as, say, deer season, it
does have its niche among avid hunters such as Wyatt, who has been gigging
frogs since he was 16.
“I’m
definitely into hunting and the outdoors,” Wyatt said. “I like fishing, but
fishing is a lot of sitting. This way (with frog gigging), you kind of have
that thrill. You got to sneak up on them and spot them before they spot you.
For me, it’s kind of the thrill of that hunt.”
To catch a
frog, the hunter first zeroes in on one by listening for its call. After
spotting it, a hunter will shine a flashlight into the frog’s eyes. The frog
typically freezes in place.
The primary
method for nabbing the frog is to jab it with a spear — called a gig — usually
five to 10 feet in length. The gig generally has three to five equally spaced
prongs at the end designed to pierce the frog’s thick skin.
The gig is
never thrown, nor is it pulled back before being thrust. Rather, it is held a
few inches above the frog and thrust down.
Frogs also can
be hunted by hand, with a bow and arrow or with a lure and line in a fashion
similar to fishing. Some states — but not Illinois — even allow hunters to use
a .22 caliber rifle to hunt frogs.
Bob Bluett,
wildlife biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said
hunting frogs was projected to be a bit more challenging for giggers this year.
Frequent rainfall in central Illinois in mid-June caused water levels in ponds
to rise.
Higher water
levels make for a more difficult hunt, Bluett said.
“It’s easy to
find the frogs when the water is down and they’re sitting on an open mud bank
or an area that they can’t conceal themselves very well,” said Bluett, 49, who
has been frog gigging for almost 30 years. “With the high water, they tend to
be back in the weeds or the willows, or water vegetation is there.”
Wyatt said the
frequent rain hasn’t slowed him down, and that he and his friends have had a
good season. They just have to work harder to get to the frogs because of the
high water.
“You’re
expecting the frogs to be sitting right on the edge of the bank and the water,”
Wyatt said. “Well, the bank is much higher this year, and we actually have
gigged quite a few frogs to where we’ve had to get out of the water and go up
four feet onto the bank.”
Gigging can be
performed solo or in pairs. But Wyatt goes out with a group, hunting frogs with
an organized method. A couple of hunters patrol the pond in a boat, searching
for frogs with a spotlight. When a frog is spotted, one of the giggers working
the bank will spear the frog and pass it off to one of the people in the boat.
Joe Candioto,
21, of Glenarm, also hunts frogs with a couple friends. Candioto said he started
gigging with his father when he was 8 years old. Joe shone the light in the
frogs’ eyes while his father speared them.
Although
Candioto now attends college in Idaho, when he returns home to Glenarm for the
summer, he makes sure to plan some gigging outings with his friends.
“You go out
and just have a good time with your friends,” he said. “It’s just like anything
else. People go golfing and have a good time their friends and all sorts of
other stuff. It’s just a little thing that we always did.”
Candioto said
a good night of gigging often ends up supplying a few laughs in addition to
frogs.
“There’s
sinkholes and everything else, which means you’ll be wading around in the water
and in creeks and all of a sudden you’ll fall into a sinkhole and your light
goes flying up in the air, and everybody is laughing,” Candioto said. “It’s
just a good time.”
Ponds tend to
be the best places to hunt frogs, Bluett said. The DNR does not track bullfrog
populations in Illinois, so determining how many frogs are in a given area is
an inexact science, he said.
So deciding
which ponds to hunt comes down to a game of wait and listen.
“The best
thing is to go out, sit near a pond and listen for them calling. It can be
spotty,” Bluett said.
“It kind of
depends on fish populations, too. If there are a lot of big fish in the pond,
they of course are going to be eating tadpoles and fewer make it to adulthood.
In other places, you have lots of young frogs and not many old ones. But you
can tell by parking near the pond and rolling down the window and listening.”
So why do
hunters wade through water, tromp up muddy banks and put up with mosquitoes in
search of frogs?
For Bluett,
the answer is simple.
“Eating them,”
he said with a laugh.
Hunters
usually fry the frog legs for a meal. Frying frog legs is a lot like frying
fish, Bluett said. He applies fish batter, puts them in oil and tosses them in
the fryer.
Three or four
good-size frogs — sometimes more if you’re really hungry — when combined with a
side dish can make for a good meal, Bluett said.
“It’s an
adventure, and you have something to show for your adventure when you’re done,”
he said.
http://www.sj-r.com/features/x1017713732/Frog-giggers-get-hunting-thrills-near-area-ponds
MIAMI HERALD (Florida) 01 August 09 17-foot python creates a stir in Okeechobee
(Curtis Morgan)
Staff at the
Okeechobee Veterinary Hospital routinely handle large animals. Along with pet
dogs and cats, they treat hogs, horses, cows and bulls.
But the
enormous critter that slithered uninvited onto the hospital grounds Thursday
stunned everyone. It turned out to be one of the biggest Burmese pythons found
roaming free in Florida.
The
constrictor stretched 17 feet, two inches and measured 26 inches around at its
thickest point. It weighed in at a staggering 207 pounds -- four pounds more
than the Miami Dolphins' brawny No. 1 draft pick, Vontae Davis.
``It was a
complete shock,'' said Patty Harvey, a technician at the hospital, which is
just north of Lake Okeechobee. ``We see huge gators all the time being in
Okeechobee, but you would never expect to see a snake this size.''
Florida
wildlife managers pointed to the find as the latest, and largest, evidence that
the exotic snake, which has settled into the Everglades, is spreading across
the state.
``The capture
of this large python shows us how well these snakes can thrive in the wild and
create a dangerous situation after illegal release or escape,'' said Rodney
Barreto, chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
``It also illustrates why the FWC is partnering with other agencies to
implement python control measures in South Florida.''
Two weeks ago,
the FWC began an experimental permit program that allows reptile experts to
euthanize Burmese pythons on state-managed lands around the Everglades, where
the population is now estimated to number in the tens of thousands.
But the python
patrol didn't bag the giant snake that made its way onto the hospital's 20-acre
compound.
It was spotted
Thursday afternoon by Corey Surls, 11, whose uncle, veterinarian Jim Harvey,
owns the hospital.
The boy spends
a lot of time on the grounds and overheard construction workers, who are
building an addition to the hospital, talk about a large snake they had seen in
a ditch, Harvey said. ``He runs over there and looks into the ditch and, lo and
behold.''
Corey told
WPBF in West Palm Beach that he was scared at first but, pointing to a cousin
who went along, said ``I was on the other side of the fence, so I knew it was
going to get him first.''
He alerted his
uncle. The veterinarian killed the snake with head shots from a .22 caliber
rifle, Harvey said.
Though it is
illegal to shoot pythons in state wildlife management areas or federal lands,
the FWC says the snakes can be legally shot on private property if local laws
allow gunuse.
Afterward, the
staff, still in hospital attire, posed for what Harvey called a
``once-in-a-lifetime'' photo.
It took eight
of them to hold the snake. Harvey is third from left, grimacing.
``I am
petrified of snakes,'' she said. ``It was still moving. I guess their muscles
move for a while even after they're dead.''
As one of the
largest snakes in the world, sometimes topping 20 feet, Burmese pythons are
considered a serious threat to native species. Everything from deer hooves to
endangered rats has been pulled from their bellies.
Nothing
discernible was found in this python's stomach, and Harvey said none of the
animals on the hospital's sprawling grounds were missing.
Wildlife
officers scanned for a microchip, required for pets under state law since 2007,
but found nothing.
Harvey said
the meat was donated to a nearby wildlife rehabilitation facility, a fitting
turn of the table that will let natives fatten up on an invader.
The future of
the skin remains uncertain, though Harvey admitted female staffers were joking
it would make a lot of nice purses.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1166772.html
NEWS-PRESS (Fort Myers, Florida) 01 August
09 Florida
trappers snag 17-foot-2-inch Burmese python - Wildlife officials kill 207-pound
snake
A
17-foot-2-inch Burmese python was caught and destroyed on private property in
Okeechobee County while two smaller pythons were snared in Lakeland.
The large male
snake caught Thursday weighed 207 pounds and measured 26 inches in diameter.
Its stomach contents were examined, but nothing identifiable was found inside.
Officers with
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission scanned the python but
did not find a microchip. As a reptile of concern, Burmese pythons must be licensed
by FWC's Captive Wildlife Section and implanted with a microchip to be kept as
a pet.
The other two
snakes were captured late Wednesday in Lakeland - a 9-footer and an 8-footer -
after escaping from their pens, the commission said.
The caretaker,
a 16-year-old, faces several charges, including not having a proper permit and
housing captive wildlife in an unsafe condition.
FWC worked
with the Legislature and the reptile industry to establish and carry out
tighter restrictions in 2007 to help prevent the escape or release of these
exotic species. The new rule requires an annual $100 license and mandatory
caging requirements. In addition, Burmese pythons more than 2 inches in
diameter must be implanted with a microchip that identifies the origin of the animal.
This rule applies to all reptiles of concern, which include Burmese pythons,
Indian pythons, reticulated pythons, African rock pythons, amethystine or scrub
pythons, green anacondas and Nile monitor lizards. It is unlawful to allow one
to escape or to release one into the wild, the FWC said.
"The
capture of this large python shows us how well these snakes can thrive in the
wild and create a dangerous situation after illegal release or escape,"
said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. "It also illustrates why the FWC is
partnering with other agencies to implement python control measures in South
Florida."
On July 17,
the commission launched a permit program, allowing reptile experts to capture
and kill Burmese pythons on state-managed lands around the Everglades. To date,
seven permits have been issued and five pythons have been captured. Several
more permits will be issued in the coming weeks. The permit holders must
collect data on captured pythons and submit that information to the FWC.
The program
continues until Oct. 31, at which time the commission will analyze the data and
determine if the program should be extended or expanded.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090801/NEWS01/908010348/1002
THE LEDGER (Lakeland, Florida) 01 August 09 Letter:
Use Girl's Death To Teach About Pythons, Not Eliminate Them
Most of my
life, I was afraid of snakes, lizards and almost every other creepy-crawly
thing. Then my husband (reluctantly) got me to attend the Reptile Breeders Expo
in Daytona Beach. It didn't take long for me to open my eyes, and see the
fascinating-and-beautiful side of these different kinds of pets. OK, I'll
admit, I actually came home with a ball python of my own.
The news media
are having a field day with the tragic sad story of the young girl's death from
an albino Burmese python. My husband I have seen the video of the snake being
taken and measured by law enforcement, and have heard the heart-wrenching 911
phone call from the distraught boyfriend.
To be honest,
he should be distraught. The snake is just a dumb animal that was starving. It
was grossly underweight and underfed.
If you took
your loving family dog, didn't feed it for two weeks and then let it have
unsupervised access to a child, it too would try to eat the child. The
boyfriend obviously had not housed the snake correctly in a secure-and-locked
cage.
According to
the research I have done, constrictor snakes have killed five people in the
U.S. since 2004. Dogs killed an average of 90 people in that same period.
Horses are close to dogs in human death rates. So let's ban horses and dogs
too. Not just the pythons. This is just a sad-and-tragic story with no winners.
Banning
pythons will not bring back the little girl, but this accident might educate
people to know about the pet they are getting, the dangers and the caging
requirements. It would be used as a precedent by animal-rights groups to outlaw
many other pets on the way to trying to get rid of all of our pets.
Carol Vinzant,
Lakeland
THE NATIONAL (Abu Dhabi) 01 August 09 Airline
says ‘baby crocodile’ on plane was a desert lizard (Matt Kwong)
Abu
Dhabi: It did not wreak the kind of
havoc seen in the Hollywood thriller Snakes on a Plane, but a rogue lizard
aboard a flight to Abu Dhabi was enough to spark a safety investigation,
airline officials confirmed yesterday.
The creature –
which, contrary to previous reports, was not a baby crocodile – caused panic
among travellers on EgyptAir Flight 916 from Cairo when it began darting around
the cabin early on Friday.
Reports put
the extra passenger at between 15cm and 30cm in length. Yesterday, Wafa al
Zahed, the general manager of EgyptAir in Abu Dhabi, suggested that the reptile
could have been stowed in the cargo hold before wriggling free.
“Maybe inside
the cargo door,” said Mr al Zahed. “In the cargo door there is baggage. Or
maybe the animal came from some plant in the aircraft.”
None of the
passengers had admitted to taking the creature on board, he added.
Mr al Zahed
said the airline’s Abu Dhabi station manager, Mohammed Saeed, had sent an
initial report to EgyptAir’s head office in Cairo.
He added that
a final report was likely to be released next week. Initial reports described
the errant lizard as a “baby crocodile”, but Mr al Zahed said: “It’s not a baby
crocodile. It’s not even a crocodile. It was some other animal, I don’t know
exactly what, but not a crocodile.”
He said it
looked like a desert lizard known colloquially in Egyptian Arabic as a “borse”.
The state news
agency, WAM, said it was 1.44am when the EgyptAir cabin crew cornered the
creature and alerted authorities on the ground.
It has handed
to waiting vets at Cairo Airport and will reportedly be kept at Giza Zoo.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090802/NATIONAL/708019841/1010/rss
THE SUN (London, UK) 01 August 09 She you
later alligator (Jenna Sloan)
Tiny Jeanette
Rivera loves a good old chin-wag - with an ALLIGATOR.
The 5ft 2in
beauty is pictured here getting up close and personal with 8ft of teeth and
muscle called Godzilla.
The 11st
creature weighs four stone more than her. But Jeanette, 24, is not nicknamed
the Gator Whisperer for nothing. She is an expert at calming the feared
reptiles so they are putty in her hands.
Photo: Dinner's
up ... Jeanette on gator feeding stage (Dan Callister / Rex Features)
First she
DRAGS them from their swamp by their tail, then she LEAPS on their back before
working her magic and coolly RESTING her chin on their snout.
Tourists at
Florida's Everglades Alligator Farm gawp as she tackles the animals while
dressed in just flip-flops, vest and hotpants.
Jeanette says:
"I love alligators. They are amazing. There's nothing else like them in the
world. They've got dreamy eyes and plaited backs and are one of our few
connections to the dinosaurs."
Jeanette has
worked at the farm since she was 14. Before playtime she stands on a 5ft-high
wooden platform to toss the 200 resident reptiles their favourite grub of fish
and dead rats.
Jeanette and
park owner Bob Freer then beat back the hungry hordes with poles before she
steps in to single out her chosen playmate.
Jeanette
jokes: "They would not miss me at dinner time in future if I got gobbled
up. But I feel safe."
To avoid
attack she hauls animals from the swamp by their tails because they can see
only sideways.
She then
covers their eyes to relax them, before getting down to the business end of her
show.
Slowly but
surely she prises open the gator's jaw, balances her chin on the snout and
spreads her arms like an angel - to signal that she comes in peace.
It's risky
work because, once a gator bites their prey, with an estimated 2,000lb of
pressure, no human force can wrench open the jaw.
Show boss Bob,
who keeps an alligator as a pet in his living room,says: "Jeanette has to
know what she's doing because an alligator can spin 180 degrees in an instant
and you can be left holding the tail instead of the head. That can be a
problem."
Fearless Jeanette
holds her face-off pose for a full MINUTE before gently moving away, while
charmed Godzilla relaxes his head on the sand.
She says:
"We don't do anything to stress them out. I sit on them, do a couple of
stunts and they are good to go. We change the alligators we use to stop them
from being stressed. We look after them really well.
"Once a
week they get their favourite meal of dead rats. They're just good old boys
hanging out for dinner in the sunshine."
But Jeanette
is not entirely fearless. She confesses: "I'm scared to death of frogs.
I'd rather be in here with the gators than faced with a bunch of frogs in a
little pond."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2566938/Meet-the-beauty-who-tames-wild-reptiles.html
THE OLYMPIAN (Olympia, Washington) 31 July 09 Even
without this heat, it's never easy for frogs (Chester Allen)
All this hot
weather has me a little worried about my frogs.
Well, they’re
not really my frogs, but I’ve been keeping track of frogs in a couple of local
ponds and one lake, and this hot weather is just more added peril for the ugly
little creatures.
There must be
more than 200 frogs – I think they are Oregon spotted frogs, but my frog
identification skills are shaky – living in one shallow, algae-draped pond.
I first
noticed the frogs – they’re about 3 inches long – when I walked up to the pond
a few weeks ago and spooked a frog out from the shoreline grass. The frog
leaped into the water and started a chain-reaction jumpfest that rippled around
the pond in about 30 seconds.
It kind of
looked like the old Kingdome “Wave” from the 1980s.
All the frogs
jetted to hiding spots under the hair-like strands of algae. I sat down to see
what would happen next.
First, one
pair of boogly eyes popped out of the water. Then another pair and another.
Soon, hundreds
of eyes were peering around the pond, but not one frog moved. I didn’t move
either.
Then a few
frogs emerged from the green algae and kicked over to the shallow banks. Soon,
just about all of the frogs were squatting in the shallow water. One frog
nabbed an electric-blue damselfly that was hovering nearby.
These frogs
had their early warning system down.
We humans tend
to look down on frogs. They’re old – they’ve been around for millions of years
– happily squat in stagnant, bug-filled water and they look kind of goofy.
Yet, the frogs
are still here even though many creatures, including humans, think they taste
just like chicken.
Since spring,
I’ve seen great blue herons, raccoons and largemouth bass on frog-hunting expeditions.
And the
predators have been busy at this little pond. Heron and raccoon tracks dot the
shoreline mud, and a half-eaten frog carcass bobbed near a patch of water weeds
last week.
Just before
dark, largemouth bass detonate on swimming frogs in boils the size of trash can
lids.
It’s not an
easy world out there for the frog.
Many frogs
can’t handle the impact of human change – a drained pond is a frog-free zone –
and we’ve introduced lots of new predators to the Northwest, including
largemouth bass and bullfrogs, which happily eat other frogs.
If you were 4
inches long, a bullfrog would probably think you tasted just like chicken.
The frogs are
shy during the day, but they make a huge racket at night. Sometimes just one
frog is croaking and bellowing away, and then the whole pond lights up with
sound.
It’s easy to
find frogs here in South Sound. Just about every runoff pond, lake and wetland
has a lot of frogs.
Quietly
sitting and watching frogs may not sound too exciting, but these creatures have
rituals just like we do. And it’s a lot of fun to see all those little eyes
poking above the surface. It kind of reminds me of playing “Red Light, Green
Light” when I was a kid.
There is a
much bigger pond about 200 yards away from the pond that is shrinking fast in
this hot weather. I hope the frogs can somehow sneak over to the big pond one
night – before it gets too late.
Did You Know?
Oregon spotted
frogs are native to Western Washington and once lived in Washington wetlands
from the Canadian border to the Columbia River. Due to habitat loss, pollution,
environmental changes and predators, these frogs now live in only seven remote
locations in Thurston and Klickitat counties. The Oregon spotted frog is listed
as an endangered species in the state and is a candidate for federal Endangered
Species Act protection.
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoorshighlight/story/926317.html
ORLANDO SENTINEL (Florida) 31 July 09 Killer
python owner: 'It was a terrible, awful accident' (Anthony Colarossi)
[In his first interview
with the Orlando Sentinel, Charles Darnell said he has been stricken by
grief in the month since the family's pet Burmese python suffocated his
girlfriend's 2-year-daughter in her crib in a rural community about 60 miles
northwest of Orlando.]
Almost a month
ago, a pet Burmese python escaped from its enclosure in a rural Sumter County
home and suffocated 2-year-old Shaiunna Hare as she slept in her crib.
The attack
made international headlines and became a convenient tragedy for politicians
and bureaucrats to use as they called for organized hunts of wild Burmese.
But for
Charles Darnell and his girlfriend Jaren A. Hare, the loss was indescribable.
The last month
left them mourning a child they loved, questioning themselves for becoming so
trusting of the snake and worrying if criminal charges will come.
Darnell, 32,
spoke Friday in his first interview with the Orlando Sentinel.
He said the
child's death has altered his life forever and made him a "monster"
in the eyes of many around the world and in his tiny town Oxford, 60 miles
northwest of Orlando.
"It was
an accident. It was a terrible, awful accident," said Darnell, vacillating
between shouts and sobs.
"It's not
guilt," Darnell said of the way he feels today. "It's remorse and
grief. I'll never have another one [a snake]."
His comments
came a day after prosecutors said they needed more time to investigate the case
to determine if Darnell or Hare ought to face criminal charges.
Darnell does
not claim to be a snake expert, but he said he has been around the reptiles
much of his life.
He cannot
describe the attraction to boa constrictors and Burmese, except to say,
"Some people are bird people. Some people are cat people. And some people
are snake people."
The Burmese
suspected in the child's death became a pet about nine years ago.
And Darnell
said he took good care of the animal, but also said he thought the 8 1/2-foot
female was instinctively moving around when it escaped because it was reaching
its sexual maturity.
And he
suspects that is why the snake was so determined to escape its 150-gallon
aquarium.
"She had
got out the night before," he said, referring to the hours before the
attack. "I woke up, went to the bathroom and found her in the hallway.
That's when I put her in the laundry bag and put her back in the tank."
Darnell said
he pulled a quilt down tight over the top of the tank and then used safety pins
and bungee cords to secure the top. "I don't know how she got out,"
he said.
Snake experts
such as Andrew Wyatt, president of the United States Association of Reptile
Keepers, question Darnell's story, particularly the part about the snake
reaching sexual maturity.
A Burmese that
old weighing 12.3 pounds had to be "emaciated," he said.
"That
animal was not sexually mature. That animal was undernourished,'' Wyatt said.
In any case,
Darnell acknowledges it was a "mistake" for them not to be afraid
enough of the snake, although he said he always took "extra
precautions" with the Burmese, especially when children were nearby.
He also
supports the ongoing state and federal efforts to capture and euthanize wild
Burmese in South Florida because the top predators threaten native wildlife
there and reproduce so successfully.
"I've
said for a long time that they need to get them out of there," he said.
As for pet
behavior, Darnell said: "Any animal at any time can turn on you for any
reason."
Darnell said
it has been difficult for him to do simple things in public, like grocery
shopping, because of all the notoriety surrounding the case.
State wildlife
officials said the snake's owner could face a second-class-misdemeanor charge
because no one held a license for the python.
The
misdemeanor charge could be punishable up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.
On Friday
Darnell said, "The snakes were bought back in 2000 when the laws and
permits did not exist."
The Burmese
pythons were not regulated for permitting back then. But Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said as of Jan. 1, 2008, Burmese
python owners had six months to get the required permitting and microchips for
the snakes.
While the case
involves prosecutors and wildlife officials, the state Department of Children
and Families also continues to investigate allegations of inadequate
supervision and maltreatment in the death of the child and threatened harm and
inadequate supervision involving two other children in the home when the attack
occurred.
"This
agency was contacted to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death
of" the girl, DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said in a statement.
"The
current investigation is primarily focused on her death. It expands to include
whether or not the other children, who were in the home that night, were also
placed in any harms way; intentional or not."
Darnell said
the DCF involvement has added stress and hassle in the aftermath of the
tragedy.
"They've
been harassing me," he said. "We lost our child and now we're dealing
with that."
The inquiries
come at a sensitive time. A girl is dead. Hare is expected to give birth to
Darnell's child very soon. And Darnell still struggles with the death of his
son due to an illness several years ago.
Shortly before
the July 1 incident, DCF had investigated Darnell for neglect of a child and
child abuse. That case involved alleged drug use and dealing, but it was
ultimately unfounded.
DCF did not
find enough risk to take children from the home.
Darnell said
the caseworker who initially investigated the unfounded case commented on the
snakes.
"He was
impressed by how well the snakes were kept," he said. "He talked
about the snakes to us. He thought it was neat that we had them and kept
them."
Darnell said
the original DCF case was prompted by an upset relative who made false claims,
but now he worries that the new probe could affect his relationship with Hare
and their unborn child.
He has
experienced terrible loss before.
His young son
died in 2003 due to a rare disease. He spent days in the hospital with the boy,
who was almost 3.
And today
Darnell can't help but remember that experience when he thinks of the morning
one month ago when he found the Burmese wrapped around young Shaiunna.
"How do
you deal with losing a child? I don't wish that on anybody," he said.
"You don't deal with it, man. You don't deal with it. You grieve, but you
never get over losing a child. When your child dies it take a piece of you,
too."
THANH NIÊN (Hanoi, Việt Nam ) 31
July 09 Crocodiles captured near central province croc farm (Van Ky)
Six crocodiles
were caught by local residents near a crocodile farm in the central province of
Khanh Hoa this week.
Phu Huu
Village resident Tran Quoc Trung found and captured a crocodile weighing around
4-5 kilograms while washing his hands at a lake Thursday morning.
Pham Van Trinh
and his nephew Nguyen Van Hai, from the nearby Tan Phu Village, caught two more
crocs weighing 10 and 7 kilograms respectively while fishing a day earlier.
Nguyen Lot,
another local villager, caught a 7-kilogram crocodile in a ditch on Tuesday and
two more Phu Huu Village residents then captured the last two, which weigh
around 5 kilograms each.
The six
reptiles were caught near the Khatoco Ostrich and Crocodile Trading Co.
The company
said it had not found any breaches after examined its enclosures since the
apparent escapes.
The company
bought three out of the six crocodiles Thursday, a manager said, adding that
one of the other three was killed for meat and the other two were still in the
hands of the residents who found them.
Khatoco also
announced that it was counting the number of crocodiles in the farm and would
examine exactly where and how the residents had caught the reptiles in a bid to
specify their origin.
http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=51299
EXPRESS (Köln, Germany) 31 July 09 Neuss-
Alarm am Hafen - Gefährliches Reptil war nur eine Schildkröte
Passanten
hatten sich an die Polizei gewandt und das Tier gemeldet. Aber: Es war kein
Kaiman, wie befürchtet, sondern nur eine Schildkröte.
Ungewöhnlicher
Einsatz für die Polizei Neuss: Reptilien-Alarm am Hafen! Passanten meldeten den
Beamten ein Reptil. War es wieder ein Kaiman, wie Sammy 1994?
Als die
Polizei am Einsatzort war, stellte sich schnell Erleichterung ein: Es war nur
eine Schildkröte, die sich in die Sonne gelegt hatte. Keine Gefahr. Als sich
die Beamten näherten, sprang sie ins Wasser und tauchte ab.
Laut
Kreisveterinäramt sind Schildkröten inzwischen in den Gewässern des Gebietes
"heimisch" geworden. Ein Grund unter anderem: Manche kaufen kleine
Schildkröten und "entsorgen" sie später wieder.
BEAR VALLEY NEWS (Big Bear Lake, California) 31
July 09 Family pet latches onto owner’s hand
On Monday,
July 27, 2009 at around 2:30 in the afternoon, the Big Bear City Fire
Department received a 9-1-1 call regarding an exotic lizard bite on Highway 38,
east of Onyx Summit. Upon arrival to the scene, a car traveling up bound on
Highway 38, a man was found with a Mexican Beaded Lizard bite to his hand. The
exotic lizard is apparently a family pet and was traveling in a plastic
container in the car. The owner reached into steady an item and that is when
the lizard latched onto his hand. The man was transported by Big Bear City Fire
Department paramedics to Bear Valley Community Hospital.
The amazing
Mexican Beaded Lizards are quite unique among the reptiles. It is one of two
species of venomous lizards in the family Helodermatidae. Both species are
similar in appearance and habits, but its venomous cousin, the Gila Monster, is
slightly smaller and more colorful.
Mexican Beaded
Lizards do not make good “pets”. Both of these species are sluggish in habit,
but they have a strong, tenacious bite; with a 'bulldog' attitude of not
wanting to readily let go. Something the owner learned the hard way.
http://www.bearvalleynews.com/bvn_9073109.htm
KSBY (San Luis Obispo, Florida) 31 July
09 Florida
author publishes iguana cookbook
A Florida
author is hoping that his neighbors will soon be lunching on lizards.
George Cera is
a trapper and hunter who specializes in ridding Florida neighborhoods of
non-native iguanas. The lizards push out native animals and are considered by
many to be a nuisance.
Now Cera is
hoping that casting the iguanas as a cheap and delicious food source may help
bring their population under control. His new book, "Save Florida, Eat an
Iguana - An Iguana Cookbook" offers dozens of recipes.
"My main
concern is not so much that people eat iguanas, but that they are aware of the
impact they're having and that we need to do more," Cera explained. "If I would have written a book that
said 'The Ecological impact of Iguanas on Florida's Native Wildlife,' nobody
would have picked it up."
Iguanas are
commonly eaten in their native Central and South America.
http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?S=10827771
WFMY (Triad, N Carolina) 31 July 09 Tortoise
Inspires Man To Stay Sober (Matt McKinney)
An unlikely
source of inspiration, a pet tortoise is helping a self-described alcoholic
stay sober.
Every
afternoon, William Duncan takes Spike, an African tortoise, for a walk outside
the Christian mission he lives at. He definitely gets plenty of response.
"Some
people think he's a dog but when they get closer they find out he's a
tortoise" says Duncan.
Spike is a
six-year old tortoise that needs plenty to eat. He normally eats collard greens
but he finds other snacks on his walks. He weighs in at 32 pounds but could
grow to be about 150.
To Duncan,
Spike is so much more than a pet. "It's like therapy. It really is. It
keeps me out of my room and watching too much TV."
Duncan is a
recovering alcoholic who lives and works at the mission. He admits a beer
drinking problem left him without a job or a home.
"Most of
the time when an alcoholic gets down in the dumps he needs somebody to pick him
up and push him in the right direction."
A recovery
program got him clean, Spike, he says, keeps him going. "Spike inspires me
everyday to keep taking care of him."
Duncan says
Spike's life-expectancy is about 70 years, so he should have plenty of good
years left to entertain the people at the mission.
http://www.digtriad.com/news/watercooler/article.aspx?storyid=128202&catid=176
DER WESTEN (Essen, Germany) 31 July 09 Mit
einer Schildkröte fing alles an (Simone Mylonas)
Werdohl: Mit einer Landschildkröte fing vor zwölf
Jahren alles an. Weil Nadine und Marco Maurer damals eine Wochenend-Beziehung
führten, suchten sie nach einem pflegeleichteren Haustier als Hase oder Katze
und entschieden sich für das Panzertier. Der Beginn einer großen Leidenschaft –
für Reptilien.
Findet eine
Reptilienbörse statt, gibt es für sie kein Halten mehr. Schlangen, Bartagamen –
eine Echsenart, die wie ein Mini-Drache aussieht – Chamäleons: Die Familie hat
ein großes Herz für Tiere, die so manchem einen Schauer über den Rücken jagen.
Unnötiger
Weise, wie Nadine Maurer betont. Nicht mal ihr Töchterchen habe Angst, nicht
mal vor Vogelspinnen. „Was sind denn Vogelspinnen?”, piepst Marie, die selbst
bereits Katzenmutti des Karthäuser-Babys „Mumbles” ist. „Stimmt, du kennst sie
nur unter dem Namen Grammostola rosea”, meint ihre Mutter – und Marie nickt
wissend.
So sei das
eben, sagt Nadine Maurer. Ihrer Erfahrung nach haben Erwachsene die größere
Scheu. „Kinder haben keine Berührungsängste.” Wie zum Beweis tummeln sich im
kleinen Laden gleich beim Haus, den die gelernte Erzieherin und ihr Mann Marco
seit gut einem Jahr betreiben, Nachbarskinder, beobachten Geckos und betteln
darum, eine Schlange streicheln zu dürfen.
Auch für
andere Reptilienfans ist die Familie längst kein Geheimtipp mehr. Selbst mehr
als einmal schlecht beraten, was die Haltung der empfindlichen Tiere angeht,
hat sich Nadine Maurer ein enormes Fachwissen zugelegt. Und das hat sich
herumgesprochen.
„Nicht nur aus
Werdohl, sogar aus Wuppertal oder Osnabrück kommen Leute zu uns – oft nur für
einen guten Rat. Die verrückten Maurers machen das schon”, schmunzelt Nadine
Maurer und erinnert sich, wie es eines Abends am Fenster klopfte und ein Mann
aufgelöst um Hilfe bat, weil sich seine Bartagame verletzt hatte.
„Wir helfen
gern weiter”, betont Nadine Maurer, denn eines ist ihr, aus Liebe zu den
Tieren, wichtig: „Dass sich jeder, der sich für ein Reptil als Haustier
entscheidet, vorher genauestens informiert.”
http://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten/staedte/werdohl/2009/7/31/news-127868211/detail.html
LE PARISIEN (Paris, France) 31 July 09 Un
crocodile en liberté dans l'avion
La panique s'est emparée vendredi des passagers du vol Abou Dhabi-Le
Caire de la compagnie Egypt Air, après la découverte d'un petit crocodile se
promenant tranquillement entre les sièges de l'appareil. Terrifiés, plusieurs
passagers se sont mis à hurler à la vue de l'animal de 30 centimètres de long,
alertant l'équipage qui s'est précipité pour s'en emparer.
Une fois l'avion arrivé au Caire, le crocodile a été remis aux autorités
vétérinaires de l'aéroport international de la capitale égyptienne. Il devait
être confié au zoo de Guizeh.
Le mystère reste entier sur la présence de l'animal dans l'appareil.
Tous les passagers ont catégoriquement nié avoir un quelconque lien avec le
crocodile.
En août 2007, plus de 250 bébés crocodiles, ainsi que des serpents et
des caméléons, avaient été découverts dans les bagages d'un Saoudien qui
quittait l'Egypte. Ils avaient tous été remis au zoo.
http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/un-crocodile-en-liberte-dans-l-avion-31-07-2009-595617.php
PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN (British
Columbia) 30 July 09 Letter: An amphibian
cry for help (Mark Thompson)
The July 5
column titled "Crying wolf leads to carbon overload” by UNBC professor
Todd Whitcombe contains errors. It is also unfortunate that Dr. Whitcombe links
the plight of amphibians to environmental hyperbole.
While I agree
with Whitcombe that “the environmental movement is prone to hyperbole and
irrational responses,” eco-illiteracy is more damaging and his column is a case
in point.
Whitcombe says
links between chemicals and abnormal development in frogs “is not what the
science has to say.” Peer reviewed articles in scientific journals (e.g., Science
& Nature) report otherwise. For example, Atrazine, a common pesticide
in the U.S. and Canada, is a potent endocrine disruptor that chemically
castrates and feminizes frogs. A recent book on the topic, “Extinction in our
Times: Global Amphibian Decline” describes the relationship between pollutants,
disease, parasitism and declines.
Amphibians are
normally highly abundant in wetlands and forests where they eat algae, bugs and
insects. They are energetically efficient and function as ecological conveyor
belts moving energy and nutrients through food webs. Amphibians are global
regulators of vast supplies of carbon stored and cycled through the forest
soils where they live.
A 2005
declaration by the IUCN Species Survival Commission states that global
amphibian declines are “unlike anything the modern world has previously experienced.”
They call on all levels of government, corporations, civil society and
scientific community to respond with unprecedented action.
I am the
president of a non-profit society called NAMOS BC (Northern Amphibian
Monitoring Outpost Society; www.namos.ca) that is responding to the amphibian
crisis by researching the problem locally and by organizing community
monitoring and awareness projects.
Amphibian
declines are a local and global issue. Populations adjacent to UNBC are
threatened by land development. Forest practices, bioenergy, disease and
pollution are provincial threats.
Addressing
amphibian declines concurrently tackles climate change, global carbon cycles
and, a more pressing issue for life on earth, extinction. Solutions are
identified by understanding, recognizing and prioritizing the scope of
environmental problems through the lens of ecological literacy.
Mark Thompson,
Prince George
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20090730205358/opinion/letters/an-amphibian-cry-for-help.html
CBC (Ottawa, Canada) 30 July 09 Labrador
turtle has wildlife officers mystified
An unusual
discovery in central Labrador over the weekend has wildlife officials
scratching their heads in disbelief.
Officers
recovered a snapping turtle from alongside the North West River highway, a
unique situation because Labrador has no native reptile species, leaving the
turtle's rescuers to wonder how it got there.
Frank
Phillips, an officer with the province's wildlife division in North West River,
could hardly believe the call that came in last Friday with someone claiming to
have found a turtle.
"It's the
first one that we know for being picked up in the wild in Labrador, he said.
The region has
six species of amphibians, but no reptiles. Phillips said. In fact, the nearest
species of native turtles lives more than 1,000 kilometres to the south.
"We
certainly know that it doesn't belong here. It belongs to Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick and even then in the warmer parts of those places, southern Quebec,
Ontario. So somebody had to bring it here. I think we're fairly sure of
that," he said.
Phillips said
wildlife officers are investigating two reports of people releasing turtles in
the area, but that happened years ago and he's doubtful that a turtle could
survive the Labrador winter.
For now, he
said, the mystery turtle is living in a fish tank.
"We've
been asking New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 'Will they take it?' And so far, we
have noes from those jurisdictions, so we may have a bit of a problem
here," he said.
"A lot of
people have become quite attached to it, but we just don't know what do with it
at the moment. We're still trying to find some jurisdiction that will take
it," he said.
Phillips now
has requests in with two zoos in the Maritimes. He hopes one of them will give
the Labrador turtle a new home.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/07/30/turtle-lab-730.html
SHANGHAI DAILY (China) 30 July 09 Crocodiles'
origins still mystery in Shanghai
Beijing: The Shanghai Wildlife Protection Office has
still not discovered the source of two young estuarine crocodiles found in the
city recently.
Investigation
of nearby restaurants came up with nothing, officials said.Officers visited the Lantian Hotel in Yangpu District
on Wednesday, the only restaurant big enough to deal with crocodile meat near
the Wujiaochang area of Yangpu District, where an estuarine crocodile was found
on a Metro Line 10 construction site on Tuesday.
They found no
clue in the kitchen or store house.
"We had
no evidence proving that they were doing crocodile trade," said Pei Enle,
director of the office. "So we couldn't take any action, but only warned
the hotel that it's illegal to sell crocodile without the government's
permission."
Pei said
estuarine crocodiles are endangered.
"Most
wild estuarine crocodiles live in Southeast Asia," he said. "The two
crocodiles may come from abroad. They managed to escape on the way to
restaurants."
According to
Pei, the office has uncovered six cases of illegal trading of estuarine
crocodiles in the first half of this year, most involving the restaurant
industry. "It's legal to raise edible crocodile if you have a certificate
from the government," Pei said, "but smuggling wild crocodiles is
illegal."
The two
crocodiles have found a new home at Shanghai Zoo. After brief treatment, the
crocodiles' condition has stabilized but they still need about 10 days to fully
recover.
Both
crocodiles had mouth abscesses because their snouts were taped for more than a
week.
"No fresh
air could go into their mouths so they started to canker," said Wu
Weichun, director of zoo's amphibian department.
The other
crocodile was spotted on the A30 highway in Qingpu District July 25. They were
both in their childhood.
"The two
crocodiles had seals on their mouth of different color and material," Wu
said. "Thus we could not confirm whether they came from the same
source."
Late last
year, an estuarine crocodile was found in a primary school's pool in Minhang
District, terrifying both pupils and teachers.
The crocodile
was also ended up at the zoo.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/30/content_11797352.htm
METRO (London, UK) 30 July 09 Tortoise
Inspires Man To Stay Sober (Matt McKinney)
An unlikely
source of inspiration, a pet tortoise is helping a self-described alcoholic
stay sober.
Every
afternoon, William Duncan takes Spike, an African tortoise, for a walk outside
the Christian mission he lives at. He definitely gets plenty of response.
"Some
people think he's a dog but when they get closer they find out he's a
tortoise" says Duncan.
Spike is a
six-year old tortoise that needs plenty to eat. He normally eats collard greens
but he finds other snacks on his walks. He weighs in at 32 pounds but could
grow to be about 150.
To Duncan,
Spike is so much more than a pet. "It's like therapy. It really is. It
keeps me out of my room and watching too much TV."
Duncan is a
recovering alcoholic who lives and works at the mission. He admits a beer
drinking problem left him without a job or a home.
"Most of
the time when an alcoholic gets down in the dumps he needs somebody to pick him
up and push him in the right direction."
A recovery
program got him clean, Spike, he says, keeps him going. "Spike inspires me
everyday to keep taking care of him."
Duncan says
Spike's life-expectancy is about 70 years, so he should have plenty of good
years left to entertain the people at the mission.
HALSTEAD GAZETTE (UK) 30 July 09 Earls
Colne: Legless lizards on the move (Nina Morgan)
Slowworms have
had a change of address since workmen started laying a new sewer.
In Earls
Colne, environmental experts are having to relocate slowworms in order for
Anglian Water to carry out work.
Dan Baker, an
Anglian Water spokesman, said: “We’re having to get experts to catch a lot of
slowworms because they’re endangered.
“We can’t risk
killing or injuring them so we’re relocating them.
“We’re very
conscious of the environment we work in.”
Mr Baker said
the new sewer, which will run from Church Hill along Park Lane to The causeway,
will mean a combined sewage overflow (CSO) will no longer be needed.
He said during
very heavy rainfall the CSO had deposited waste, which was about 90 per cent
surface water, into a river behind the odd numbered houses in Upper Holt
Street.
The new sewer
will link one existing sewer which often becomes quite full with another
existing sewer with spare capacity.
What would
normally have been deposited through the CSO, will instead be diverted to the
sewer with spare capacity.
The slowworms
are being moved to a nearby field.
Work started
on Tuesday and will continue until September 1.
http://www.halsteadgazette.co.uk/news/4520608.Earls_Colne__Legless_lizards_on_the_move/
THE LEDGER (Lakeland, Florida) 30 July 09 Pair of
Pythons Captured; Teen Owner Charged (Jeremy Maready)
Lakeland: A slithering pair of Burmese pythons were
captured late Wednesday after they escaped from their pens at an East Lakeland
home, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Officials said
the snakes' 16-year-old caretaker has been charged with six second-degree
misdemeanors - not having a proper permit, not having a written critical
incident plan, not having a microchip, housing captive wildlife in an unsafe
condition, allowing conditions resulting in the escape of the snakes and
violating caging requirements for Burmese pythons.
The 9 1/2-foot
male snake and 8-foot female snake escaped about 7 a.m. Wednesday from their
containers at 1669 Crystal Grove Drive in Lakeland. Wildlife officers were
called about 8 p.m. Wednesday, said wildlife commission spokesman Gary Morse.
Officials did
not identify the 16-year-old.
Morse said the
juvenile owned the 8-foot female and told wildlife officials that the larger
male is owned by an inmate at the Polk County Jail.
The inmate's
name was not immediately available Thursday. Wildlife officers expected to file
similar charges against him, Morse said.
Automated
calls were sent from the wildlife commission to residents in the immediate area
and officers also went door to door warning of the escape, Morse said.
"We
wanted to let residents know what was going on," he said.
"That
eventually led to the capture of the snakes."
Both snakes
were captured between 9 and 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Morse said he
didn't have details about how or where they were found.
The snakes
were given to a Haines City man, Michael Cole, who has the proper permits and
is equipped to handle the large reptiles.
"People
cannot let these things escape," Morse said. "They have to follow the
law."
The wildlife
commission offers an amnesty program that allows residents to call wildlife
officials for assistance in surrendering illegal pets without being charged.
"We don't
charge people for doing the right thing," Morse said. "We will find a
solution for their problem without issuing them citations."
The Wildlife
Hotline is at 888-404-3922.
LEBANON DAILY NEWS (Pennsylvania)
30 July 09 Cleona man charged with releasing snakes in Annville (Chris Sholly)
The owner of
two pythons that were found in Annville earlier this month was charged with
cruelty to animals Thursday.
Annville
Township police filed charges against 41-year-old James P. DeBock of Cleona
before District Judge Michael Smith.
He was cited
with two summary counts of cruelty to animals and two summary counts of
introduction of non-native species into the wild.
Police said
DeBock admitted to releasing the snakes on July 3 because he could no longer
afford to care for them.
Police said
earlier that DeBock told them that the pair of pythons were the only snakes he
released.
The first
python found - an albino Burmese - was 10 feet long. It was discovered by a
woman walking along the road at Stone Hill Village in the 500 block of West
Main Street of Annville around 10:30 a.m. July 10. When she realized what it
was, she called police.
The snake was
malnourished and weighed just 20 pounds. A healthy Burmese that size, which
weighs about 45 pounds.
The second
one, a 9-foot reticulated python, was found alive about 2 p.m. on July 16 along
the Quittapahilla Creek behind a home in Stone Hill Village. It was found in an
small, open area about 200 feet from where the first one was discovered. The
python was nearly as skinny as a corn snake, authorities said, and was severely
neglected.
Both snakes
were taken to Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary in Manheim, Lancaster County.
Jesse
Rothacker, who owns the sanctuary, said the snakes - whom he named Barney and
Moses - are doing fine.
"Barney
has had seven rats, and Moses has had five rats (since they have been in the
sanctuary). They went into their shed cycle a few days ago," he said.
The shed cycle
indicates that the snakes are getting their nutrients and are on the road to
recovery, he explained.
Several people
have stepped up to adopt the snakes, but the sanctuary may not release them for
adoption until the police give them permission, he said.
http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_12951195
MIAMI HERALD (Florida) 30 July 09 Humane
python killing urged (Curtis Morgan)
Bludgeoning
isn't enough. Neither is beheading. Pythons deserve both, insists People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
From anybody
else, the advice might sound like overkill. But the animal rights advocacy
group argues there are humane reasons for state wildlife managers to require
python trappers to take the extra step of whacking, then hacking.
In a letter to
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Thursday, PETA expressed
concern over the prescribed methods for hunters participating in a new
eradication program to euthanize Burmese python with either ``a blunt or sharp
hand-held device.''
The group
argued that while American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines for
euthanasia approve of ``cranial concussion'' for reptiles, it also advises
following up by cutting off an animal's head or otherwise severing its spinal
cord.
Patricia
Behnke, a spokeswoman for the FWC, called those guidelines a ``laudable set of
objectives for laboratory and research settings'' but ``rarely practical'' for
large field programs.
The agency has
confined its experimental python eradication program to seven reptile experts
well-versed in humane methods for dispatching the large, dangerous snakes, she
said.
``These guys
know what they're doing,'' she said. `That's why we hand picked them.''
The hunter who
two weeks ago killed the first python caught under the program used a
pocketknife to sever its spinal cord, she said.
Stephanie
Bell, a cruelty case manager for Norfolk, Va.-based PETA, acknowledged the
procedure might sound macabre to the public and stressed it was not the group's
first choice.
``Our strong
preference is, of course, to have these animals humanely rounded up and
euthanized by lethal injection,'' she said.
But if that
proved impractical, she said the cold-blooded creatures would continue to feel
pain after simply being stunned or decapitated, remaining sentient for up to 40
minutes.
``Often
reptiles, unlike humans or birds, don't die instantly,'' she said.
``Their brain
functions after their head has been taken off. The part of the body dissected
from the brain can continue to feel pain.''
The issue is a
subject of ongoing debate among scientists. What some see as evidence of life
-- such as a severed snake head snapping its jaws -- others argue it amounts to
a post-mortem nervous reflex.
Behnke said
the state guidelines promote humane treatment, so far ruling out traps and
firearms.
``Our
over-riding responsibiliTy is to reduce the population of this problematic
species,'' she said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1165117.html
KTKA (Topeka, Kansas) 30 July 09 Retired
KU professor being treated at LMH for copperhead snakebite (Jesse Fray)
A retired
Kansas University professor was bitten by a venomous copperhead snake Thursday
morning while gardening at his home southwest of Lawrence.
Dennis Domer,
who is retired from KU's School of Architecture and Urban Design, called 911
after he was bitten on the middle finger of his right hand around 10:15 a.m.
"I
reached this direction to pull some more weeds and … it was just like
lightning. Bang," Domer said from his hospital bed at Lawrence Memorial
Hospital, where Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical emergency responders took
him for treatment.
Domer, who was
hospitalized in the hospital's intensive care unit on Thursday, believes the
snake was after a small toad when it struck, but said the snake came out of
nowhere.
The man's
finger and right arm are swollen, and doctors pumped him with six vials of
anti-venom, said Domer, 65. It's the first time he's been hospitalized since he
had his tonsils removed when he was 8.
Aaron
Henrichs, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks natural resource officer,
said copperhead snakes are common in Douglas County. The reptiles generally
live under rocks on wooded hillsides, and during the summer months emerge,
mostly at night, to hunt for rodents and small mammals.
"They're
just prevalent everywhere here, all the time," Henrichs said.
Copperheads
generally are not dangerous and rarely attack humans unless provoked, according
to experts.
"The
snakes bite generally out of a defensive reaction," said Marty Birrell,
nature education supervisor at Prairie Park Nature Center. "If you get too
close, you're likely to be perceived as dangerous and the snake will use its
only defense.”
Birrell said
it's important to look out for the snakes this time of year and to get treatment
immediately if bitten by one that's venomous.
Anyone who is
bitten could experience discomfort and discoloration around the wound, dramatic
swelling, extreme nausea and possible hemorrhaging. The victim can be
hospitalized for several days and in worse-case scenarios could lose a portion
of skin, because of tissue destruction caused by the snake's venom.
"Any
venomous snake can give a pretty nasty bite," said Birrell, who added that
copperheads are the least-venomous snakes in the area.
Domer said he's
hoping for the best.
"I'm
totally optimistic," he said. "I expect to be out of here (Friday)
morning and in 10 days I expect to be pulling weeds back in that garden. But, I
will be watching for that snake. He better be really good this time."
Domer's finger
was stinging on Thursday and doctors have told him he will be sore for several
days.
LMH has
treated three snake bites this year, compared with 10 in 2008 and five in 2007,
a hospital spokeswoman said.
http://www.ktka.com/news/2009/jul/30/retired_ku_professor_being_treated_lmh_copperhead_/
DER WESTEN (Essen, Germany) 30 July 09 Kannibalismus
am Gartenteich (Monique de Cleur)
Von wegen,
Stadtkinder kennen keine Tiere. Für den Herner Nachwuchs gilt das nicht –
zumindest nicht für die zwölf Kinder, die gestern die Ferienfreizeit in der
Gartenanlage des BUND verbrachten.
Keschern war
angesagt – und die Kids waren mit Feuer-, oder besser gesagt, Wassereifer bei
der Sache: Galt es doch, einen „Forschungsauftrag” zu erfüllen. Das Ziel:
„Möglichst viele verschiedene Tierarten” zu finden, wie die Vorsitzende der
BUND-Kreisgruppe Herne, Ingrid Reckmann, erläutert. Schließlich ist der Teich
in seiner jetzigen Form erst vor ungefähr einem Dreivierteljahr entstanden. In
den Händen der jungen Nassforsche(r)n lag es nun herauszufinden, welche
Tierarten sich in dieser Zeit schon dort angesiedelt haben.
Nach einer
kurzen Einführung geht es mit Keschern und Wasserwannen bewaffnet auf
Entdeckungskurs ans Ufer. Kies knirscht unter den Füßen der Kinder, eifrig
werden Kescher ins Wasser getaucht. Kaum eine Minute ist vergangen, da
planschen schon die ersten Molche in den mit Teichwasser gefüllten Minibecken,
meistens mehrere pro Wanne. Nur der
Jüngste hat die Amphibien vorher noch nie zu Gesicht bekommen. Anschaulich erklärt
Reckmann ihm und den anderen das Herausragende an ihrem Fang: Der Molch ist
noch jung – und die fedrigen Auswüchse an seinem Kopf, „das sind nicht seine
Haare, seine Zöpfe, das sind seine Atmungsorgane”, seine Kiemen.
Plötzlich zeigt sich die Natur von ihrer grausamen Seite. Gerade noch
schauen die Kinder verwundert in die Wanne, da dämmert es ihnen: Einer der
größeren Molche hat sich über einen kleineren Artgenossen hergemacht – und
würgt ihn millimeterweise herunter. Bevor das Entsetzen zu groß
werden kann, stellt Reckmann eine vielsagende Frage. „Wer von Euch ist denn
auch ein Räuber im biologischen Sinn? Wer von Euch isst Fleisch?” Alle heben
die Hand – und dem Molch macht niemand mehr einen Vorwurf.
Aber was
schwimmt noch so alles in den Becken? Eine Spritzschlammschnecke findet sich
ebenso wie eine Libellenlarve, eine Kaulquappe, eine Ruderwanze und ein
Rückenschwimmer. Der heißt auch Wasserbiene, erzählt Reckmann: „Die können
nämlich stechen. Das sind die einzigen Tiere hier im Teich, die sich wehren
können.” Verteidigen können sich die anderen Lebewesen vielleicht nicht – aber
sie haben in den Kindern engagierte Fürsprecher gefunden. Dem neunjährigen
Benedikt Schlüter jedenfalls ist der Schutz der Tiere wichtig. „Ich find, dass
die nicht ausgerottet werden dürfen. Andere Tiere sind ja schon bedroht.”
http://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten/staedte/wanne-eickel/2009/7/30/news-127772020/detail.html
SÜDKURIER (Konstanz, Germany) 29 July 09 Grundschüler
helfen Fröschen über die Straße
Die Kinder der
Klassen 3 und 4 der Grundschule Stahringen mit ihrer Klassenlehrerin Frau
Tolksdorf haben wieder einmal Umweltbewusstsein gezeigt. Es wurden von den
Kindern circa 3000 kleine Kröten und Frösche an der B 34 zwischen Stahringen
und der Abfahrt Bodman eingesammelt und über die vielbefahrene Straße getragen.
Viele Fragen haben die Kinder gestellt, zum Beispiel, warum die Tierchen über
die Straße wollen, oder wovon sich Frösche und Kröten überhaupt ernähren? Durch
das Einsammeln der Tiere haben die Kinder einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Erhaltung
eines intakten Ökosystems geleistet. Nachahmenswert ist auch das soziale
Engagement der Schüler der Klasse 3b von der Ratoldusschule unter Leitung von
Klassenlehrerin Frau Siebenhaller gewesen. Die Kinder haben mit Hilfe der Eltern
durch Kuchenverkauf und Musizieren 510 Euro erwirtschaftet. Das Geld spenden
die Kinder der „School for Live“ in Thailand, um dort die tägliche Reisnahrung
für die Schüler zu sichern.
Radolfzell
kann stolz auf ihre Schulen und ihre Kinder sein, welche schon im
Grundschulalter lernen, Verantwortung für die Natur, und auch für Kinder auf
der anderen Seite der Erdkugel zu übernehmen.
PENTICTON HERALD (British Columbia) 28 July
09 Snakes
in a car?: Police say driver blames crash on snakes that escaped from his
pocket
Hartford,
Connecticut (AP): Police say a driver
blamed a car crash Connecticut on two pet baby snakes that he said escaped from
his pants pockets as he was driving.
Hartford
police Sgt. Christene Mertes says Angel Rolon claimed he lost control of his
sports utility vehicle on Monday when the snakes slithered near the gas and
brake pedals and he and a passenger tried to catch them. The vehicle veered
into some parked cars and overturned.
Mertes says
animal control officers never found the snakes and police have been unable to
confirm his story.
Rolon was
treated at a hospital for unknown injuries. Police say they gave him a summons
for reckless driving and other charges.
There is no
public telephone listing for Rolon and it was unclear if he has a lawyer.
http://www.pentictonherald.ca/CP_stories.php?id=201755
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (California)
28 July 09 Scientists find species of nearly extinct frog (John Antczak)
Los Angeles (AP): Scientists have found evidence of a
potentially large population of the nearly extinct mountain yellow-legged frog
in a Southern California wilderness where it hadn't been seen in a half
century, raising prospects for restoring the species to its once wide range.
Like
amphibians whose numbers are in decline worldwide, the frog species was
believed to have fewer than 200 adult members spread across the San Gabriel,
San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountain ranges.
In June, U.S.
Geological Survey biologists and a team from the San Diego Natural History
Museum each separately found a mountain yellow-legged frog at locations 2 1/2
miles apart in the Tahquitz and Willow creeks area of the San Jacintos, about
85 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
At the time,
the USGS team was only intent on assessing the suitability of the area for
re-establishing the species, ecologist Adam Backlin said Friday.
In 10 years of
working with the species, up to 300 locations had been surveyed in the three
mountain ranges without any new populations being discovered, so there was no
expectation of finding any frogs, Backlin said.
The first frog
was found June 10 in Tahquitz Creek.
"We were
just blown away," he said.
The museum
scientists made their discovery as they followed in the footsteps of a 1908
natural history expedition in order to determine biological changes. That frog
was found June 21 in Willow Creek, a tributary of the Tahquitz.
Scientists
knew that the frogs had lived there about 50 years ago because museums have
examples of the species from the area, Backlin said.
The historic
record indicates the frogs were abundant in every area that had permanent water
above an elevation of 1,200 feet, he said.
"Between
1968, the 1970s, they just disappeared off the map," he said. "We're
trying to figure out now what happened. So anything that is still currently out
there has probably persisted since that time."
The frogs
don't bask like other frogs and are hard to spot, he said.
The frogs also
typically don't move from place to place, so the distance between the two newly
discovered frogs is a preliminary indication of a big population.
"And if
there's a large population, there may be more frogs in that one creek than we
know of across the entire range of the species," Backlin said.
The
discoveries follow the San Diego Zoo's first-ever success in breeding a
mountain yellow-legged frog in captivity. Tadpoles rescued from a drying stream
in the San Bernardino National Forest were taken to the zoo, and eggs were
discovered in a tank in December. One frog matured.
Backlin said
captive breeding is difficult because of the need to replicate conditions that
include the chill of winter, when the frogs are used to hibernating.
"The hope
is that we'll get a lot of animals from that captive population this spring and
use those to start developing new populations," he said.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/28/BAO318V1JP.DTL
THE STATESMAN (Kolkata, India) 28 July 09 Cobra-phobia
grips House
Bhubaneswar: Snakes continue to haunt legislators in
Orissa. Many legislators want a complete renovation of the hall, whilst others
want a thorough probe into the incidents of snakes surfacing in the Well of the
House.
Ruling Biju
Janata Dal member Mr Pradip Maharathy raised the issue in the House today, and
said that a cobra had been sighted by two of the Assembly staff and that as a
result the House had to be adjourned for the entire day and sealed. But again
on 25 July another snake was spotted. It was caught, but not before it had
bitten the security staff. "You have to protect us", he said while
addressing the Speaker.
Mr Maharathy
went on to note that he, for one, was scared, and if another were to appear he
and many others would run for safety but what about those who can't run? The
senior BJD member wanted the carpets to be removed and the flooring redone with
tiles.
The Speaker,
Mr Pradip Amat, assured the member that steps were being taken to ensure safety
and protection of members.
Congress
member Mr Anup Sai, however, quipped that Vedanta was more dangerous than the
snake, and the ruling party was willing to pass the controversial Vendanta
varsity bill. His party colleague, Santosh Singh Saluja felt there was no
escape, as inside the House there are snakes and outside the naxals are
creating a mayhem, he remarked.
Mr Gregory
Minz, another Congress member, said that the two instances of a cobra being
seen, and subsequently a non-poisonous snake being caught, were mysterious.
There should be a probe into all this, he said.
Even NCP
member Mr Amar Satpathy expressed concern over the appearance of snakes in the
Well of the House and said it was a serious issue.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=9&id=295040&usrsess=1
JIUJIANG TV (China) 28 July 09 College
girl raises pet snake in Guangxi
Beijing: For over a year, a female college student
named Yang Liyuan has been keeping a boa snake as a pet in southwest China's
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Boas are a
non-venomous species of snake that often kill their prey by constriction, or
squeezing it to death.
Yang says she
loves her pet, holding it affectionately as it twists around her neck.
Soundbite:
Yang Liyuan, owner of the snake "I think the snake is intelligent. I don't
see any difference between raising a snake than a cat or dog."
Yang says it
has a mild temper and never attacks people.
Soundbite:
Yang Liyuan, owner of the snake "Previously, a lot of people would be
afraid when they saw it. But they started to accept it after they got more
familiar with it."
She has put a
lot of work into raising and taking care of the animal, which maintains a diet
of mostly mice and beef.
Her boyfriend
has grown to like it, too.
Soundbite: Ma,
Yang Liyuan's boyfriend "Once she left the boa with me when she went out
shopping. I had no idea about holding a snake. It's weird at first, but after a
while I found it gentle and interesting.
Yang is a
sophomore majoring in human resources at Jiujiang Institute.
[Video link at
URL below]
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/28/content_11787763.htm
NEWS BLAZE (Kathmandu, Nepal) 27 July 09 Have the Snake Gods Broken Nepal's Drought?
(John Child)
Kathmandu: Much of Nepal received a thorough overnight
drenching Monday for the first time in more than nine months. It's too early to
declare the long drought over or to put aside fears of a failed monsoon, but
Nepalis welcomed the rain, and many wondered whether to credit the snake gods
for it.
The rain came
on the evening and night following Nag Panchami, a festival devoted to serpent
deities that live half of the year in an subterranean kingdom and half in our
world. The Nagas, as the snake gods are called, are believed to influence rains
and earthquakes and to guard treasures. Their powers are so great that
astrologers divine their locations and offer prayers before a new building is
erected, to ensure that they do not cause it to fall.
Celebration of
Nag Panchami is especially intense in the Kathmandu Valley, which tradition and
geologists both say was once a large lake and which legend holds to have been
the snake gods' earthly seat. When the lake was drained through a cleft in the
south of the hills that surround the valley by a magical sword, the Buddhist
saint who wielded the sword promised the snakes that all remaining water
sources here would be their special domains.
And so every
riverside shrine, lake and artificial pool in Kathmandu and throughout much of
Nepal has images of the snake deities and is in turn sanctified by them. Wells
are normally marked by snake carvings, and can be cleaned on only one day of
the year, when the snakes are believed to be away worshipping their ancestors.
Snakes are welcomed if they venture into Nepali homes and are given a saucer of
milk to encourage them to stay. (The deep-seated prejudice of the
Judeo-Christian world against snakes is absent in the east, which has no garden
of eden myth.)
And so each
year in late July or early August, on the fifth day of the waxing moon, Nepalis
offer prayers to the snake gods in gardens and near water sources, and farmers
pour milk into the sacred Bagmati River for the Nagas. Virtually every house
and commercial building is blessed by cleaning the entrance with a mixture of
water and cow dung and then pasting a brightly colored image of the snake
deities on it. A tika, a spot of rice mixed with vermillion power adorns the
snakes, and the family offers flowers, herbs and incense wicks to them.
Many legends
and stories associated with water and miracles are connected with the Nagas,
and the major gods of the Hindu pantheon, Vishnu and Shiva, are frequently
shown wreathed in or protected by a multi-headed snake. The power to resurrect
the dead is attributed to snakes, along with a vital ability in monsoon-dependent
Nepal, the ability to break droughts.
Nag Panchami
typically falls in the middle of monsoon, so there is ample reason for the
devout here to believe that the first major rain of the year occurring on the
festival night is a blessing from the snake gods. If in fact the monsoon does
arrive now, even late, the harvest can be saved and famine in the region
averted. That certainly would be a blessing.
http://newsblaze.com/story/20090727113630chil.nb/topstory.html
WWSB (Sarasota, Florida) 27 July 09 Wildlife
expert catches python in Manatee County
Bradenton, FL.: It's a story we're likely to hear about more
and more in the future: huge snakes - Burmese Pythons - living among us.
Over the
weekend, a 14-foot python was pulled out of a drainage pipe off State Road 70
in Bradenton.
Monday,
veterinarians tried to find out who set the former pet free. The vets from the Bayshore Animal Hospital
scanned for a microchip that could have been implanted in the python when it
was much smaller, but those scans turned up nothing.
"They
usually have been somebody's pet before.
Almost always, they've been somebody's pet and have been released
unfortunately," says Dr. Leann Tana.
The python was
captured by Justin Matthews, who owns a wildlife rescue and education
business. He says it's the most
aggressive snake of this type he's ever encountered, and it likely was feeding
on Muscovy Ducks and eating lots of them.
Matthews says
snakes this big that have been set free can be a very real threat to
people. "Well its horrible for a
small child, especially, to run up on that snake. That small child is food. Snakes aren't the type of creatures that are
going to bite and say ‘whoa, I've got a human' and let go, they're going to
continue and they're gonna swallow you.
This snake could probably swallow a 7-year old child."
Matthews will
keep the snake he's named Sweetie and use it to show people how big and
dangerous these snakes can become in the wild.
He named it Sweetie because of it was found near a Sweetbay Supermarket,
and says it does not describe the snake's behavior.
http://www.mysuncoast.com/Global/story.asp?S=10796880&nav=menu577_1
SCIENCE DAILY (Rockville, Maryland) 27 July
09 Disease
Threat May Change How Frogs Mate
Dr Amber
Teacher, studying a post-doctorate at Royal Holloway, University of London, has
discovered evidence that a disease may be causing a behavioural change in
frogs. The research, published in the August edition of ‘Molecular Ecology’,
has unearthed a surprising fact about our long-tongued friends: wild frogs in
the UK may be changing their mating behaviour.
Dr Teacher
conducted her research with colleagues from the Institute of Zoology and Queen
Mary, University of London. The research followed concerns over the survival of
wild frog populations in the UK. Ranavirus,
which had its first reported case in England in the early 1980s, is one of many
pathogens ravaging the amphibian community.
Dr Teacher’s
pioneering new research looks at the genetic make-up of populations, and
indicates that wild frog populations that have been infected with this virus
may be choosing mates differently to those in healthy populations.
As Ranavirus
is typically associated with heavy death tolls in infected populations, there
are often few frogs left alive to mate. This frequently leads to inbreeding,
which causes an increase in relatedness in the population. However, Dr Teacher
has uncovered startling results; finding that despite inbreeding there has been
no subsequent increase in relatedness in these populations.
Dr Teacher’s
conclusion is that this lack of relatedness has been caused by a change in the
frogs’ mating strategy. With diseased frogs struggling to mate, healthy frogs
are likely to be mating more often with other healthy frogs, leaving diseased
frogs to mate with each other. These frogs could also be selecting mates based
on their Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) type; a group of genes directly
involved with the animal’s immune system. As the common frog is generally
thought to mate randomly, this is a major shift in the frogs’ mating behaviour.
Active mate
choice based on MHC type is not uncommon in other species, with research
indicating that a number of vertebrates, including humans, may use it to choose
prospective mates, and improve their immunity to diseases.
‘The situation
requires directed behavioural research’, says Dr Teacher. This discovery could
re-shape the way we look at disease management in animals. If such behavioural
effects from diseases are widespread, it is likely they have been overlooked in
the past, meaning we may be forced to reconsider how such diseases impact on
animals. Whilst Ranavirus has been researched in specific relation to
population dynamics, Dr Teacher has exposed previously unknown effects that
require further investigation.
Dr Teacher
believes the next step is to observe these wild frogs over the coming years.
‘The world of wildlife disease research would benefit greatly from such
long-term investigations, allowing us to see how the host and the pathogen
respond to each other over time’, ‘It would also shed further light on whether
Ranavirus does indeed cause observable behavioural changes’, she explains.
Further research may also bring us closer to knowing if this new mating
strategy could lead to wild frogs in the UK developing immunity to Ranavirus.
Journal
reference:
Teacher et al.
Population genetic patterns suggest a behavioural change in wild common frogs (Rana temporaria) following disease
outbreaks (Ranavirus). Molecular
Ecology, 2009; DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04263.x
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727080834.htm