HERP NEWS 278/2009
WESH (Orlando, Florida) 04 October 09 Snake
Owners Take Advantage Of Pet Amnesty Day - 46 Reptiles Turned Over To
Authorities
Orlando,
Fla.: Snake owners handed their pets
over to authorities over the weekend as part of Pet Amnesty Day at Orlando's
Gatorland.
The amnesty
day aimed to give snake owners an opportunity to let go of their pets rather
than pay fines or serve jail time for keeping illegal animals. It also hopes to
prevent people from releasing non-native species into the wild.
The new requirements
came after a large python strangled a little girl in Sumter County.
Snake owner
Thomas Eddy said many people who keep snakes as pets cannot afford the permits
and microchips that the new rules require. He turned his snake over to the Fish
and Wildlife Commission on Saturday.
"With the
fines and stuff, I decided this would be a better way because I can't afford
the chip and permits," Eddy said. "It's like losing a baby."
Authorities
said 46 reptiles were surrendered at the event. One of the biggest snakes
turned in was Marissa, a 13-foot phython.
Marissa's
owner, Sean Watson, said parting with their pet was difficult for the whole
family but said it was a better alternative to paying fines or seeing her
destroyed.
"You're
going to spend six months in jail, you're going to get a fine and the animal is
going to be destroyed," Watson
said. "She's a docile animal. She's not an aggressive individual. There's
no reason to have to destroy (her)."
The
surrendered reptiles will go to licensed adopters approved by the Fish and
Wildlife Commission. Some will get a new home at Gatorland.
Authorities
said six of the snakes turned in will become part of a new Burmese python
exhibit at Gatorland so their owners will be able to continue to visit them.
http://www.wesh.com/news/21197943/detail.html
ORLANDO SENTINEL (Florida) 04 October 09 Gatorland's
exotic pet amnesty day brings in pythons, scorpions -- and tears; Exotic pet
owners say they had no choice but to turn over beloved pets (Eloísa Ruano González)
Tears
slithered down a few faces as pet owners surrendered their exotic snakes — some
longer than 10 feet and weighing hundreds of pounds — for adoption Saturday.
Owners weren't
eager to turn over their pets to state wildlife officials and reptile handlers
during Nonnative Pet Amnesty Day at Gatorland, but they thought the timing and
public sentiment were right.
The reptiles
had been part of their families for years, and some snakes even had their own
bedrooms. But the pet owners said they had no choice as state and wildlife
officials tighten permitting regulations and consider a ban on exotic reptiles.
With the fear
of snakes spreading since early July, when a 2-year-old Sumter County girl was
killed by her family's python, Sean Watson of Deltona worried about the
well-being of his roughly 14-foot Burmese python, Marisa, which he often placed
in his front yard for neighbors to pet.
"With the
public fear, she's not worth having as a pet ... she's more a liability than
she is a pet," Watson, 39, said. He said his 5-year-old snake was gentle
and never escaped her cage in the garage.
The amnesty
day, which began in 2006, allows people to legally get rid of their exotic
animal without releasing them into the wild.
The event at
Gatorland focused on reptiles that wildlife officials deemed a concern for
Florida's ecosystem. Among them are anacondas, pythons and Nile monitor
lizards.
Saturday,
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials collected 46
reptiles, including 12 Burmese pythons. Among the strangest
"donations" were six emperor scorpions.
The largest
snake was Speed Bump, a 250-pound Burmese python, which officials had to pick
up at a home north of Apopka — near where wildlife officials collected a
400-pound python, Delilah, last month.
Marisa came in
second. Both were adopted by Gatorland — one of nearly a dozen organizations
ready to adopt reptiles dropped off Saturday.
Many owners
said they volunteered to bring in their pets because they were concerned a
disgruntled neighbor would turn them in. Fines are hefty and misdemeanor
charges are possible if the snakes escape.
Pythons didn't
require a permit until 2008. The license costs $100. It has to be renewed each
year for another $100.
Since news of
the Sumter County attack, fish and wildlife officials have noticed an uptick in
reports.
"With all
the media coverage about pythons, folks have been calling. Folks have decided
they don't want them," Game and Fish official Jennifer Tinnell said.
Not everyone
who dropped off a snake was without a permit. Shawn Nesselt of Sarasota wanted
to downsize his snake collection, so he brought in an albino and a green python
that were about 9feet each. Both snakes had permits and had been tagged with
microchips.
Nesselt said
the state should have required permits years ago on pythons, which have put a
squeeze on wildlife in the Everglades. They've been known to kill bobcats and
endangered wood storks.
"A lot of
people are inexperienced in what they're getting themselves into. They
[wildlife officials] should qualify people before they can get one,"
Nesselt, 32, said.
Watson, who
did extensive research before he adopted Marisa, was glad to hear Gatorland
will become her new home. Marisa, whom he use to shower with when she was only
a baby and measuring just 6feet, helped him educate children in the
neighborhood on proper animal care.
"I'm glad
I won't see her destroyed. Her purpose will be served [educating]. I know
she'll live a good life," he said.
The next
amnesty day is Nov.7 at Busch Gardens in Tampa.
CROYDON
ADVERTISER (UK) 04 October 09 Britain's oldest reptile, age 110, still going
strong in Coulsdon (Lucy Buckland)
Meet 110-year-old Tommy –
a tortoise who was born when Queen Victoria was still on the throne.
Coulsdon owner Sheila
Floris inherited Tommy after her mother Margaret passed away in July last year.
Her mother had bought the
tortoise for £1 in 1909 when he was already 10 years old.
It was thought the female
Hermann's tortoise was a boy when she was bought, which is why it was given
such a manly name.
She is now believed to
have crawled her way to the title of the UK's oldest reptile – as well as the
oldest living resident.
Mrs Floris, 52, of St
Andrew's Road, said: "I just knew I had to take Tommy after my mum died.
"My mum had so many
foxes in her garden they would have just torn Tommy up.
"Now she is a memory
of my mum, it's almost like I am keeping a bit of her alive in my back garden.
"If I had not taken
her home she would have died just like my mum and I couldn't bear it. Now Tommy
is part of our family.
"When she hibernated
that year, just after my mother died, I thought how wonderful it would be if
she woke up on mum's birthday. When she did it was like a gift from
above."
Tommy is protected in the
garden by the family's ten-year-old cat, Jet, who sits with her every morning
from 9am.
Mrs Floris said: "The
two of them love each other.
"At first we were
worried because Jet is a hunter but then we saw how much Jet protects Tommy
from birds and other creatures. It is wonderful."
Mrs Floris said she is
amazed that Tommy has reached the ripe old age of 110.
The mum-of-two explained:
"She still crawls around and when I call her name she puts her head out of
her shell as if to say hello.
Although Tommy suffers
from rheumatism and has to have special supplements ordered online, Mrs Floris
said the tortoise was in good health and could live for another 50 years.
David Alderton, editor of
Practical Reptile Keeping magazine, said: "We've only heard to date of one
individual who is more than 100. Tommy could well be the oldest-known
example."
MALTA
TODAY
(San Gwann) 04 October 09 Dangerous pets – no antidotes for reptile
venom at Mater Dei (James Debono)
There are no stocks of
antidotes for bites or stings by venomous animals currently available at Mater
Dei Hospital, a Health Department Official has confirmed.
A legal lacuna has in the
past years led to the importation of poisonous snakes, spiders and other
reptiles and invertebrates to Malta, but the government has recently declared
it intends to ban the trade in poisonous and dangerous animals.
No universal anti-venom
exists for bites from poisonous creatures, although individual antidotes do
exist for specific species.
“For an anti-venom to be
administered, the species causing the injury must be identified with a certain
degree of certainty, because the administration of anti-venom may in itself
cause life-threatening allergic reactions,” the Health Department official
said.
Currently there are more
than 60 different anti-venoms worldwide, catering for almost 300 different
venomous animals.
Despite the growing
popularity of exotic animals in Malta, no cases involving a diagnosis of
illnesses or injury resulting from contact with such animals have been recorded
in the past two years.
Apart from danger posed by
venom, reptiles such as turtles, lizards, and snakes are particularly likely to
carry Salmonella. In the United States, 74,000 of the 1.4 million human cases
of Salmonella infections are a result of exposure to reptiles and amphibians.
People can get Salmonella
from reptiles by putting things in their mouth that have been in contact with
reptile faeces. “Reptiles, baby chicks, and ducklings are especially likely to
pass Salmonellosis to people,” a health spokesperson said.
However the Infectious Disease
Prevention and Control Unit, which controls communicable diseases in Malta, has
many reported cases of Salmonella directly linked with reptile pets over the
past few years.
But in other European
countries, a link between reptiles and Salmonella infections was only
established following telephone interviews conducted by health authorities,
which ascertained that many infected children had indirect contact to reptiles
living in the same household.
In Germany, most cases
involved infants less than one year old. The youngest child affected was an
eight-week-old girl suffering from acute haemorrhagic diarrhoea and fever. The
source of the infection was found to be a bearded dragon species living in a
neighbouring household.
The Health Department
recommends that people who have been in contact with these animals should wash
their hands with soap and running water after touching either the reptile
itself, or any objects and surfaces that a reptile has also touched.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2009/10/04/t15.html
As slithering
reptiles go, the northern pine snake isn’t all that dangerous.
It isn’t
venomous. It spends most of its time burrowing underground. It rarely goes near
humans.
But among
South Jersey builders, the secretive snake has a reputation as a vicious
killer.
The mere hint
of a northern pine snake habitat has derailed or delayed several recent
multimillion-dollar projects, including a large residential development in
Jackson, a Wal-Mart Superstore on the Toms River-Manchester border and a major
expansion of the Garden State Parkway.
"If you
find a snake in a nest or den, forget it. Development stops," said Joseph
DelDuca of the Walters Group, a builder that has lost millions due to the pine
snake.
Now developers
are trying to bite back. The New Jersey Builders Association is demanding the
northern pine snake be removed from the state’s list of endangered and
threatened species, contending there is no scientific reason the reptile found
predominantly in South Jersey should be protected.
"There
really isn’t quantitate data to support that the listing needs to be
maintained," said Elizabeth George-Cheniara, the association’s lawyer.
The New Jersey
Builders Association appeal is the first formal attack on the protected status
of a wildlife species in New Jersey since the state passed legislation
classifying endangered species more than 35 years ago, state officials say.
The builders’
petition will be reviewed by the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory
Council, a state panel consisting largely of biologists. The group must review
the pine snake’s case within 90 days and make a recommendation to Department of
Environmental Protection commissioner Mark Mauriello, who will make the final
decision.
State
biologists say they can make a strong case to keep the pine snake a protected
creature.
They plan to
argue the northern pine snake faces a lot of obstacles to survival. It is a
target of illegal collectors. It is preyed on by other wildlife. It is
frequently run over by cars and all-terrain vehicles. Its preferred habitat —
the sandy soil underlying pine and oak forests — is rare.
"I think
we have ample amount of data to sustain the point that there are still
threats," said Dave Golden, a senior state biologist.
Known for its
noisy hiss, the northern pine snake can grow to longer than 5 feet and prefers
to burrow in sandy soil. The species was put on New Jersey’s threatened list in
1979 and remained there after state reviews in 1999 and 2002.
Under state
regulations, a threatened animal is a species that "will become endangered
if conditions surrounding the species begin or continue to deteriorate."
An animal’s status is elevated to endangered if its "prospects of survival
or recruitment are in jeopardy or are likely within the foreseeable future to
become so."
The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service said New Jersey may have the largest single population of
northern pine snakes in the nation. But the New Jersey snakes are fragile and
could eventually disappear, as they already have in West Virginia and Maryland,
the wildlife service said.
No one knows
exactly how many pine snakes are left in New Jersey because they are secretive
and migratory. But having a count is not necessary to keep the snakes on the
threatened species list.
"The
endangered and threatened species statute does not require in any way we have
an estimate of population," said Dave Jenkins, chief of the state’s
Endangered and Nongame Species Program.
Critics claim
plenty of pine snakes are slithering around South Jersey, since builders seem
to find them everywhere they try to stick a shovel.
"The pine
snake is no more threatened than squirrels," said DelDuca.
Within the
building industry, the Walters Group’s battle with the pine snake has become
folklore.
The company’s
troubles began in 2004, when it tried to close two landfills to build a $225
million commercial and residential complex off Route 72 in Stafford Township.
Before the
project got very far, someone visiting one of the dumps discovered a few pine
snakes nesting and slithering under an abandoned car.
Instead of
canceling the project, New Jersey environmental regulators offered a
compromise: The company could build its complex, but only after rounding up
every last snake and snake egg in the area and building six dens for the
reptiles in the nearby Stafford Forge Management Area.
"We
didn’t just move the pine snakes. We have a seven-year species-management
project that is costing us in the neighborhood of $2 million and is still going
on," DelDuca said.
The developers
hired an outside firm to set up more than a mile of snake traps.
"Every
time we got a snake, we implanted them with transmitters and had scientists tracking
them to determine their habits so we could find their nests, find their eggs
and hatch the eggs in a laboratory," DelDuca said.
Other
developers have run into their own problems. A 497-lot residential development
in Jackson Township stalled recently when a pine snake habitat was found. On
the border of Toms River and Manchester, the discovery of a lone pine snake and
its den brought down plans for a 200,000-square-foot Wal-Mart.
Even the
powerful New Jersey Turnpike Authority was forced to buy 259 acres in Atlantic
County for pine snake habitat preservation in order to win state environmental
approvals earlier this year to expand the southern stretch of the Garden State
Parkway through pine snake country.
State
officials understand developers’ frustrations. In South Jersey, pine snakes
tend to pop up everywhere from the Pinelands to tidal regions.
"You have
a large area where the pine snakes come into conflict with development, perhaps
more so than any other species," said Jenkins, chief of the state’s
endangered species program.
Builders say
the state’s rules are simply unfair. It’s time for the pine snake’s 30-year run
on the protected list to come to an end, says Amy Whilldin of the New Jersey
Builders Association.
"The idea
of delisting the pine snake from threatened standards is not necessarily going
to subject the species to much in the way of further deterioration,"
Whilldin said.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/frustrated_developers_are_hiss.html
THE
A fruiterer
got more than he bargained for when he opened a box of bananas at Footscray
market yesterday.
A brown snake
sprang from the box, which came from Coffs Harbour, biting the man's left arm.
The man, who
was celebrating his birthday, returned by train to his home in Ballan after
work, thinking little of the incident.
Ambulance
Victoria spokesman John Mullen said the bitten man's mates later convinced him
to seek medical attention.
An ambulance
took him to the Ballarat hospital, where he was treated and then released.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/snake-bites-fruiterer-20091002-gglk.html
KTSU (Salt Lake
City, Utah) 03 October 09 Economy Blamed For Abandoned Exotic Pets (Maile
Tua'one)
Salt Lake City: Reptiles are finding themselves victims to
the recession due to many owners releasing them into the wild because they can
no longer care for them. Reptiles experts say it is always a death sentence for
exotic animals in Utah. Jim Dix of Utah's Reptile Rescue Service said,
"They'll freeze to death. You can't come out of Mexico and then come to
Utah where it's snowing."
Dix said his organization
is now rescuing three times the number of reptiles than at the same time last
year. Dix encourages exotic pet owners to call Utah's Reptile Rescue at (801)
860-2497 if they need assistance with their pet and to not release them into
the wild.
http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-numbers-increase-of-abandoned-exotic-pets,0,3211771.story
LEADER-NEWS (Melbourne, Australia) 02 October 09
Snake mowed down in Coldstream (Bryan Allchin and Shaun Turton)
A Coldstream
woman turned the tables on a snake that bit her while mowing the lawn this
morning - using the mower to take revenge.
Healesville
paramedics were called to the property at 10.15am, where they found an elderly
woman being helped by her husband.
“She had been
mowing the lawn and used her hands to tear away some tall grass behind a water
tank, when she felt a sudden stinging,” paramedic Darelle Barrett said.
“(She) spotted
the snake and has sought revenge running it over with the mower.”
While Ms
Barrett treated the injured woman, the other paramedic went out in search of
the snake.
“I wrapped the
wound tightly with a bandage while my partner, a true country girl, went
outside, picked up and bagged the snake,” she said.
The woman was
taken to Maroondah Hospital in a stable condition.
“The snake was
not so lucky,” Ms Barrett said.
But Wildlife
Victoria vice-president Manfred Zabinskas, who is also a licensed snake
catcher, said snakes were a protected species.
“It’s not
appropriate to take matter into your own hands and kill the snake,” Mr
Zabinskas said.
“They are
protected species I know people don’t perceive them as things we hold dearly,
but snakes are a part of our environment and important part of the ecosystem.”
He said the
woman should have focused on getting medical attention rather than retaliation.
“Most snake
bites come from when people are tyring to kill a snake,” he said.
“There’s a high
likelihood she could have been bitten again, so she’s putting herself back into
a dangerous situation.
“The right
thin to so seek medical attention and contact licensed snake catcher and have
it removed in a safe and humane manner.”
http://leader-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/snake-gets-the-chop-in-coldstream/
Some cultures know what to
do with a nuisance
A
six-foot iguana thought Madison Wells tasted pretty good this week. Sorta like
a strawberry, in fact. Little 7-year-old Madison was feeding the beast
strawberries when it decided to clamp down on her ankle, tearing up her tendons
and requiring a couple of dozen stitches.
But the story gets better.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, when trappers showed up to catch the lizard, the
family who owned the Oakland Park property where Mr. Iguana was lurking refused
to let them into the yard. I say it takes a warm heart and a lot of chutzpah to
step to the defense of an oversized, kid-eating reptile that's not only NOT
endangered, but destructive of habitat, native birds, and other critters.
Of course, the animal
lovers are all over this story. It was definitely the kid's fault. Or no, it
was the kid's mother's fault. Because if you're not hovering over your kid
every second of the day it would be better to just hand her over to Child
Services.
Call me old fashioned, but
isn't it sort of in the nature of kids to get busted up? Don't they, like, fall
out of trees, wipe out on skateboards, poke out each others' eyes, and,
um...get bitten by GIGANTIC LIZARDS that happen to be raging unchecked around
urban yards?
One word of advice for
little Maddy's supporters. I hear the best way to kill an iguana is to stick it
in your freezer. Hopefully somebody in the neighborhood has a walk-in.
And in other news: Help
actually may be on the horizon for the Florida panther. The panther's habitat
has been squeezed almost out of existence. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
has about 80 days to respond to a new scientific petition urging that more
critical habitat be maintained for our panthers in the southern part of the
state. With more room to roam, panthers are more than twice as likely to
recover their numbers.
According to Environment
News Service, the petition was filed by three nonprofit organizations,the
Center for Biological Diversity, Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility, and the Council of Civic Associations.
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2009/10/iguana_bites_child_oakland_park.php
TIMES OF INDIA (New Delhi) 03 October 09 Minister's
'snake dance' draws wildlife activists' ire (Avinash Kalla)
Jaipur: Rajasthan minister Ashok Bairwa has come
under fire from animal rights activists after he reportedly staged a snake
dance at a fair at Sawai
Madhopur on
September 15. Alleging that the forest department did not initiate action
against Bairwa as he is a minister, 'People for Animals', an organisation working
for protection of animal rights, has written to Union forest minister Jairam
Ramesh and chief wildlife warden (CWW) R N Mehrotra, urging them to take
action.
"It's
surprising that a responsible minister violated the wildlife act in full public
view first by getting the snake caught, than coiling it around his neck and
repeatedly throwing it in the air at Tejaji Fair in Barwada village," said
Jaju Babulala, state head of the organisation. "No action has been taken
against him as officials fear to act against a minister. Hence, we have written
to the CWW asking him to take an action within a week's time, failing which we
will be left with no option but to approach the court of law," he added.
Jaju claimed
he has the clippings of the minister indulging in the unlawful act and news
reports published in local newspapers to prove his charge. However, denying the
allegations, Bairwa said, "Worshipping
snakes on Tejaji Jayanti is a common practice across the tribal belts of the
state. Being a tribal leader, I marked my presence at the fair and merely
followed the rituals of worshipping the deity and the snakes," he claimed.
TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville, Florida) 03 October
09 Massive
snake is not largest on record
Brandon Booth
didn't think a whole lot about the 7-foot-3-inch rattlesnake he came across
near his house.
A resident at
Tuscany Village Townhomes in St. Augustine Shores called Booth, who owns St.
Augustine-based A-1 Trapper Man, last Sunday to come get the snake from near
the entrance to the development.
"Actually,
I've killed them bigger than that before," he said. "It's rare, (but)
it's not like hitting the lottery or anything. If you look hard enough, you'll
find them."
St. Johns
County deputies were also called to the scene, and they photographed the snake,
an eastern diamondback rattler.
Their photos
were published in The St. Augustine Record on Wednesday and made it appear
longer than the 7 feet 3 inches that Booth measured it at.
The largest
eastern diamondback recorded is 8 feet long.
But Joy Hill,
a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said,
"Seven foot, 3 is still a formidable rattlesnake."
Actually,
rattlesnakes that size used to be commonplace, Hill said.
But in an era
of strip malls and urban sprawl, they are much less likely to live long enough
to get that big - either because they're killed, like the snake was Sunday, or
the prey they depend on was driven away by humans.
"It's
another victim of development because a lot of people just don't like
snakes," Hill said. "They sure don't want a rattlesnake around their
house."
While he's a
trapper and deals with snakes all the time, he's not a snake person.
"I was
always brought up that the only good poisonous snake is a dead poisonous
snake," he said.
Booth took the
snake to Jacksonville on Wednesday and gave it to a man who runs a muffler shop
and also makes things from snake skin.
He could have
made $700 on it - $100 for each foot.
Instead, he
traded it for future car repairs, well worth the hairy situation of actually
removing and gigging the snake.
But there's a
price he doesn't want to pay.
"I've
been struck at a whole bunch of times," he said. "I've never been
bitten - knock on wood, I won't be."
TIMES OF INDIA (New Delhi) 02 October 09 Snakes
in spotlight this week (Neha Lalchandani)
New Delhi: Next time you spot a snake, keep in mind
that, in all probability, it will not be poisonous. Out of about 15 species of snakes that are found in Delhi,
only two are venomous. Also remember that unless the snake attacks you, trying
to kill it would be a bad idea as that may invite imprisonment or even a fine
under the Wildlife Protection Act.
The wildlife
week that will commence on Friday will have a special focus on increasing
awareness on snakes. JNU will be dedicating an entire day October 7 to dispel
myths and clear the mysteries that surround the slithery reptile. Wildlife
experts say that poor knowledge and long-standing fear and prejudice about
snakes have led to several of them being attacked unnecessarily though most are
completely harmless.
Delhi has
about 15-16 varieties of snakes and all of them have at some point or the other
been spotted on the JNU campus. Dr Surya Prakash, a wildlife enthusiast from
the School of Life Sciences said that while snake rescue calls are a common
feature through the year, it was during the monsoon season that most of these
snakes found their way to the middle of human habitat. "This is the
breeding time for snakes and most cases of sighting would be of baby snakes.
However, one needs to understand that almost all of them are completely
harmless. They may bite if provoked but unless it's a Cobra or Krait, nothing
is going to happen. Snakes, in fact, are quite peaceful and take care of the
rat and other pest populations as they consume several of these during the
year,'' he said.
Wildlife
The city is
home to some very rare species of snakes that are also protected under the
Wildlife Act. These include the common rat snake, royal snake that is found
only in the northern hemisphere and common kukri among others. Those that are
found most commonly are the common wolf snake, common rat snake, common
keelback, royal sand boa, red sand boa, earth boa and the highly poisonous
cobra. "Cobras and kraits, which are poisonous, are nocturnal in nature
and their venom is neurotoxic. In fact, the baby cobra is more poisonous than
the adult,'' said Dr Prakash.
South Delhi is
home to a large number of snakes. In fact, most rescue missions are also
carried out in the southern district. The northern part of the city, that is
more arid, is better suited for kraits and boas. JNU's three check dams also
provide an ideal habitat for snakes as they require a swampy environment and
can feed on the frogs and rats that abound there.
ILLAWARRA MERCURY (Australia) 02 October 09 Snake
suspect in missing bird case (Brenna Quinlan)
Bird
enthusiast Tony Joils thought his favourite pair of peach-faced lovebirds were
safe and secure in their nesting box beside his bed.
He was wrong.
Late one night
last week Mr Joils awoke to a household in chaos.
"The
guinea pigs were squeaking as loud as you can imagine, and all of my other
birds were flying around their cage in a frenzy," Mr Joils said.
After he went
to investigate the noise, Mr Joils found that his pet birds of four years,
Bobby and Condor, had disappeared.
The plot
thickened when Mr Joils found his guard dog snoozing through the bedlam.
"If
someone was there, the dog would have woken up because he loves chasing
things," Mr Joils said.
The puzzled
Mangerton resident contacted the Mercury after reading a story in last week's
paper about an increased risk of snake encounters coinciding with the beginning
of the snake breeding season. Garth Rankin, who is the president of the
Illawarra Reptile Society, said it was a possibility that a snake took the
birds.
"There
are a lot of diamond pythons in the Illawarra, one Albion Park woman had four
living in her roof," Mr Rankin said. The disappearance of his favourite
birds from his own bedroom has Mr Joils stumped.
"I think
the culprit may have been a snake, but I've been offered every explanation
under the sun. If you could fit a hippopotamus in my house they would have said
it was that."
TRI-TOWN TRANSCRIPT (Danvers,
Massachusetts) 01 October 09 Boxford boa on the loose (Brendan Lewis)
Boxford: A 5-foot-long boa constrictor is loose in
East Boxford after it made a slippery escape into the plumbing of a Pye Brook
Lane home in early September or August.
The snake
owners on Pye Brook Lane did not report the red tail boa constrictor missing
until last Saturday, a few days following a report of a large snake crossing
the road in a nearby neighborhood.
Boxford Animal
Control Officer Helen Phillips said there isn’t much she can do about the
“freaky” incident until another sighting is reported.
Phillips said
a member of the Turnquist family spoke to a dispatcher this past Saturday,
September 26, and said that the pet had been missing for three weeks.
While the
snake’s cage was being cleaned, Phillips said that the 5-foot long reptile had
slipped into a toilet and through the plumbing in the house.
The family
then called a plumber, who eventually spotted the boa constrictor inside the
plumbing with a video camera that can navigate through pipes. But, by the time
they cut the pipes open, the snake was gone.
“It is kind of
a mystery,” said Phillips. “I don’t know how the snake got out of the drain
pipe.”
The Animal
Control officer said she had received a call about a large snake in the roadway
last Thursday but said she typically does not respond to those incidents
because the snake is usually gone by the time she gets there. Despite a
description by the caller, she said that she could not confirm it was the
missing constrictor.
Phillips said
that a 5-foot long boa constrictor is a threat to both small dogs and cats in
the area.
She added that
boa constrictors can live for months without food but said it will die if it is
not found before the temperature drops.
One Pye Brook
resident said she would like the snake found for the family’s sake. She’s also
fearful for some of her small pets.
“I’m not
really pleased,” Theodora Massaro said.
Massaro found
out about the loose constrictor when the Turnquist family was canvassing the
neighborhood looking for the snake and letting others know about its escape.
The town of
Boxford does not require that residents register pet snakes.
A member of
the Turnquist family could not be reached as of deadline.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/boxford/news/x1128391343/Boxford-boa-on-the-loose
ESSEX
CHRONICLE (UK) 01 October 09 School could be prosecuted over reptile
event
A school could be
prosecuted for the part it played in staging a reptile event where creatures
were caged in takeaway containers.
Hundreds of lizards,
snakes and spiders were on sale at the Reptile Breeders Expo at Shenfield High
School on Sunday, allegedly putting children's lives at risk.
As record numbers flocked
to the event where some exotic animals were sold for hundreds of pounds, the
Animal Protection Agency (
The animal rights group,
which strongly believes reptiles pose a serious salmonella risk to humans,
initially convinced Shenfield High to pull the plug on the event it claimed was
an "illegal reptile market".
But, after the event went
ahead at the eleventh hour,
She said these kind of
commercial "markets" were outlawed under section two of the Pet
Animals Act 1951.
"The school not only
allowed it to take place but kept it a secret.
"If they really
believed they were allowing a legitimate event then why all the secrecy?"
Head teacher John
Fairhurst said: "The school is more than a little unhappy at the position
it finds itself.
"We accepted a
booking from the Federation of British Herpetologists in good faith. At the
time the booking was made, we were unaware their activities were the centre of
controversy.
"When, some 10 days
or so before the event, it was drawn to our attention by the Animal Protection
Agency that the legality of the event was a matter of dispute, we sought to
cancel it.
"However, we were
subsequently advised that there were no good legal grounds for so doing and we
would be in breach of contract.
"Reluctantly, we
reversed our decision and allowed the event to go ahead.
"We do not believe
anything that happened put the health and safety of children at risk."
When the Gazette was
welcomed through the doors of the event – which attracted over 1,000 visitors –
the Essex Reptiles and Amphibians Club, the Federation of British
Herpetologists (FBH) and private breeders all strongly denied claims the
animals were in anyway distressed.
They also said private
breeders were only selling surplus stock and there was no commercial selling,
despite members of the public turning up.
FBH chairman Chris Newman
said: "For more than 10 years members of the animal rights industry have
been declaring these events are illegal but curiously not a single prosecution
has ever been brought."
Chairman of The Essex
Reptiles and Amphibians Club Pete Clark said a vet was present to check welfare
standards.
He added: "You're
more likely to get Salmonella from a burger stall or kebab shop."
Among the estimated 40
private breeders was Dave Rushen, 20, from Southampton, who has about 250 blood
and ball pythons at his home.
Although he defended the
size and suitability of his own display containers, he did think a small number
of the breeders' containers were too small.
He said: "I can see
where they (animal rights groups) are coming from, I like to give good natural
displays."
DAIJIWORLD (India) 01
October 09 Joy Mascarenhas Does Mite in Conserving
Reptile Species
Beltangady: Joy S Mascarenhas, a native of Ujire, who
also has a mobile service centre, is known for his hobby of capturing poisonous
reptiles.
One must admire his grit
and energy in catching highly venomous and dangerous reptiles such as king
cobras, serpents, snakes, and pythons, in the midst of people who shiver even
upon seeing a lizard in their homes.
He not only captures live
reptiles but also treats them gently!
Joy had ventured into this
hobby five years ago when a python was spotted in his house. A determined Joy
courageously caught the python and handed it over to the forest authority.
Since then, it has become
his vision to attend to calls so as to rescue the most dangerous reptiles. He
has realized the gravity of the situation as people in his neighbourhood were
killing the threatening reptiles that traversed into their houses or
plantations, fearing their bites.
Joy realized that the
species of reptiles would become extinct sooner or later if one didn’t act
swiftly to do his mite in rescuing the reptiles and setting them free in
reserve forests or wildlife sanctuaries.
He has educated himself on
various species of tropical reptiles over the past five years. Joy has so far
caught 15 king cobras, 192 serpents, 3 pythons, and 20 other poisonous reptiles.
Fourteen of the king
cobras have been handed over to Pilikula Wildlife Sanctuary, Vamanjoor,
Mangalore. Joy has also been successful in helping the people overcome their
fear of dangerous reptiles.
He has also caught several
poisonous reptiles after being called in by the forest department of Beltangady
Range and has also been issued a commendation letter for his humanitarian
efforts in conserving reptiles.
Kannada dailies hailed
Joy’s skills by publishing reports along with his picture. ‘Suddi Bidugade’ has
also published a detailed report on Joy. He has also been felicitated by ICYM,
Ujire parish unit, and Jaycees International.
Joy has also conducted
several information camps on local species of reptiles across the taluk for
students of various schools and colleges. He can be contacted at 9448327082.
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=66379
THE
A belly-dancing
granny loves snakes so much she wants to have the most in hisss-tory.
Sue Coleman —
aka Snakey Sue — has 45 slithery friends who help her out in her saucy
entertainment act.
The
60-year-old has spent 17 years turning her home in a quiet residential street
in Leytonstone, East London, into a living zoo.
She's got
pythons, hognose snakes, corn snakes and barley snakes rescued from people who
don't know how to care for them.
But snake
addict Sue admits she still wants more to add to her collection — and the only
thing that will slow her down is a lack of space.
She said:
"It started with a couple of corn snakes I brought 12 years ago.
"I went
to find out more about them and became fascinated by snakes.
"Before I
know it I had ten, then twenty, and it just carried on."
Her most
recent acquisition is a 10ft albino python named Ra and she spends a fortune
each week on dead mice to feed her massive brood.
"My
electricity bills are huge because of all the lighting used for their
tanks," she added.
Sue
understands snakes make most people shudder, but she's on a crusade to help us
get over our fears.
Sue said:
"I love them, they make such good pets as long as people can care for them
properly."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2664002/Grans-charmed-by-her-snakes.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News
LITTLE ELM JOURNAL (Texas) 01
October 09 Local herpetologist gives final reptile show at Little Elm Library (Penny
Rathbun)
“Snakes, why
did it have to be snakes?” said Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in “Raiders of
the Lost Ark” after he lands in a snake pit.
The scene is
the stuff of nightmares for many people, but not for Little Elm resident Walter
W. Clark. He has spent the last two decades teaching people not to be afraid of
snakes and other creatures with scales, spikes and nictitating membranes.
Herpetologist
Clark has taken his collection of snakes, lizards, turtles and other critters
to any group that wants to see them. He hands out snakes and lizards to
children and asks them to keep them warm for him. Then he gives fascinating
facts about reptiles that is much more fun and interesting than reading it in a
book.
He has had to
give up giving these presentations with his scaly friends because of health
reasons. Last Saturday he chose to give his final show for the Little Elm
Library in council chambers.
About 73
children and adults came and went to touch reptiles and listen to Clark's
stories about them. He has taken his menagerie into prisons. He said it would
be surprising who turned out to be terrified of snakes.
His wife
Connie, son Geoffrey and Troy and Eric Steiferman helped him unbag or uncrate
various creatures while he talked about them. There was one turtle that was
allowed almost free reign of the council chambers.
“She won't
bite,” he said, “except for toes, she likes toes, especially ones painted red,”
Clark said. Suddenly a number of children were keeping their distance.
Clark's
lecture was a mix of scientific facts, advice on what to pay for certain
reptiles, and what he calls war stories. He said in 20 years of presentations
there has never been an accident with anyone getting bitten while handling any
of his animals.
It will be
hard for him to get rid of many of his reptiles, but he said he is going to
keep a few of them. The turtle will be one of them. He said she is the only
reptile that has the run of the house.
During his
last show the snakes his helpers were bringing out grew progressively bigger.
Eventually a 90-pound banana python was brought out. It took 5 or 6 people to
hold the snake.
“Reptiles are
very delicate animals. They're just beautiful,” he said. “Without reptiles we'd
be overrun with mice and rats and vermin. Without them we'd be in big trouble.
Snakes are extremely helpful. They're very beneficial to everybody.”
He said over
the years he has helped many people overcome their fear of reptiles. That
benefit to his audience continued during his last show last Saturday. Many were
very squeamish about touching things that slither, but their squeamishness had
disappeared by the end of the show.
Too bad
Indiana Jones never had the opportunity to see a Walter W. Clark snake
presentation.
http://www.littleelmjournal.net/articles/2009/10/06/little_elm_journal/news/709.txt
KRDO (Colorado Springs, Colorado) 30
September 09 Rattlesnake Sightings on Rise...Why? (Josh Poland)
Manitou
Springs: Rattlesnake sightings are on
the rise in Manitou Springs. Is it just that time of the year or a bigger
problem?
This past
Sunday was just a typical day of training for Pikes Peak Marathon champion Matt
Carpenter. Just a typical day on a trail near Cave of the Winds until he was
struck by a rattlesnake.
"It just
happened in a blur," says Carpenter. "The ground kind of moved under
me and then I heard the sound at the same time and I knew what was up."
Carpenter says
the snake hit his foot during the encounter.
"It just
scared the bejeebers out of me," he says.
But this
wasn't the first time a snake has crossed Carpenter's path in Williams Canyon.
"The only
other time I had seen a rattlesnake that close was in this same one in September
of last year," says Carpenter.
Michael
Seraphin with the Colorado Division of Wildlife says you can expect to see more
snakes in the open this time of the year.
As coldblooded
creatures, they seek warmth from the sun.
"They'll
be out on rocks, right in the middle of a trail maybe, anywhere they can get
full sun," Seraphin says.
Don't expect
rattlesnakes to stop Carpenter from hitting the trails, but....
"I will
be looking down a little more," he says.
Seraphin says
the best advice if you see a rattlesnake is to simply avoid it. They likely
won't attack you unless provoked.
http://www.krdo.com/global/story.asp?s=11234684#
DAILY
A U.S. tourist got more
then he bargained for when he was attacked by a crocodile while attempting to
answer the call of nature in the Mexican resort of Cancun this week.
According to Mexican
police 20-year-old Andrew Dales, from Dallas in Texas, confessed that he had
been on a mission to relieve himself at the edge of the local Nicupté lagoon ,
in the popular tourist resort of Cancun, when the crocodile suddenly snapped at
him.
He suffered ‘multiple bite
wounds’ to his leg and neck and was also left with a head injury after the
reptile knocked him to the ground, a police spokesman said.
Cancun is one of Mexico’s
premier holiday destinations for UK and U.S. tourists.
The 5000-hectare lagoon is
home to approximately 25 of the species - though most of them live away from
populated areas.
Tourists however are
advised to be careful and lagoons in the area are dotted with crocodile warning
signs.
HOUSTON
CHRONICLE (Texas) 30 September 09
5-year-old boy's kill: gator 20
times his size (Cindy Horswell)
At age 5, Simon Hughes is
no stranger to hunting. His first big trophy — a 12-foot-6, 800-pound
alligator, may be hard to top, though.
There are hunters who go a
lifetime dreaming of that big kill. Then there's Simon Hughes, who helped nab a
beast of an animal on an East Texas hunt — while still in the first grade. The
5-year-old boy from Goodrich was part of a hunting crew that recently killed an
800-pound, 12-foot-6-inch alligator that has wildlife experts shaking their
heads.
The reptile, whose size is
at a state record level, is now at the taxidermist waiting to be mounted.
Simon's family, meanwhile, is fielding calls from CNN and Good Morning America
to feature his exploits.
Simon learned to drive
all-terrain vehicles and shoot firearms when he was only 4. So he was primed
and ready to go on an alligator hunt this past weekend with his father, Scott
Hughes, a sixth-generation rancher, and hunting guide Chuck Cotton.
Simon had a new
junior-sized .410-gauge shotgun. His first gun had been too big, having a
recoil that opened a small cut below one eye after he fired it.
Neither his father nor
mother worry about Simon using firearms, because he has been taught gun safety
since he was big enough to walk and stand in a deer blind.
“That's the way it is in
rural areas,” Scott Hughes said. “We don't think of guns as playthings or
something used in videogames.”
By the time of the
alligator hunt, Simon could shoot clay pigeons.
Polk County Sheriff
Kenneth Hammack, a former Texas Ranger, has been bird hunting with Simon and
said he shoots pretty well for his age. “Of course, you always keep an eye on
children,” said Hammack, “but he's learned a lot from his father.”
Scott had obtained a state
permit to kill two of the 40 alligators populating his 5,000-acre spread near
Lake Livingston because he knew something “real big was out there” and driving
small alligators from the swampy areas and into his stock ponds.
State law requires
alligators be caught on a baited hook or shot with a bow and arrow. So they
baited a hook on Saturday with some “smelly armadillo roadkill,” which
apparently alligators adore.
When they returned the
next day, the line was taut. Something had been snared and was resting beneath
the dark 4-foot-deep waters.
The hunters soon
discovered their catch was an alligator. They attached it to an all-terrain
vehicle with a sturdy line, but the gator proved so strong it almost dragged
their vehicle into the water.
Finally, the animal, after
thrashing and rolling, surfaced a second time, and Simon, poised 5 feet away,
fired the first and what proved to be fatal shot. Cotton, just to be sure,
fired one more shot at the giant reptile, which had managed to rip the hook out
of its mouth.
Simon said he screamed
“holy moly” when he saw the catch of the day. “I was never afraid for a
second,” he said of the gator, which is 20 times his size.
Taxidermist Stephen Moye
said the head of the 12-foot- 6-inch reptile weighs 104 pounds by itself.
A state wildlife biologist
estimated the gator's weight at more than 800 pounds. Finding an alligator of
such size is rare, state officials said. Although the record length for a Texas
alligator exceeds Simon's kill by 1 foot and 8 inches, the record weight for a
gator killed on state property is only 690 pounds, records showed.
Simon, meanwhile, has
shown pictures of the gator to his classmates in Goodrich, near Lake
Livingston, but that won't be nearly as impressive as when he can bring the
mounted head to show-and-tell and display its ferocious 12-inch bite.
“My friends were proud of
me, and I was proud of myself,” Simon said of the photos that show him standing
alongside the monstrous gator. “It's humongous!”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6645997.html
GMA NEWS (Manila, Philippines) 30 September
09 DOH
gets ready with anti-venom shots amid snake sightings in flooded homes
The Department
of Health (DOH) said Wednesday the reported sightings of snakes in flooded
homes were a natural occurrence and assured the public that it is equipped with
anti-venom shots for possible snake-bite victims.
“Alam namin na pag may flooding incidents, posibleng magkaroon ng
ganun [paglabas ng ahas] (We know that snakes might come out
during floods)," said Luz Claveria, a nurse from the DOH Operations
Center.
According to
Claveria, although their medical teams have not reported cases of snake bites
since their deployment on Sunday, they have the necessary medicine for such
incidents.
“Meron kaming anti-venom (We have the
anti-venom)," she assured.
GMANews.TV
received reports that snakes have been seen during the flooding when heavy
rains brought by tropical storm “Ondoy" pummeled Metro Manila and nearby
provinces on Saturday.
Helenita, an
evacuee from Bagong Silangan in Quezon City, said that rescuers were trying to
bring them to safety, “kaya lang umatras
kasi may mga lumabas daw na ahas na isang brasong haba (but they retreated
when snakes came out)."
Former
environment undersecretary Elmer Mercado said as waters were rising inside
their Marikina home, his daughter saw a three-foot brown snake swimming in the
flood waters.
“We saw
several small snakes all s-winding all over the ground floor. We counted
something like a dozen snakes, and these were only the ones we saw,"
Mercado added.
Kilometers
away, a Cavite resident described their area: “maputik, at gabundok yung mga basura, di pa nalilinis. Maraming patay
na ahas (muddy and there are mountains of garbage that have yet to be
disposed of. There are also a lot of dead snakes)."
Snake Bites
According to
the regional office of the World Health Organization in South-East Asia, the
Philippines has an estimated number of 200-300 deaths from snake bites each
year. With rice-farmers as usual victims, cobras are usually the culprits.
How to
identify venomous snakes:
The most
dangerous snakes can usually be identified through their size, shape, color,
pattern of markings, their behavior and the sound they make when threatened. An
example of this would be the cobra, as it spreads its hood, hisses and makes
repeated strikes towards its aggressor when it is intimidated.
Local symptoms
and signs of a snake bite:
fang marks
local pain
local bleeding
bruising
inflammation
blistering
necrosis
(death of cells or tissues in localized parts of the body)
Generalized
symptoms and signs:
nausea,
abdominal pain, weakness, drowsiness
dizziness,
collapse, shock, hypotension
abnormalities
of taste and smell
stiffness and
tenderness of muscles
cardiac arrest
First aid for
snake bites:
immobilize
bitten limb with a splint or sling (any movement increases the absorption of
venom into the bloodstream)
avoid any
interference with the wound as this may introduce infection, increase absorption
and increase local bleeding
seek immediate
medical attention
Do not attempt
to kill the snake, because even one with a severed head can bite!
from the World
Health Organization, South-East Asia
LONDON
Wrestling with
financial portfolios for clients wouldn't seem to be a suitable background for
taming an alligator.
But it is if
you're John Stephan.
Stephan,
regional manager for the Synergy Group and a resident of northeast London,
looked very much like famous Australian crocodile hunter Steve Irwin yesterday
when he captured a roaming reptile with his bare hands, carried it a distance
of about 75 metres and made sure its mouth was taped shut.
"My
wife's going to tell me I'm crazy," said the man who made the job of
London Animal Care Centre staff easier yesterday.
Stephan was
walking his two-year-old Shi-Tzu, named Gunner, around the storm pond in the
Cedar Hollow subdivision southeast of Fanshawe Rd. and Highbury Ave. about 2:30
p.m. yesterday when he saw two television crews and other onlookers gathered
around the pond.
"I asked
what was going on and I was told there was a small crocodile or alligator in
the pond," he said. "There had been sightings and it had been
filmed."
Stephan
decided to look for the creature on the south side of the pond, "because I
noticed it was reedy over there."
When he got to
the reeds, he followed a slithery trail in the muck until he found an alligator
sunning itself on a bed of weeds.
"It
wasn't moving," he said. "I came up to it from behind, reached down
and grabbed it with my bare hands."
The creature,
later identified by an exotic wildlife specialist as a "spectacled or
common caiman", started to wriggle and put up a fight, said Stephan.
"I think
it was a bit listless because of the cold. But when I picked it up, it
struggled to free itself. I wasn't going to let go, though. I've got big strong
hands and I kept a tight grip on it."
Stephan walked
with the caiman, a relative of the alligator, about 75 meters to an A Channel
truck, where he asked television reporter Nick Paparella to get some duct tape
and tape the mouth of the creature shut.
Stephan then
sat in a vehicle with the caiman until London animal control staff arrived to
take it away.
Animal control
staff had been looking for the creature, which was about a metre in length and
five kilograms in weight, the day before, said Stephan.
"I saw
two of them near the pond with those capture poles with wires on them, but I
thought it was routine business."
Stephan said
Gunner followed him during the capture and didn't make any fuss.
"I was
business as usual for him," he said. "He didn't seem to be scared or
anything like that."
Kent
Lattanzio, director of operations for the London Animal Care Centre, said calls
were received Sunday morning from residents in the Killarney Rd. area who
believed they had seen a small crocodile or alligator.
Animal control
officers were dispatched to assess the situation but they weren't able to
capture or confine it.
After Stephan
caught it, the London centre called the Indian River Reptile Zoo in
Peterborough, a licensed reptile zoo, to take it away.
Under London
bylaws, it's prohibited to keep animals that live in the wild as pets, said
Lattanzio.
"About 5%
of the bylaw complaints that we receive involve such exotic creatures as tropical
birds, snakes and things like crocodiles, alligators and caimans," he
said. "But we usually find them in a residence in aquariums or
cages."
The normal
procedure is to inform people about the bylaw prohibition and to issue a dated
compliance order, he said. If they don't comply, they can be charged and fined
under the provincial offences act, he said.
Bry Loyst,
curator of the Indian River zoo, said people often buy crocodiles, alligators
and caimans when they're small, but they don't want them when they grow larger.
"That's
when they try to get rid of them," he said.
Such reptiles
generally don't fare very well in captivity, he said, adding they usually die
in the first year.
"They're
basically carnivores from central and south America. They eat birds, fish,
small animals and insects and they don't get that kind of diet in captivity.
The people who buy them don't know how to take care of them."
Loyst said the
caiman captured in London yesterday will be quarantined for "six months to
a year" in the Peterborough zoo before it's allowed near other creatures.
"We have
to monitor its condition and make sure it's healthy," he said.
Stephan took a
chance when he captured the caiman with his bare hands, he said.
"You can
get some nasty lacerations or bites from even a small one like that," he
said. "It could certainly hurt a child or a family pet."
Judging by the
size of the caiman, Loyst said it was likely several years old.
The reptile
wouldn't be able to withstand Canada's cold winters, but can live for up to a
year without food. Reptiles don't eat much when it's cold, The caiman prefers
water to be about 28.5C degrees.
"People
see these things and think they're cool and then they don't think it
through," he said. "There's a pretty good demand for these things.
The sale of exotic pets is the second largest illegal business in central and
south America, next to the drug trade."
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2009/09/28/11169686.html
VIETNAM
Russian and
Vietnamese scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of snake in
Loc Bac forest in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.
The new
species is named Coluberoelaps and
belongs to the water-snake family and has neither fangs nor poison.
This snake
looks like a cross between a water snake (Coluber)
and copperhead (Elaps) so its Latin
name is the combination of the two – Coluberoelaps.
Its species
name is named after Dr. Nguyen Van Sang, from the Institute for Ecology and
Creature Resources, who found the specimen and to honor his great contribution
in research of reptile and amphibians in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese
name of this snake is nguyen van sang
snake and its full scientific name is Coluberoelaps
nguyenvansangi Orlov, Kharin, Ananjeva, Nguyen & Nguyen, 2009.
The standard
specimen of this snake was collected in Lam Dong in 2003 in a biodiversity
survey funded by the World Wildlife Fund Indochina.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2009/09/871137/
ORLANDO SENTINEL (Florida) 29 September 09 It's
a slithery slope when it comes to snakes (and other nonnative species)
(Mike Thomas)
Want to buy a
big, old snake?
Here is an
Internet ad (as written): "I have a 6 foot Burmese python very mellow and
tame. he is three years old is handled every day and good with kids .my wife is
now pregnant and is makeing me get rid other wise i would not part with it ...
"
Pregnant women
can be so unreasonable. But at least her husband picked her over the snake, a
decision that clearly tormented him.
I also found a
4-foot anaconda on the Web for $150. It has up to 26 feet still to grow. If you
saw the movie, one of these swallowed Jon Voight whole and then chucked him up.
Rest assured,
the time will come when a critical mass of pregnant wives will be making
husbands get their anacondas out of the bathtubs.
The hubbies
will do the Free Willy thing.
And before you
know it, the anacondas will be taking on the winner of the alligators vs. the
pythons for control of the Everglades.
On and on it
goes.
Our state is
overrun with illegal aliens, from monster snakes to monster lizards (Nile
monitor) to monster toads (Bufo).
Armored
catfish now outnumber mullet in Blue Spring. They're the scariest little
mutants you'll ever see. They even scare the gar.
The catfish —
like the pythons, like the Nile lizards, like the Bufo toads — began as pets,
got furloughs, and then became fruitful and multiplied.
Florida is
turning into Jurassic Park.
As someone who
is quite fond of our original inhabitants, it is depressing to see them
replaced at such an alarming rate. It also makes you wonder what they will eat
after they've eaten everything but us.
The Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is dealing with the matter in typical
bureaucratic style.
It is making
people get permits.
The problem is
that for some things you need a permit, and some things — like the armored
catfish — you do not.
Pythons didn't
require a permit until 2008, long after they turned the Everglades into a
Vietnamese rain forest.
This means
only a fraction of people with pythons actually have permits. Getting one
requires you answer 16 questions designed to test your knowledge on how big
your snake is going to grow, what you're going to feed it, how you're going to
house it and what you would call it if you were a scientist (Python molurus bivittatus).
It's almost as
easy as getting a concealed-weapons license.
When your
snake is big enough, you also have to get a microchip injected in it so it can
be traced back to you if it's ever found slithering around the neighborhood.
That will be a $500 fine.
The license
costs $100 and has to be renewed every year for another $100. This entitles you
to surprise inspections from the local wildlife official, who will make sure
your snake is healthy, happy and properly caged.
The
temptation, therefore, will be for someone to skip the licensing, skip the
legitimate dealers and scour the Internet classifieds for conflicted snake
owners with pregnant wives.
After reading
various postings by snake enthusiasts on the Web, I've also gotten the
impression that some believe reptiles are included in the Second Amendment.
So good luck
with that whole government-regulation thing.
The only
sensible approach here is a complete ban on pythons, followed by subsequent
bans on all the other foreign species brought into Florida.
The wildlife
conservation agency should have done this long ago with the snakes. Here is a
quote from its own regulations: "Prohibited non-native species are
considered to be dangerous to the ecology and/or the health and welfare of the
people of Florida. These species may not be possessed for personal use."
Given that
pythons are gulping down everything from bobcats to endangered wood storks out
in the Everglades, I would argue they are dangerous to the ecology of Florida
and should not be possessed for personal use.
Capt. John
West of the wildlife commission doesn't dispute the point.
"But if
you ban pythons altogether, people who have them will need something to do with
them," he says. "We don't want people letting them go."
It's a bit
late for that. The snake is out of the bag. And the only solution is a massive
hunt to wipe them out in the wild, followed by shutting off the future supply.
Surely the
same Florida crackers who almost wiped out a million alligators in the 1960s
can take out a few thousand pythons. These things are good eating (marinade
with soy sauce, orange juice concentrate, scallions, ginger, and honey) and
make nice wallets.
And for all
you owners of pythons and anacondas and poodle-eating lizards, try adopting a
nice, home-grown Florida rat snake.
LONDON
Beavers,
eagles, herons, and now, a small crocodile.
"We see a
lot of wildlife here," Londoner Sherri Friesman said yesterday at her
Killarney Rd. home in north London.
"I don't
think we're going to see anything more exciting than this."
About 10:30
a.m. yesterday, Friesman was having a coffee on her second-storey deck
overlooking a storm water pond in the Cedar Hollow subdivision, east of
Highbury Ave. just south of Fanshawe Park Rd.
She spotted
something large in the water.
"I just
thought it was a beaver. I grabbed my binoculars and saw it looked like some
kind of alligator. I was pretty excited."
She called
London's animal care and control centre and kept an eye on the reptile.
At one point,
the reptile approached a bird at the edge of the pond.
"The bird
didn't know what to make of him."
Fortunately,
it appeared the crocodile was looking for sun, not breakfast, she said.
Eventually the
crocodile, thought to be a caiman, found warmth on a long ridge of rocks down
the middle of the pond.
When the
animal control officers showed up, the caiman plopped back in the water, said
London police Sgt. Jeff Addley.
The metre-long
reptile was still showing its head above water when police arrived to help, he
said.
Police and
animal control officers tried to capture the crocodile with a noose attached to
a pole, but it managed to give them the slip.
Officers
approached the croc the same way they approach crooks, setting up a perimeter
around the pond.
By 3 p.m.,
they had brought in dogs to try to flush the crocodile out, with little
success.
By the end of
the afternoon, the officers had given up for the day.
"He's
since resurfaced and he's scouting around the edge of the pond looking for some
place to sun himself," Friesman said.
"If they
don't get him out, he'll live until the water gets too cold to sustain his body
temperature and then he'll be gone," she said.
"Hopefully
they'll get him before then."
The caiman was
likely someone's pet, until it got too large or expensive to keep, Addley said.
Instead of
taking the reptile to a zoo, the person likely abandoned it by the pond, he
said.
"Anyone
who does that is negligent of the fact there are children, pets and families
here."
The smallest
of the breed, the dwarf caiman, can reach lengths of 1.2 metres in females and
1.6 m in males.
The caiman is
no danger to adults, but pets and small children might be at risk, Addley said.
"Obviously
our concern would be how would it react to a small child who is somewhere near
the edge of the pond," he said.
"The last
thing that (people) are going to be thinking of is a caiman from South America
coming out of the water toward them. It certainly is going to give them a
fright."
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2009/09/28/11158656-sun.html
CALLER-TIMES (Corpus Christi, Texas) 28 September
09 Turtles eat what people toss into
tank - Coins, shells and rock threaten health of reptiles at aquarium (Rachel
Denny Clow)
Corpus Christi: A veterinarian and worker with the Texas
State Aquarium reached deep into the throat of a Hawksbill sea turtle with a
long pair of forceps and removed a piece of a penny.
It was no easy
task. They spent hours taking X-rays. But in the end Hemingway had to be
sedated and her mouth held open for over two hours as the vet put in a
breathing tube and tried to flush the penny out before finally grabbing it.
A few hours
later, the 20-year-old Hemingway became lethargic in the 40,000 gallon tank she
shares with other turtles at the aquarium.
Another X-ray
revealed she had eaten another penny. The cost of all the work: $2,000.
“The person
who throws a coin and walks away doesn’t understand consequences,” said Deanna
Gallier, dive officer at the Texas State Aquarium. “Turtles eat everything.”
And because of
people who throw or accidentally drop items into the turtle exhibit, they have.
Hemingway
alone has eaten several pennies, a nickel, rocks and a shell.
The latest
penny, which contains zinc, enough of which could kill a reptile, is too deep
to remove. All officials can do is wait for Hemingway to pass it.
The waiting
has gone on for two months so far and Hemingway must remain in a separate
400-gallon tank until it does.
“That tank is
miserable for her,” Gallier said. “But, we can’t leave her in the exhibit.”
Remember,
turtles will eat anything. Anything.
The turtle
exhibit, Tortuga Cay, was redesigned from a 15-foot wall to a 5-foot wall last
year to allow people to get a better view of the turtles. But it now is easier
for people to toss in items, which even have included batteries.
Gallier gets a
call that something has been thrown or dropped into exhibits four to five times
each week
When accidents
happen, people need to make an official aware immediately so that the item can
be retrieved before eaten. Gallier has retrieved sunglasses and not too long
ago one of the dolphins ate a key chain.
Kristen Ralls,
marketing and public relations coordinator at the aquarium, said such incidents
endanger the animals and take up valuable staff time.
Aquarium
officials plan to add signs to the turtle exhibit, which is the biggest problem
area, to make people aware of the impact a single coin can make. They also have
added more exhibit monitors to watch out for those items that can cause damage.
Anyone found
tossing a coin or other object into an exhibit will be forced to leave.
“It only takes
a blink of an eye to drop something in the exhibit,” Ralls said. “When we have
4,000 people here in the summer it’s pretty much impossible to monitor each
person to make sure they’re being responsible.”
For people who
want to toss a coin into water, the aquarium has an otter fountain at the
entrance and a Wishing Whale between the dolphin and otter exhibits.
Gallier said
the turtles are at the aquarium because they have injuries that prevent them
from surviving in the wild and need to have a protected environment.
“When you’re
taking care of animals that have already been through what they have, they
shouldn’t have to worry about anything here,” she said.
http://www.caller.com/news/2009/sep/28/a-hawksbill-sea-turtle-is-in-an-isolation-tank/
WOAI (San Antonio, Texas) 28 September
09 Wayward
gator heads to new home (Kristina De Leon)
San Antonio: A North Side family was surprised to find a
3-foot-long alligator on their front lawn Monday morning.
Police
originally had received a call for an alligator skittering across a nearby
intersection around the 1600 block of La Manda shortly after 6 a.m. By the time
police got there, that alligator was right up in Janie Diaz' front yard. And
she says, she was glad they got here, just in time.
Diaz says,
"I opened the door and I came out and said, 'Officer is there anything
wrong?' 'Yeah, there's an alligator in the front of your yard.' 'Dijo what?!!
How big!?' 'It's a little one ma'am, come and see it.' I said, 'no, no,
no!'"
The alligator
was making its way towards her door. But Officer Brian Christensen, who knows a
thing or two about gators, kept that from happening.
Officer
Christensen says, "It’s not that big, [and] coming from Georgia, I’ve had
to deal with reptiles before and it takes a couple of people, and just be
careful."
He and a
fellow officer seized the reptile and bound its mouth with duct tape.
Police
originally had received a call for an alligator skittering across a nearby
intersection near the 1600 block of La Manda.
It was put in
a police unit to await its pick up by Texas Parks and Wildlife staff.
Alligators aren’t common to our area and it’s thought the gator came out of the
close-by Martinez Creek near Basse Rd. and West Ave.
Game Warden
David Chavez says, "It appears to be in good health, so what I’ll end up
doing is releasing it back into its natural habitat."
TxPWD Warden
Chavez says that natural habitat is a nearby river or Choke Canyon.
BAYSIDE BULLETIN (Redland, Australia) 28
September 09 Slippery snake speed hump saved (Dani Volke)
Members of the
Watson family at Wellington Point received a "fun" start to their
school holidays, when their local garbage collector knocked on the front door
with a two-metre long carpet snake.
JJ Richards
truck driver Tim MacMahon was interrupted during his general garbage collecting
duties in Laurence Court when he almost drove over the python.
"I got
out of the truck to move it off the road, but I didn't have a bag to put him in
before taking him to a wildlife carer, so I knocked on the nearest door,"
Tim said.
Adele Watson
said she was quite surprised to see the snake when she answered the door.
"The
truck was outside for ages. He said, 'I don't want to alarm you' and I saw the
snake in his arms and said 'oh, my gosh' and called the kids for a look.
"He
wanted a pillow slip to put it in until he called his boss to take it to a
wildlife person, but before he did that we took some photos with him and the
kids holding the snake."
Nine-year-old
Dakota Watson, who attends Wellington Point Primary School said the snake felt
slimy.
"It was
also rough. I have felt a snake before but only at the zoo. I was a little bit
scared, but I had the best school holidays ever," Dakota said.
Reptile expert
from the Queensland Museum, Andrew Amey said the scientific name for the python
was Morelia spilota.
"It is
common in the Redlands and throughout continental Australia (except southern
Victoria and the arid centre and west). It is non-venomous but is capable of
lacerating bites, possessing several rows of fine, sharp teeth," Andrew
said.
"Snakes
of this species feed mainly on warm-blooded prey such as rats, birds, flying
foxes and possums and they are often discovered living peacefully in the roof
cavities of Brisbane houses and sheds, helping to keep down the number of
rats."
Adele said if
it wasn't for the "wildlife warrior" who came to the rescue, if she
had seen the snake herself she would have locked the kids inside and waited for
her husband to come home.
"I might
have to call JJ Richards next time we see a snake," Adele said with a
laugh.
Redlands
professional snake catcher Tony Morrison said people should not kill snakes if
they saw them.
"That's
when most of the attacks happen and it's safer to call a professional,"
Tony said.
"Snakes
are adapted to live in and around houses and having a clean yard doesn't always
mean they won't be there.
"Call a
professional and get their opinion especially if there are kids and animals
around."
Tony said
there were 22 different varieties of snakes in the Redlands; 18 of them
venomous.
"These
include carpet snakes and tree snakes which are not venomous, brown snakes and
red-bellied black snakes, which are venomous. It is extremely common for them
to come out this time of year."
Redlands
Wildlife Care Network can be contacted on 3383 4031 for snakes found near or in
your home or snake handlers in the Redlands include Tony Morrison on 0417 609
462.
DAILY EXAMINER (Northern Rivers, Australia)
28 September 09 Hero dog takes down snake
Six-year-old
Staffordshire terrier George is the hero of the Doyle household at Pillar
Valley.
George was
outside with owner Barbara Doyle on the family's 1.8 hectare property on Friday
afternoon when he took on and killed a 1.7-metre eastern brown snake.
The snake was
only centimetres from Barbara when the fearless dog intervened.
Barbara said
she was working in the yard about mid-afternoon, tying up a tree that had been
blown down.
“George raced
behind me and I heard him make a crazy noise,” she said.
“When I turned
around he had grabbed the snake and whipped it into the air.
“When it
landed he was onto it again and whipped it up again and didn't stop until the
snake wasn't moving.”
While
emphasising the family doesn't condone the killing of snakes and regularly
re-homes snakes that make their way onto the property, Barbara said George
received special treatment after protecting his owner.
Eastern browns
are the second most venomous snake in the world and potentially highly
aggressive.
“This is the
first time we've seen a brown snake close to the house,” Barbara said.
“If I'd
stepped back I probably would have trodden on it so I'm lucky George jumped in
to help.”
As a reward
for his efforts, George was treated to a few extra slices of salami on Friday
night.
http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/story/2009/09/28/hero-dog-takes-snake/
PRETORIA NEWS (S Africa) 28 September 09 Snakeman
Nutty Natie to lose toe today (Barry Bateman)
Surgeons at
Kalafong Hospital will amputate "Nutty Natie" Swart's toe today, one
week after he was bitten by a puff adder during his attempt at breaking a
Guinness world record.
The snake sank
its fangs into Swart's toe on day 37 of his attempt at spending 121 days with
40 venomous snakes.
Hennie Jonk,
owner of the Chameleon Village Reptile and Conservation Park at Hartbeespoort
Dam, said doctors were worried gangrene that had started in his toe may spread
up his leg .
Swart was
bitten while handling a black mamba. He did not know the puff adder was lying
under a chair, centimetres from his foot.
He has been
bitten 28 times in his life and says this was the most stupid bite of all.
http://www.pretorianews.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20090928041115951C451182
SANDUSKY
REGISTER (Ohio) 28 September 09
Gator gone: Pet reptile has a new
home (Cory Frolik)
Sandusky: See ya later alligator.
It wasn't an easy
decision, but Ulester Wilkin Jr. has given up his pet alligator -- cleverly
named Gator -- to Safari Adventures at Kalahari.
Wilkin, 42, of Sandusky
said he grew unhappy with the number of strangers knocking at his door hoping
to see the famed reptile.
Gator and his owner
garnered a considerable amount of publicity when it was revealed Wilkin was
keeping the scaly creature in his basement of his home, located on the 1300
block of Monroe St.
When this came to light
over the summer, Sandusky animal control officers told Wilkin he needed to
obtain a permit if he intended to keep the creature.
Wilkin was in the process
of licensing Gator when he decided it would be better for both he and his
long-toothed buddy if he turned the reptile over to professionals who could
give him a good home. He decided it would the least cold-blooded of his
options, which also included selling Gator.
"I wasn't going to
give it to just anybody," Wilkin said. "Now the public will be able
to see it, it'll be fed properly, and it'll be handled, which was my biggest
concern. ... I'm happy because it will be taken care of."
Wilkin has a long and
storied history with exotic pets -- many of which are the creatures of people's
phobias and prominently star as the monsters in horror movies.
At the age of 9, when most
kids were playing with cuddly cats and furry doggies, Wilkin was feeding his
pet scorpion.
A year or two later, he
owned a huge black widow spider that sent him to the hospital for two weeks
when it bit him on the arm.
Although his parents got
rid of the arachnid, Wilkin's taste for the strange and curious persevered.
"I like anything
different that people don't tend to get their hands on," Wilkin said.
"I am kind of a show off. I've always been the center of attention -- even
in school, I was the first black guy on the golf team, swim club team and the
swim team."
Before long, he owned
chickens, which he raised with his brother in the backyard and sold to
neighbors.
Several years later, he
claims he owned four wolves, which he also raised and sold. He said their
aggressive tendencies led to some issues involving other pets in the
neighborhood, and the dog warden took possession of them.
He also claims at one
point he owned a tiger cub, monkey and, much later, piranhas, which he kept in
a large tank.
From 1995 to about 2000,
he owned a 11.5-foot Argentine boa constrictor, which also got him squeezed by
animal control authorities, he said.
Wilkin said he had to sell
the boa at an auction in Cleveland because he did not want to go through the
trouble of licensing it.
Then one day about three
years ago Wilkin met a young Sandusky man who had a habit of walking his pet
American alligator through town, said Wilkin's friend, Will David, 25, of
Sandusky.
"He was walking it
down the street one day," David said. "It was on a harness and a chain."
The man expressed his
intention to set the gator free down at the shoreline in Sandusky.
Wilkin was not in favor of
the idea and paid the owner $300 for the alligator.
He then turned his
basement into a reptile-friendly dwelling, complete with a chicken-wire cage
and heated pond.
Gator was free to roam the
basement as he pleased. Wilkin played with him when he wasn't working and fed
him large goldfish and rats.
But Wilkin's landlord was
not thrilled with the idea of having a 3.5-foot gator at the residence and
contacted animal control.
With a heavy heart, Wilkin
turned over Gator to Safari Adventures, where he will be put on display for all
paying visitors to see. Wilkin expects to make regular trips to Kalahari to see
his toothy buddy.
Although he is no longer
the Sandusky Gator Guy, Wilkin could wind up with a new nickname in the
not-too-distant future.
On Friday, he didn't sound
like his days of collecting exotic creatures was behind him.
"There's something in
the works," he admitted, declining to elaborate.
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2009/09/28/front/1638248.txt
WJXT (Jacksonville, Florida) 28 September
09 Snakes
Invade Mandarin Neighborhood - Residents Say They Routinely Kill Intruding
Snakes
Jacksonville,
Fla.: Neighbors across one Mandarin
community are all talking about one thing -- their run-ins with snakes.
Dozens of
water moccassins and cottonmouths have moved into the neighborhood, and many
residents said the safety of their children and pets are at risk.
"It was
laying right there," resident Mary Vansag said. "There were five or
six on either side of the gutters, like in a monster movie."
Some residents
said they routinely kill intruding snakes.
Bill Richard
has been keeping count. He claims 19 kills, including one last week, two days
after his dog Snowflake was bitten by a water moccasin.
"Every
couple days, there's at least a baby out back," Richard said.
"Nothing can work. Moth balls or anything."
The neighbors
believe it all started when construction began to widen an off-ramp from
Interstate 295 to Old St. Augustine Road, disturbing the snakes' habitat.
Residents said
their lives have been affected ever since.
"You
can't just go out and play in the yard," resident Ray Lawlor said.
"I've chased a lot of kids away from the pond or I'd feel guilty."
Now they're
looking for help.
"I know
it's the responsibility of the homeowner, but that's a lot of wetlands,"
one resident said. "We're not going to chase them in there, so how do you
maintain?"
http://www.news4jax.com/news/21140304/detail.html