HERP
NEWS 279/2009
TIMES
OF INDIA (New Delhi) 06 October 09 Miracle' snake rescued, four nabbed
Bhavnagar: Forest department officials caught four
youths with an endangered snake species the Red Sand Boa. They were trying to
sell the snake for Rs 40,000.
Rumours have been
circulating in the market about the snake. People say that after burning the
flesh and skin of the reptile in boiling water, if you wear the spine of the
snake, it will result in wealth. If the ash of the burnt reptile is rubbed on
the forehead and cheeks, it will make a person invisible.
Trying to make a fast buck
to splurge during Diwali, the youths three diamond workers and one daily wage
labourer travelled to Sidhsar village of Bhavnagar taluka and caught a snake
weighing 2.4 kg. They struck a deal with Vijay Babariya for Rs 40,000.
In the early hours of
Tuesday, they set out to deliver the reptile to Babariya at his Kumbharwad
residence. They were caught on the way by forest officials, who had set up a
watch after a tip-off.
The youths had packed the
hapless reptile in an airtight bag. Since forest officials wanted to save the
snake, they wanted to catch the youths before they made the delivery.
However, Babariya has fled
the city. The four offenders are Chetan Makwana, Kamlesh Dabhi, Naresh Solanki
and Budha Vegad. All have been booked under Section 44, 48, 2(16) and 2(36) of
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and will be presented before the district forest
officer (DFO) on late Tuesday to finalize punishment.
Bhavnagar range forest
officer KK Bharwad said, "These youths are first-timers and fell prey to
superstitious talk that has been going around. The talk has led to a Red Sand
Boa weighing three kg being priced at Rs 1.5 lakh."
Bharwad also said that as
this snake is a protected species as per sub list 4, the accused will not be
produced in court but before the DFO, who will fix the punishment.
WEST
AUSTRALIAN (Perth) 06 October 09 Patrol hunts for elusive 'salties' (Jessica
Strutt Kununurra)
The pink Kimberley sun
slowly drops behind the Bandicoot Range as the wildlife officers head out on
crocodile patrol.
The evening search for the
elusive saltwater crocodile starts with a check of the two traps that are
permanently placed in Lake Kununurra.
The first trap is empty so
the Department of Environment and Conservation employees from the East
Kimberley office rebait it with "the smelliest thing they can find".
On this occasion it's feral horse meat but chicken can also be used and pig is
a favourite.
With the first trap reset,
the aluminium dinghy makes its way along the waterway towards the second trap,
close to the small Aboriginal community of Mud Spring. As the hunt continues,
district wildlife officer Luke Bentley explains the role they have managing the
crocodile control zone, which extends from the diversion dam on the Ord River
and takes in Lake Kununurra, Lake Argyle and the rest of the Ord River south.
Mr Bentley said the job
was about trying to make sure there were no saltwater crocodiles in the zone to
ensure the public could safely use the waterways for recreation, including
skiing and swimming.
Mr Bentley said the public
played an important role in helping look for "salties", which can be
up to 5m long, and were encouraged to report sightings.
He said there was a
reported sighting about seven weeks ago but in the year and a half he had been
doing the job there had been none caught. In 2007, a problem saltwater
crocodile found near the dam wall was killed. On this patrol Mr Bentley is
training two colleagues, team leader Dave Woods and technical officer Jai
Latham in crocodile monitoring and handling techniques.
Usually the DEC team does
one crocodile patrol a week but that can increase if there is a sighting.
But while saltwater
crocodiles are excluded from the zone there are plenty of less-dangerous
freshwater crocodiles in the area.
If a saltwater crocodile
is found it is captured to allow officers to drag it to the boat where they put
a snout rope on to safely remove it from the control zone.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/6146485/patrol-hunts-for-elusive-alties/
LUSAKA
TIMES
(Zambia) 06 October 09 Siavonga boy mauled by crocodile
(ZANIS) A fourteen year old boy of Mundulundulu
village in Siavonga district has gone missing on Lake Kariba after he was
grabbed by a crocodile.
Clifford Denge a grade
five pupil at Mubuyu Christian Academy was attacked by the reptile while
fishing on the Lake on Monday morning.
The boy’s father Charles
Denge told ZANIS in an interview on the banks of Lake Kariba where the
search for the body was being conducted by ZAWA officers with the help of other
people that the incidence happened around 08:00hours.
Mr. Denge narrated that
his son decided to go fishing with his seven year old brother after being sent
back home from school because of the commemoration of teachers day which fell
on Monday.
He narrated that upon
reaching home his son picked a dug out canoe and headed for the lake accompanied
by his brother to fish using locally made hooks.
Mr. Denge explained that
while conducting their fishing on the lake on a distance of about 100 meters
from the water banks, a crocodile pounced on the boy from behind pulling him
from the canoe into the water and disappeared leaving his younger brother
behind.
He said efforts by other
fishermen on the lake to rescue the mauled boy from the jaws of the crocodile
failed because the reptile swum quickly under water to the deepest parts of the
lake.
However a search for the
missing body has continued with two armed ZAWA officers deployed to the area to
immediately shoot the reptile once spotted.
District Commissioner
Emily Striedl who visited the scene of the incidence regretted the loss of the
fourteen year old boy and urged ZAWA officers to ensure that the reptile is
shot.
And village Headman Katowa
Hadelema complained to Ms Striedl that the population of crocodiles on the lake
has increased so much and wondered why government was not moving in to crop the
crocodiles.
Mr Hadelema charged that
the increase in the number of crocodiles on Lake Kariba is posing a threat to
villagers whose livelihood depends on fish.
http://www.lusakatimes.com/?p=18631
WESH (Orlando, Florida) 06 October 09 Big
snake turned in on pet amnesty day
Orlando,
FL: Snake owners turned their pets over
to authorities as part of a recent "Pet Amnesty Day" in Orlando.
One of those
pets was "Speedbump," an 18-foot, 200 pound Burmese python.
It will become
a featured star of a new exhibit at Orlando’s Gatorland, a theme park and
wildlife preserve.
The pet
amnesty day was designed to give snake owners a chance to give up their pets,
and not have to pay fines or serve jail time for keeping illegal animals.
New
requirements for snake owners went into effect after a python strangled a
little girl earlier this year.
Some of the
pets turned in will go to Gatorland, while others will go to licensed adopters
approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
TIMES-HERALD (Port Huron, Michigan) 06 October
09 Python
kidnapped from Port Huron festival - Owner says snake was taken Saturday from
Fall Fest in city (Stephen Tait)
Shari
Blashill, owner of Tigerbunny Acres Farm in Jeddo, is searching for the black,
brown and gold snake, which she said was stolen.
The farm,
which rescues exotic animals, takes its animals to various events throughout
the area to allow children to pet them and hold them.
The python,
named Snakey, was a star among the animals, Blashill said.
"He was
like the favorite thing in our program for kids," she said. "The kids
would stand in line to hold Snakey. He was a unique snake. He liked to
snuggle."
But Blashill
said Snakey was swiped at Saturday's Bridge Builders Counseling's Fall Fest.
Now she is
concerned for his well-being, especially because it is starting to get cold.
"I hope
whoever has him keeps him warm, dry and feeds him a mouse every week," she
said. "And I hope they give him back."
Lt. Paul Reid
of Port Huron police said a police report was filed regarding the stolen snake.
He said there
is a "vague description of a possible suspect" but little else to go
on. Reid said if anyone knows who stole the snake, to call the department at
(810) 987-6688.
Reid said such
a situation "is a little rare."
Blashill said
her farm has more than 200 animals, ranging from parrots and chickens to
miniature donkeys and an alpaca.
She said the
farm goes to events throughout the area to help educate children about the
animals. Until Saturday, no animal had ever been stolen.
Blashill said
Saturday right before Snakey went missing, a little girl was holding the snake
snuggled around her neck.
That little
girl told Blashill that a woman claiming to be a volunteer approached her and
said she worked for the farm and held Snakey while children petted him.
Blashill said
they don't have volunteers. Blashill suspects that woman is the one who stole
the snake.
In another odd
circumstance, at the beginning of the event, Blashill said a man approached her
and said Blashill should keep an eye on the snake because his girlfriend wanted
to steal it.
Blashill said
she is unsure if it was the same woman.
"It
boggles the mind," she said.
But she
remains optimistic: "Someone is going to talk and I'm hoping she is forced
to turn it back in."
THE GAZETTE (Montreal, Quebec) 06 October 09 Environmental watchdog raises concern about
amphibian loss (Lee Greenberg, Ottawa Citizen)
Toronto: The dramatic decline of Ontario’s amphibian
population should be causing much more concern among provincial officials, says
Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller.
At a news
conference Tuesday, Miller called amphibians — frogs, toads, newts and
salamanders — the “canaries in the global coal mine.”
“Here is a
group of particularly sensitive animals,” he told reporters. “And guess what —
they’re dying off across the world at the highest rate. So are they the
indicators, the ones we should be watching? I think so.”
Miller raised
his concerns as he released his annual report highlighting environmental
progress and concerns in Ontario.
Of the 27
amphibian species native to the province, eight are classified as at risk under
the province’s Endangered Species Act, according to the report. The primary
threat to the small, slimy creatures is habitat loss resulting from encroaching
development in southern Ontario — about 70 per cent of wetlands in the south
have been drained for agriculture and urban development.
But Miller
said there are other factors, too. The small creatures are sensitive to
environmental changes and they may be unable to react quickly enough to
temperature and moisture changes. Warmer temperatures may also exacerbate
parallel threats, such as the spread of infectious diseases among amphibian
populations.
“Someone
should be monitoring their health and looking for ways to mitigate the
disturbances to their habitat because they may be the leading edge to something
much more serious that is happening,” Miller said.
Biodiversity
was a key theme in the Environmental Commissioner’s 2009 report, which also
criticized the province’s land use planning process which allows developers to
use “intimidating legal tactics” to scare off ordinary citizens.
YORKSHIRE POST (Leeds, UK) 06 October 09 Rare
newts take up residence after reservoir improvements (Jeni Harvey)
A rare species
of newt not usually found in Yorkshire has set up home near Langsett Reservoir,
between Sheffield and Penistone.
Yorkshire
Water has been carrying out various improvements around the reservoir site in a
bid to maintain and enhance the area's population of amphibious and
invertebrate species.
As a result,
dozens of palmate newts, which were not previously found in the area, have
begun living in four newly-created ponds.
The newts,
which are so called because the appearance of their feet is said to resemble
the palm of a hand, are very fast breeders, so the population is likely to grow
very rapidly over the coming years.
Alastair
Harvey, countryside and recreation manager at Yorkshire Water, said:
"Langsett is a particularly important site for its rich woodland and, over
the last few years, we've invested a significant amount of money and effort
into managing the habitat in an attempt to create the ideal environment for a
huge number of flora and fauna to thrive.
"While
we've always had a good population of other amphibious species such as frogs
and toads, the work we carried out creating four new ponds seems to have really
paid off, with palmate newts becoming the latest species to give it the thumbs
up."
In addition to
the newts, the site is also home to other invertebrate species such as
craneflies and dragonflies, which thrive due to the mixture of woodland and
water habitat.
Almost
£400,000 has been spent by Yorkshire Water on improvements at Langsett, which
have included an improved car park, a new bridle way and cycle route, a path
for wheelchairs and pushchairs, a boot and cycle wash, new picnic tables and
improved signage
Views across
the water have also been opened up to make the area more visually appealing for
walkers and cyclists.
In the
woodland, which was planted around the reservoir to provide timber for pit
props in the Second World War, wildlife is now encouraged by allowing fallen
trees to rot and provide a good habitat for insects, birds and fungi.
A series of
walks around Langsett has also been established and the route descriptions are
available on podcasts which can be downloaded from Yorkshire Water's recreation
website.
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/localnews/Rare-newts-take-up-residence.5709197.jp
PAYSON ROUNDUP (Arizona) 06 October 09 Embattled
frog making last stand in Rim stream:
Biologists fight mysterious decline of amphibians by putting Chiricahua
Leopard Frogs in Ellison and Clear creeks — with help from ranchers (Pete
Aleshire)
He’s back.
Ribbet.
Ribbet. Thank goodness.
Ellison Creek
flowing off the Mogollon Rim recently got another dose of Chiricahua Leopard
Frogs, a natty, green amphibian who croaks through the night — a damp canary in
Rim Country’s environmental “coal mine.”
The Chiricahua
Leopard Frog heads the local list of vanishing amphibians, a trend experts
connect to pollution, climate change, changes in the thickness of the ozone
layer and other problems in the beleaguered riparian areas on which they
depend.
“The whole
‘canary in the coal mine’ role of frogs comes from how sensitive they are to
environmental change,” said Mike Srebl, leader of the Chiricahua Leopard Frog
Recovery Program for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Biologists
recent released some 1,400 frogs and tadpoles into the creek to augment the
existing population there. Reared at the Phoenix Zoo until they were big enough
to have a better chance to survive, the release represents the latest effort to
help a once widespread frog hop up the muddy slope of extinction.
The project
has also formed rare links between biologists and local ranchers, who have
become enthusiastic advocates for the grinning green critters. Although cattle
grazing along streams has contributed to the decline of frogs throughout the
West, stock tanks also provide a refuge for frog species where they’re often
safe from other predators.
“It’s so
important to have the ranchers at the table,” said Srebl. “When it comes down
to it, I’ve met very few ranchers not interested in being good stewards — the
trick is it just takes a little more work.”
A rancher
whose grazing allotment includes Ellison Creek has been an enthusiastic
supporter — and even showed up to release the first batch of frogs into the
creek. That cooperation has enabled biologists to figure out how to use fencing
and herd management to keep the cattle out of ponds and stream stretches
important to the frogs, said Srebl, especially when the state biologists found
federal grants to pay for needed fencing.
“It really
turned into a win/win situation,” said Srebl.
Unfortunately,
the colorful amphibian hasn’t encountered many win/win situations in recent
decades, with a host of changes contributing to a dangerous decline.
Even before
the recent, decade-long drought dried up many streams and springs, the frogs
had to cope with human-caused changes that have degraded an estimated 90
percent of the state’s streams, rivers and lakes.
The Chiricahua
Leopard Frog is on the worrisome leading edge of a baffling trend, the steep,
worldwide decline of frogs and salamanders. The U.S. has 230 amphibian species,
including 90 toads and frogs.
Most frog
species are declining rapidly. Experts have also noted a dramatic increase in
the number of frogs suffering from mutations, many born with extra or missing
limbs or other malformations. Studies have identified a bewildering array of
possible causes, but the loss of vital riparian habitats accounts for about
half of the decline, particularly streams and associated wetlands.
Most frog
species have also been impacted by the introduction of non-native predators,
like crayfish, bass, trout, sunfish and others.
Ironically,
many native frogs have also suffered from the rapid spread of tough, voracious
bullfrogs — which eat nearly anything they can get their big mouths around and
can hop for miles across dry ground to colonize a new pond or stream.
In addition,
studies have shown that the amphibians are vulnerable because of their
complicated life cycle, which includes stages of being encased in underwater
eggs, the water breathing tadpole phase and their thin-skinned adulthood. Many
frogs can breathe through their skins, critical to getting through the winter
buried in the mud — but that means that pollutants can also pass through their
skins.
Studies have
also shown that increased ultraviolet radiation, perhaps due to a thinning of
the Earth’s ozone layer caused by certain pollutants, might account for the
rise in mutations, which affects 60 percent of the young of some frog species.
Other factors
include pesticides and water pollution caused by septic tanks and heavy metals
leaching out of mine tailings.
Other
researchers have focused on the spread of viruses, bacteria and fungi, which
have heavily impacted some species.
The captive
breeding and release program for the dwindling Chiricahua Leopard Frogs is
intended to reverse the trend toward extinction.
The 5-inch
frogs can live for 18 years, favoring ponds, springs, streams and even stock
ponds at an elevation range of 3,200 to 8,800 feet. They exist in scattered
populations throughout central, east-central and southeastern Arizona and on
into New Mexico, northwestern Sonora and northwestern Chihuahua in Mexico.
The zoo has
been cranking out tadpoles and froglings for a decade. The captive frogs lay
masses of eggs in May, which hatch and grow into healthy tadpoles over the
summer.
The late
summer/early fall release should give the critters time enough to adapt to
their new surroundings before the freezing temperatures of winter prompts them
to burrow into the mud where they go into a state of hibernation for the
winter, usually in pools of water deep enough that they won’t freeze to the
bottom.
Stebl noted
that in addition to the seemingly healthy population in Ellison Creek,
biologists are monitoring populations in East and West Clear Creek, near Camp
Verde and in several stock tanks in Rim Country.
In some cases,
biologists captured the last few surviving frogs in different areas of the Rim
as the drought dried up their water sources, to support the captive breeding
program. They hope to reintroduce the frogs to some of their former homes if
the drought eases and water levels return to something approaching normal.
Unfortunately,
the frogs remain embattled by a host of large scale changes, said Stebl.
And just as
miners once took canaries down into mine shafts because the birds would die
from the buildup of lethal gases before the humans could sense the gas, so the
dwindling amphibians serve as a warning about the state of vital riparian areas
— on which an estimated 90 percent of wildlife depend for some stage of their
lives.
“There are
many reasons that amphibian populations have declined worldwide, but to go back
to the canary in the coal mine analogy — what the canary is telling us is that
we’re not being very good stewards of our land.”
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2009/oct/06/embattled_frog_making_last_stand_rim_stream/
VISIR (Reykjavík, Iceland) 06 October 09 Krókódíll í miðbænum (Óli Tynes)
Lögreglan í
Ástralíu handtók á dögunum tveggja og hálfs metra langan saltvatns krókódíl sem
var að þvælast um götur í smábæ á norðurströnd álfunnar.
Íbúum brá
nokkuð þegar þeir komu auga á króksa í miðjum bænum. Króksa brá líka og stakk
af. Lögreglan fann hann þó fljótlega þar sem hann hafði lent í slagsmálum við
net-girðingu.
Ha, ég?
-Hann bara
kúrði þar og reyndi að líta sakleysislega út, sagði Adam Russell, liðþjálfi.
Lögreglumennirnir fjötruðu króksa en voru í nokkrum vanda með hvað þeir ættu
svo að gera.
Í bænum er
ekkert fangelsi fyrir gesti af þessu tagi. Á endanum fóru þeir með hann í
fangelsi bæjarins og stungu honum þar inn.
Þar fékk hann
svo að dúsa í þrjá daga þartil starfsmenn á krókódílabúgarði komu og sóttu
hann. Russell sagði að þeir hefðu sprautað yfir hann vatni með relulegu
millibili, en fengið aðeins illilegt hvæs að launum.
http://www.visir.is/article/20091006/FRETTIR02/197895900/-1
NEW STRAITS TIMES (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) 05
October 09 Strict on crocodile licences
Kuching: Fatal crocodile attacks are not common in
Sarawak and the state Forest Department is stringent when issuing licences to
anyone who wants to catch or kill the reptiles.
"We can
issue licences to kill these crocodile, especially if there is an attack but by
doing so, we also end up being criticised," state Forest Department
director Datuk Len Talif Salleh said during the department's Hari Raya
Aidilfitri gathering on Friday.
"If the
animal is a threat and is declared to be a danger to life or property as in the
recent case, hunting, killing or capturing the said animal involved in the
attack is allowed in accordance with the provision made in the Wild Life
Protection Ordinance 1998," he added.
Len was asked
to comment on a crocodile attack at Sungai Skrang in Sri Aman Division where a
50-year-old fisherman was killed while taking a bath with his wife and two
daughters on Sept 30.
Debeline
Nyambong was the first crocodile attack victim in Sri Aman this year.
http://www.nst.com.my/articles/20crott/Article/index_html
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION 05
October 09 New disease identified in pet turtles (Nicky Phillips)
A researcher
has identified the first Australian case of a captive turtle being infected
with a highly contagious disease, which has the potential to spread to humans.
If let
unchecked, the disease could have a huge impact on Australian native species.
The research
will be presented at the Australian Veterinary Association's Unusual and Exotic
Pets Annual Conference on Sunday.
Debbie Bannan,
a second year veterinary science student from James Cook University in
Townsville, says she discovered the disease on an Emydura macquarii, a common
species of pet turtle, which was brought to a vet clinic where she was
volunteering.
She says the
turtle presented with a lesion on its front forelimb, which they thought was an
isolated inflammation of the bone and could be treated by amputating its limb
and flipper.
"It started
to rehabilitate really well," says Ms Bannan.
"But
three months after that it rapidly went downhill and reluctantly we had to
euthanise it."
Ms Bannan says
when they conducted a post-mortem, they found the turtle had a bacterial
disease, called mycobacterium, that had spread throughout its entire body.
"Mycobacterium
is much like staph on human skin, and it can be carried by lots of
animals," she said.
The bacterium
is not pathogenic until it enters the body, through air passages, cuts or the
intestines, she says.
Ms Bannan says
mycobacterium does not usually affect healthy animals, but it can have serious
consequences for animals that are immuno compromised.
She says
treatment for mycobacterium in captive turtles can be lengthy and costly.
"It can
take six to 12 months and it's not always successful," she said.
Once the
bacterium has spread throughout the body, the turtle will most likely need to
be euthanised, she says.
But what
concerns Ms Bannan about her research, is that there are no previously recorded
cases of mycobacterium in captive turtles in Australia.
"If there
is no literature it means it's harder for vets to identify and treat
quickly," she says.
Ms Bannan is
concerned the disease could transfer to species in the wild.
Often people
buy turtles because they are "very cute" when they are young, but
people find they do not have room for them when they grow and throw them into
nearby river or water way, she says.
"They can
survive there and then become a threat to native species in the wild," she
said.
Ms Bannan says
mycobacterium can also transfer to humans.
She says there
are reported cases in the US, of children being infected with mycobacterium
from their pet turtle.
"It can
get in your cuts and cause a lesion," she said.
But Ms Bannan
says it is unlikely to make humans sick if they are fit and healthy.
"It's no
Hendra virus," she says.
Ms Bannan says
the same risk applied to other pets.
Veterinary
nurse Sonia Sim, of Deception Bay Veterinary Clinic in Queensland, which specialises
in the care of reptiles, says captive turtle are prone to bacterial and fungal
skin infections because they are often kept in tanks, which can be a breeding
ground for pathogens if the water is not changed regularly.
She says its
important pet owners ensure their turtle has clean water, a balanced diet and
access to UV light to prevent it being infected with harmful bacteria.
"We
encourage people who keep them in tanks indoors to get them outside a few times
a week, which helps to dry out their skin and shell and keep them
healthy," Ms Sim said.
Ms Bannan says
more research needs to be done on captive turtles to determine if the entire
species is at risk of mycobacterium infection, or just those animals that are
unwell.
She says her
research demonstrates that mycobacterium can present itself in different ways.
"Veterinarians
should look beyond a lesion or a node," she said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/05/2705408.htm
THE OKLAHOMAN (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 05 October
09 Homegrown
python from Oklahoma City may slither into record books (Matt Dinger)
Fluffy, a
python who once called Oklahoma City home, is a contender for a 2011 Guinness
World Record.
The
record-holder died last year, leaving open the title of longest snake in captivity,
said Philip Robertson, Guinness World Records U.S. marketing manager.
Robertson said
a team of Guinness researchers visited the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio
last week, using a string to measure the snake’s length in six separate
attempts. Guinness does not release data regarding records claims until a
decision has been made, he said.
Snake breeder
and herpetologist Bob Clark, who sold the python to the zoo in January 2008,
said he raised the python from a hatchling until she grew to more than 24 feet
long and weighed more than 300 pounds.
"The
Guinness people called me. They were trying to track this down about six months
ago,” Clark said.
Fluffy, a
reticulated python, was loaned to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in 2007, and
they paid Clark $35,000 to put the python on permanent display.
"It isn’t
even my snake anymore, but I’ve still got a relationship with it. I’m still
proud,” he said.
The Columbus
Dispatch reported the first season Fluffy was at the zoo, attendance
reached 1.53 million people, second highest on record.
Clark credits
Fluffy’s genes and the amount he fed her for her enormous size. But unlike some
larger snakes, "She’s easygoing, very tolerant of people touching her.
Very tame. Just a good, friendly animal.”
Clark said
Fluffy was hatched in June 1992 and he was feeding her one large meal a week,
usually a pig or rabbits, at the time she was sold.
Reticulated
pythons have the ability to grow continuously throughout their lives if they
are fed frequently, but can survive extended periods without eating, Clark
said.
Robertson said
the record is expected to be decided next year.
http://www.newsok.com/article/3406354?searched=snake&custom_click=search#
GLOBE-NEWS (Amarillo, Texas) 05 October 09 It's
All Trew: For goodness sakes: Seems I'm done being rattled (Delbert Trew)
The Trew Ranch
has always been a bit "snaky." We have miles of caprock ledges and
canyons that provide many homes for snakes.
From 1949 to
about 1960, we had three resident prairie dog towns located on the ranch.
Between the dog towns and the canyons, we would harvest a quart jar full of
rattlesnake rattles each summer.
No person was
ever snakebit that I remember, but cattle, horses and dogs became victims each
year. Snake sightings dropped drastically after the demise of the dog towns.
The Rana Ranch
in New Mexico continued to produce more than its share of rattlers, even though
no dog towns were present. A day's ride in summertime always harvested a
rattling souvenir or two, some more than 2 inches long as displayed in a memory
box in our home.
We can tell
stories for hours about snakes and snaky experiences.
In 2003, I
killed two large, almost black diamondback coon-tail rattlers in our backyard
at Alanreed. It had been years since we had seen this type of snake, especially
in our yards. In 2004, I killed three more, the same size, color and type. I
began to suspect they were littermates from a nearby den. We began looking for
snake holes each time we left the yards.
In 2005, I
found three more of the same type and markings, but maybe a little larger and
longer than the others. I think they even had the same family names - at least,
that is what I called them when I found them. We were convinced we had a snake
facility and factory somewhere close by.
Then came 2006
and the million-acre range fires during which almost every acre on the ranch
burned. We had two long rows of junk collected down through the years and piled
down under the hill west of the house that burned all but the scrap iron. I
hauled it to Amarillo and proceeded to clean up the junk pile area.
The last item
was a rusted, 500-gallon gas storage tank I had used as a trash burner at one
time. It was standing upright, welded to two pipe skids. I tied on with my
tractor and pulled it backward on its way to the landfill.
Something
caught my eye, and looked to see the spot under the tank was clean and
polished, as if sanded by sandpaper or maybe snake bellies. Sure enough, coiled
in the center of the area was the largest diamondback rattler I had found so
far. It was a snake den, no doubt, as the polished area proved, plus, a ridge
of black snake manure had been pushed out around the edges.
So, a snake
den does not have to be a hole or cave in the ground. They are very adaptable
to use any shelter, such as a protected place in your junk pile.
Since that
time, I have found only one small prairie rattler in my yard. My snake plague
has ended.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/100509/new_news4.shtml
DAILY
A crocodile has been
thrown behind bars at a country police station after it was caught 'loitering'
in a residential area.
The 8ft saltwater
crocodile was taken into custody by police near the tiny outback town of
Gunbalanya after residents reported it was 'hanging around'.
The female crocodile was
clearly disoriented and had been spotted trying to fight a fence, attempting to
get it into a 'death roll' - the term for when crocodiles spin their prey
around underwater until they drown.
'This lady obviously got a
bit mixed up and was pretty tired and confused when we were called in to tackle
her,' said Sergeant Adam Russell.
She was promptly captured,
thrown into a police van and driven off to the cells, where she was held for
three days until handlers from a crocodile farm came to pick her up.
But it had been no easy
arrest - and the croc was hardly a model prisoner.
When Sgt Russell was
called out to deal with the 'offender' he found that a couple of wildlife
rangers were already at the scene of the crime and trying to decide what to do
about the reptile.
One thing was certain -
she could not be allowed to hang around so close to people.
'I wanted to jump on her
Steve Irwin style,' said Sgt Russell, 'but the rangers wouldn't let me.'
Between the three of them,
however, the crocodile was bound up with ropes and driven off to the cells.
'We cut the ropes off her
legs so she could move around in the cell,' Sgt Russell told the Northern
Territory News.
'We couldn't have her tied
up for all that time and we hosed her down every couple of hours.'
He said that although the
crocodile was a 'fairly good' prisoner when left alone, she got cranky and gave
off a warning hiss whenever anyone went near her.
It is not the first time a crocodile has been thrown
behind bars in the Northern Territory.
Another 'saltie' was
jailed in 2007 after it lunged at a fisherman. It, too, ended up at a crocodile
farm to live out the rest of its days.
THE INDEPENDENT (Johannesburg, S Africa) 05
October 09 Snakes 'n' adders anyone? (Lara
de Matos)
His greatest
fear in life is the prospect of drowning. Given the large number of people who
share a similar phobia of a painful and watery death, this, in itself, is
hardly what you would deem noteworthy.
Throw in the
fact that the chap to whom I refer happens to be Austin Stevens, however, and
it's likely your perspective on such a statement will shift dramatically.
This is, after
all, the same man who openly declares "once you've held a snake and put it
around your neck, it changes your life" and who subsequently has dedicated
his days to the study of the slithering, fork-tongued species, which usually
leave the rest of us recoiling in horror.
That he feels
an affinity with the cobra clan, black mamba mamas, big-mouthed boa
constrictors and their reptilian ilk should leave little doubt that Stevens is
only too happy to get up close and personal with the creatures, especially when
doing so in the name of educating his television audience.
Hence, many
people have taken to hailing this South African-born herpetologist,
photographer and documentarian (who is aptly dubbed The Snake Master) as the
next Steve Irwin.
But as anyone
who had bothered to do their wildlife homework would know, such a likening is
something of a slap in Stevens's award-winning face, given that the guy's been
around for a good decade longer than the former barmy Australian.
Not that he is
particularly perturbed about the suggested correlation.
"It
doesn't worry me at all," he states across the telephone line.
"As they
say, all publicity is good publicity, and if some of the publicity Steve was
getting comes my way, I think it's great because, ultimately, we wildlife
lovers are in this together and we're all trying to get the same message out
there."
Said message
involves guiding humans to a far better understanding of their fellow earthly
dwellers as well as their natural habitats, and, in so doing, hopefully draw
awareness to the plight of the endangered.
One Irwin
comparison-cum-criticism that does get Austin's goat though, is that which sees
him being accused of attention-seeking antics while on camera.
"There
are some who say I'm just showing off and in doing what I do, the way I do it,
I'm encouraging viewers to also get that close to snakes or other
animals," he explains, with a distinct tone of discontent to his voice.
"But I
always emphasise that I'm a professional. And I have to get in close, because I
can't really educate the audience and help them to better understand and better
appreciate reptiles if I'm standing metres away from them, just pointing toward
them."
And before the
posse of pot-stirrers jumps on the anti-patriotism bandwagon by labelling
Stevens a traitor to his home country, his sole reason for having taken up
residence in Namibia some 20-odd years ago was purely because of what he describes
as "being gradually crowded out" on South African soil, "which
meant I had to increasingly trek further and further away, just to get one
decent shot where I wasn't surrounded by people at every turn".
"In
Swakopmund, I literally step straight out of my door and into the desert."
Over the
course of his work (as with the impending Austin Stevens Adventures), he has
increasingly come face to face with an altogether different form of species as
well, namely, that of the four-legged kind.
"It's an
experience which he finds "daunting, because (unlike reptiles) I am
completely at the mercy of these big animals, I can't control them".
Needless to
say, from the moment he captured his first "specimen" at the age of
12 ,while playing on the outskirts of his Pretoria home, snakes have taken
pride of place in his heart.
And not even a
near-death encounter with a green anaconda in the Amazon (which saw the huge
creature wrap itself around Stevens and drag him down into the water while he
was busy filming a sequence for one of his doccies) can deter him from his
craft.
Well Austin,
much rather you than me.
http://www.tonight.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Tonight&fArticleId=5190319
CBS4 (Miami, Florida) 05 October 09 Captured
Monster Size Burmese Python Euthanized Reporting (Lisa Cilli)
A monster size
snake which was captured over the weekend by members of Miami-Dade Fire
Rescue's anti-venom unit was euthanized Monday despite original plans to
implant the Burmese python with a
The giant
snake was discovered in a field at a Southwest Miami-Dade nursery at 16400 SW
202nd Avenue on Saturday.
When Lt. Lisa
Wood of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Team responded to the scene,
she thought she was looking for an 8-foot Burmese Python but then quickly
realized the snake was hiding and it was in fact, between 13-to-15 feet long.
Lt. Wood,
along with several other firefighters, captured the snake and handed it over to
Skip Snow.
Snow is a
federal wildlife biologist approved to do research on these types of snakes. He
had originally planned on implanting the snake with a
Monday
afternoon, however, Snow told CBS4's Sharrie Williams that the snake was
euthanized for further research. They want to study its body more closely in
order to help them with a new tracking device system. By studying the anatomy
of the snake, biologists will be able to find the best location to plant a
tracking device from its new system in the next captured snake. In addition,
Snow said, biologists will perform a necropsy to see what its eating habits
were and further study its genetics and reproduction system.
http://cbs4.com/local/Burmese.Python.Snake.2.1227899.html
SILVER
Deming: He calls himself the Snake Man and he is
warning hunters and adventurers; "Snake season is in full swing."
Joe Flores
knows all too well the dangers of frequenting the desert Southwest in early
fall.
"They are
everywhere," said Flores of the deadly New Mexico rattlesnake. "They
are drawn to body heat this time of year and the early-morning hours and
evening hours are the most dangerous."
Flores, a
48-year-old Tresco worker who helps individuals with disabilities, has been
hunting rattlesnakes all of his adult life. He has been bitten twice by the
desert viper and each time came close to death.
"It's the
worst pain you could imagine," Flores said. "I was in a coma for two
days."
Flores battled
the snake's venom on his own each time, opting not to take the expensive
antivenom available in hospitals.
The deserts of
New Mexico, West Texas and Arizona are rattlesnake country. Eleven species,
ranging in many sizes, live are prevalent in this area.
The pit vipers
are named for their heat-sensitive depressions on either side of their head
behind their nostril. Loreal pits allow the snake to "see" potential
prey in total darkness by picking up body heat. These senses are so acute that
a rattler can detect the body heat of a mouse up to a foot away.
Rattlesnakes
are the most common of poisonous snakes. The presence of a rattle, a series of
horny rings formed of keratin that scrape against each other in pulses to cause
a rattling sound, is what distinguishes them from other snakes.
Flores uses
his "Snake Charmer" - a .410 shotgun - to hunt the reptiles and makes
sure each blast is a head shot.
He's turned
his hunting into a lucrative side business, selling snake skins and turning the
scaly strips into lampshades, belts, jewelry and dash mats.
"It's
good eating, too," Flores said. "Tastes better than chicken and it's
good for you. My grandmother used to tell me it was good for arthritis
sufferers."
Flores said he
averages about seven snakes on weekends this time of year. He follows their
slithering trails after a rain and can usually track them within minutes of
picking up the trail.
"Don't do
what I do," he said. "People need to be careful where they step when
hunting or camping. Stay away from tall grass and freshly made cowpies.
"If you
get bitten, don't panic ... It's the worst thing you can do. Seek medical
attention as quick as you can, but don't run."
http://www.scsun-news.com/silver_city-news/ci_13486292#
BRISBANE TIMES (Australia) 04 October 09 Frog
numbers take a dive (Jon Pierik)
Kermit the
frog once lamented: "It's not easy being green".
While Kermit
was just a lovable television muppet, it seems his real-life amphibian mates
can concur.
Through an
unseasonably dry Victorian autumn, the number of frog calls recorded by
Melbourne Water fell.
Melbourne
Water's manager of waterways Chris Chesterfield said the habitats of some frogs
had been destroyed.
"In the
first eight months of this year, rainfalls have been the lowest on record. That
obviously reduces stream flows and has led to the drying out of wetlands,"
he told AAP on Sunday.
"Many
volunteers reported fewer frogs calling at their usual sites during autumn.
"I
suppose it's not surprising that frog numbers during the early part of the year
may appear down or the frogs haven't been as active or calling as much."
But Mr
Chesterfield said he expects the numbers to be up when Melbourne Water begins
its 2009 frog census.
"We have
had some very good September rains and the frogs are out and about," he
said.
The annual
census, now in its ninth year, was launched at Werribee Open Range Zoo in
Melbourne's south-west on Sunday.
The census is
used to plot where frogs live.
"If the
habitat area is reduced, you would expect frog numbers to be less," Mr
Chesterfield said.
"We are
not concerned but particularly in this region, there is the pressure of
population growth and urban expansion on top of climate change.
"We have
to be very alert to those changes."
Mr
Chesterfield said Melbourne Water was determined to increase the numbers of
platypus, native fish and frogs in its 9,000km of waterways and wetlands.
"Frogs
are an important part of the ecosystem," he said.
"They are
an animal that appeal to people and they are an indicator of the health of
systems."
He said 16
frog species could be found in the Melbourne Water region, from the common
froglet to the large growling grass frog.
Anyone
interested in participating in the census can register at
www.melbournewater.com.au.
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-national/frog-numbers-take-a-dive-20091004-ghpk.html
LOS TIEMPOS (Cochabamba, Bolivia) 04 October
09 Lagarto,
el boom del biocomercio (Oblitas Mónica)
A este
personaje le dicen 'Kalimán' por algo muy especial, me digo, después de bromear
con él cuando alguien le pregunta por el pequeño Solín, los personajes míticos
de nuestros abuelos.
Cuando veo
a Carlos Balcázar con la linterna en una mano, el rifle en la otra, un cazador
que ya atravesó los 60 años hace rato y que equilibra su cuerpo en el bote en
medio de la oscuridad, casi agazapado ante su presa, confirmo por qué tiene el
apodo del mítico mago de las radionovelas.
Los
cazadores viajan en unas embarcaciones llamados cascos, hechas de madera balsa
que tienen apenas unos cuantos centímetros de alto y las que cualquier
movimiento puede voltear, así que llevan a los periodistas invitados para
conocer el Plan de Aprovechamiento Sostenible del Lagarto en unos botes, que a nosotros
tampoco nos parecen muy estables que se diga.
Loreto es
un pueblo encantador. Los anuncios en la radio comunal del pueblo avisan a los
adolescentes de tal o cual horario para el partido de fútbol, que hay
deliciosos cuñapés en la casa de alguien, o que la señora fulana se encuentra
enferma y agradece las muestras de cariño. La rocola, en el único lugar para
tomar una cerveza helada, resuena con el reggaeton que escuchan unos
adolescentes que juegan billar.
Mientras
esperamos al resto del equipo que se atrasó por culpa del avión, bromeamos
sobre la aventura que va a significar el asunto, y uno de los cazadores dice:
“Cuando prueben su carne, van a saber que valió la pena”.
15 minutos
después, navegamos por una laguna que parece una piscina por sus aguas quietas.
Desde la orilla los cazadores iluminan con
linternas para encontrar el reflejo de decenas de ojos rojos, que revelan a los
lagartos. Ya en los botes, los periodistas invitados contenemos la respiración
a fuerza de no movernos y ni siquiera nos atrevemos a espantar a los mosquitos
que se dan un banquete a costa nuestra, riéndose de los repelentes.
Es una noche muy oscura, sin luna y sólo la linterna refleja los ojos
colorados en el agua. “Kalimán” ha sido elegido por todos los comunarios para
mostrarnos la cacería, “porque es el que más sabe.” Los lagartos pasan casi
rozando el bote, algunos hasta posan para los fotógrafos y sus cámaras de
flashes potentes. “Kalimán”, con tan sólo mirar los ojos de los animales,
calcula el tamaño y sabe si puede o no cazarlos e incluso de qué sexo son.
De pronto,
retumba el tiro, que por cierto se lleva el “ajayu” de los periodistas: Un
lagarto yacaré de 1,80 ha sido la presa, la bala le ha atravesado los ojos con
una puntería tan certera, que el cazador ganaría sin problema torneos de tiro
internacional.
“Kalimán”,
haciendo equilibrio, levanta al animal de más de 80 kilos y lo remata, “por si
no está bien muerto”, dice. Luego lo coloca en la canoa y hace un reacomodo de
periodistas en shock para que el peso de la embarcación sea parejo.
Uno de
nuestros compañeros, el valiente Efraín Varela, de la revista Cash, debe viajar
sentado en el “lagarto pullman”, que para eso ya ha teñido de sangre los pies
de los viajantes. Es la primera experiencia de la agenda preparada por la FAN
(Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza) para que la prensa y, por ende, nuestros
lectores conozcan bien de cerca lo que se está haciendo en torno a un animal
que puede constituirse en un ingreso muy importante para quienes trabajan con
él.
Paso a
paso
Cada año,
la Dirección General de Biodiversidad concede cierto número de licencias para
que los comunarios puedan cazar lagartos en temporadas determinadas. Lamentablemente, como explica Mario González, director
de ABC, estas licencias no han sido dadas en base a estudios serios que
impliquen un control y un análisis poblacional de los animales.
Las licencias se otorgan de acuerdo a ciertas condiciones, algunas
también a las haciendas, que con grandes extensiones de tierra tienen en las
orillas cientos de lagartos para cazar.
Hasta el
año pasado, los intermediarios compraban las licencias de caza del cuero del
lagarto y luego lo comercializaban en las curtiembres. “Éste es el primer año
que no hay intermediario, lo aburrimos”, ríe un cazador. Ahora el trato es
directo entre comunidades y curtiembre, pero no fue una tarea fácil deshacerse
del intermediario. Al final, los pactos entre
estancias y comunidades, asesorados por ABC, a su vez contratada por FAN,
permitieron el negocio entre las comunidades y las curtiembres de 'tú a tú'. Y
por primera vez en serio se empezó a hablar de comercializar la carne de
lagarto.
Este
proyecto no comenzó de cero, sino que tuvo que derribar varios obstáculos de
una maquinaria corrupta impuesta hace años. Pero la predisposición fue el
empuje principal para llevar adelante el plan. Primero se analizó la realidad de los cuerpos de agua de la zona y se
bajó el cupo de animales a ser cazados en las comunidades, aunque en las
estancias haya más capacidad porque no se caza de forma ilegal tan
frecuentemente como en las comunidades.
Las estancias no hacían el aprovechamiento del lagarto y no tenían
intención de hacerlo porque su enfoque principal es la ganadería. A partir de
ello se comenzaron a buscar pactos de aprovechamiento: las comunidades no
tienen mucho cupo y las estancias, que sí lo tienen, no cazan, ¿por qué no
llegar a un acuerdo donde las comunidades cacen en las estancias bajo un
sistema de control estricto y se repartan los beneficios? Además de lograr que
sean las comunidades las que negocien directamente con las curtiembres,
quitando de en medio a los intermediarios.
El plan fue presentado en abril del año pasado a la DGB, que tardó más
de un año en aprobarlo, pero este año ya se tienen resoluciones y se ha logrado
que todas las comunidades y estancias participen en el programa. Por primera vez además se ha eliminado la caza ilegal y
los cazadores de las comunidades de los ríos Mamoré e Isiboro y los cazadores
de Loreto han logrado un beneficio neto promedio por cuero de Bs 144,80 ($us
20,69), generando un incremento aproximado del 200% al precio promedio por
cuero que pagan los intermediarios en la zona. Talleres y reuniones entre las mismas comunidades que compartían sus
logros hicieron que todas se interesen en participar en el proyecto.
La debacle
del caimán
El
caimaneo y lagarteo empiezan en Bolivia a principios del siglo pasado sin
ningún tipo de control. A partir de
los años 50 las poblaciones de caimán negro descienden y las personas comienzan
a cazar al lagarto yacaré. De acuerdo a Mario González, en el país existen
cinco especies de cocodrilianos, tres cuyo cuero es interesante a nivel
comercial. Ante la cacería indiscriminada del lagarto
yacaré, la población comienza a peligrar.
En los
años 80, ante este descontrol, comienza a legislarse la cacería y el tráfico de
pieles a través del Cites (1), del cual Bolivia forma parte, y se prohíbe la
caza y la exportación de caimanes en general. El caimán negro continúa
prohibido. Esta legislación confluye en el decreto de veda total, que no
significó que la cacería ilegal se detenga: hasta más de 20.000 cueros
anualmente salían del país vía Paraguay.
En los 10 años que dura el decreto, la población de cocodrilianos, sobre
todo de lagarto yacaré, logra recuperarse. Se empiezan a hacer estudios que
comprueban que las poblaciones de lagartos podrían estar sujetas a programas de
aprovechamiento, replicando modelos como el que se hace en Venezuela.
Pero la
realidad boliviana es diferente y los estudios no son tan precisos para
determinar el cupo de caza y para crear una estructura para el control y
seguimiento de los animales.
En ‘95 se
comienza a trabajar con el tema, el '97 se autoriza la primera experiencia
piloto de aprovechamiento de lagarto en estancias en el Beni y a partir del '99
el Programa Nacional de Conservación y Aprovechamiento Sostenible del Lagarto
comienza a funcionar. Dentro del Programa son tres las autoridades que llevan
el mando, la Dirección General de Biodiversidad Áreas Protegidas y Medio
Ambiente (DGBAPMA), la autoridad científica que en tierras bajas es el museo
Noel Kempff Mercado y la Prefectura Santa Cruz, Beni y La Paz, departamentos
donde se aplica el programa.
Cada
instancia tiene una serie de competencias, pero en definitiva quien da la
última palabra y decide cuándo y cuánto se caza es la DGBAPMA, que debería
sustentar sus números en función de la segunda instancia, el museo Noel Kempff
y los estudios científicos que éste realice. La autoridad administrativa que
debe realizar el control y fiscalización del comercio es la Prefectura.
De acuerdo
a González, los estudios que se realizaron en el país para tomar cupos durante
los años 2000 y 2001 tienen debilidades y los sistemas de control para ver de
dónde provienen los lagartos, son más débiles todavía.
Después de
los estudios en el 2000 y 2001, se decide dejar de contratar a consultores y
que sea el museo el que se encargue, pero al funcionar éste con el dinero que
le daba la prefectura y, como siempre, la lentitud administrativa y burocrática
retrasó el proceso.
Las voces
de alarma comenzaron a cundir entre las comunidades, era evidente que el
sistema no funcionaba y que los cupos y sus costos eran muchas veces negociados
entre los dirigentes y los intermediarios sin que el resto supiera nada. En
cuanto a los predios privados, éstos no ejercen control sobre las comunidades
ni viceversa.
De acuerdo a los estudios realizados con este programa en otros países,
se precisa que se puede extraer un 25% de los lagartos machos sin afectar a la
especie, las exigencias en cuanto al tamaño también evitan que se maten
hembras, que son fácilmente reconocibles por ser más pequeñas. Sin embargo, los cazadores no tenían problema en cazar un
animal de cualquier tamaño o sexo, lo importante era cumplir el cupo con
asignado.
Ahora los animales se clasifican en función de los tamaños en cuatro
clases, la primera es la de los neonatos y no se cuenta. La clase 4 son los
animales que miden más de 1,80 en adelante, desde la punta de la nariz hasta la
cola. Esos animales en su mayor parte son machos.
Manos al remo
Ante esta compleja situación, en el TIPNIS (2) deciden poner manos a la
obra y elaborar un Plan de Manejo, y con el apoyo del Sernap y Mazpa hacer
estudios más precisos de las poblaciones de lagartos, haciendo hincapié en el
componente social y trabajando en la distribución de beneficios, quiénes son
los responsables de la comercialización, etc.
Con un Plan de Manejo que ya supone un avance se busca el apoyo de FAN
con su programa de biocomercio y se empiezan a recibir fondos. Con el soporte
de la Sociedad para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (
Después, bajo el paraguas de un proyecto del PNUD (Programa de las Naciones
Unidas para el Desarrollo) y la FAN y evaluando los niveles de pobreza del
municipio de Loreto, se decidió que se podía hacer un aprovechamiento integral
del lagarto, que beneficie a las comunidades a través de un plan de manejo
municipal. Pero acá el escenario era más difícil. Son varios los actores
comprometidos: indígenas, campesino y ganaderos, lo que planteaba una compleja
ingeniería social y diplomática.
La FAN contrata a ABC para que comience el trabajo y luego de algunos
talleres, conversaciones entre los mismos actores de las comunidades, que
incluyen a la prefectura y a la alcaldía, ABC hace un completo estudio de campo
de la población de lagartos, recorriendo más de 2.400 kilómetros de orillas de
ríos, arroyos, lagunas, etc. “Estos datos nos permiten asegurar ahora que las
poblaciones de lagartos están en buen estado, que incluso algunos sitios pueden
estar sobrepoblados y que no corren riesgo y pueden ser aprovechadas”, explica
González.
Loreto, especial
En el caso del municipio de Loreto, donde se empezó en 2006, se trabajó
también con otros componentes, donde el biológico fue el más simple, pero donde
la realidad social es verdaderamente más compleja: estancias con cupos, que en
general vendían las autorizaciones a los intermediarios, comunidades sin
beneficios, etc., siendo que los cupos son dados al azar sin tomar en cuenta la
realidad biológica, que existe un tráfico de cueros y que las autoridades no
están ejerciendo el control.
Este cupo de animales es distribuido entre la gente que solicita ser
inscrita en el programa y de acuerdo a la cantidad de tierra y cuántos
kilómetros de agua tengan. “En la realidad lo que sucedía es que las
autorizaciones de caza que se le daba a las personas, se vendían a las
curtiembres que pagaban por esa licencia y que al mismo tiempo contrataban
cazadores intermediarios, para que acopiaran el cupo sin tomar en cuenta ningún
límite. No teníamos idea de cuántos animales se
estaban cazando ni de dónde. Y en ese sistema perverso, evidentemente el
beneficio no llegaba a las comunidades, que es la lógica de este programa”,
explica González.
Un
delicioso final
De cada
animal se puede aprovechar una media de 20 kilos de carne de primera. El animal
debe ser matado de un solo tiro porque si sufre, el estrés daña su carne.
Tampoco puede ser golpeado. Y su carne tiene que entrar cadena de frío dentro
de las primeras 6-8 horas. Se ha llegado a un acuerdo con la Universidad del
Beni y Enfopesbe para subsanar este problema.
Para las
comunidades que no tienen accesos camineros, luz eléctrica constante y menos
refrigeradores, salvar este obstáculo era muy difícil. Ahora, el trabajo
incluye entrar hasta los muelles, tractor por medio si es necesario, trasladar
a los lagartos cazados en camiones o camionetas hasta las instalaciones de
Enfopesbe, donde son pelados y refrigerados de inmediato y luego expuestos a la
cadena de frío.
El
ingeniero Pedro Villalobos Vargas, explica que la carne de lagarto es delicada,
similar a la del pescado, y debe ser tratada con cuidado. Una vez bien
refrigerada y empaquetada puede conservar su sabor fresco hasta por 6 meses.
Sin duda el acuerdo ha favorecido a todos: a la institución que puede hacer uso
de sus instalaciones a plenitud y a los comercializadores de la carne de
lagarto, designados por las comunidades, que pueden comercializar un producto
que durante años se desperdició. “Si calculamos las toneladas de cuero de
lagarto que se han utilizado, en desmedro de la carne que simplemente se
tiraba, hemos dejado de percibir miles de dólares”, dice Miguel Guasebe,
presidente de la Subcentral de Comunidades Indígenas Ribereñas del Río Mamoré,
otro veterano cazador que además conforma la parte ejecutiva de las comunidades
junto a Carlos Balcázar, alias 'Kalimán', Dirigente de la Central Campesina de
Loreto.
Ambos, con
el apoyo de las instituciones financiadoras, han unido fuerzas para eliminar a
los intermediarios, que antes formaban parte de una cadena donde el que perdía,
era siempre el comunario.
El cuero
por su parte, inicia un proceso que Ud., podrá conocer en un próximo reportaje
en la curtiembre Bolivian Croco que exporta sus productos hasta Italia,
Alemania y Estados Unidos.
El kilo de
carne de lagarto se le compra al cazador a Bs 8.- y el mercado más abierto
hasta ahora es el de Santa Cruz.
El paso
final del reportaje, obviamente, tiene que ser disfrutar un almuerzo hecho en
base a carne de lagarto. Llegamos al restaurante trinitario reconocido por su
excelencia en los platos en base a lagarto, el “Uhccojirico y Wenco”, donde el
lagarto al ajillo, a la diabla, al perejil y chicharrón de lagarto, es el menú
que acompañado de arroz y la infaltable yuca,
comprueba que el cazador que nos había dicho que valía la pena semejante
trabajo, tenía toda la razón. Ahora es cuestión de pasar la voz.
La
necesidad de proteger las especies en peligro ha hecho que numerosos países
suscriban el convenio Cites (Convención sobre el Comercio Internacional de
Especies Amenazadas de Fauna y Flora Silvestres), creado en 1960. Este convenio regula el comercio y la exportación de
estos animales y sus partes (pieles, cuernos, conchas, etc.)
Territorio
Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro Securé.
CANADIAN PRESS 02 October 09 RCMP
say Canadian tourist's story of Mexican crocodile attack not true
Richmond, B.C.: It was another harrowing story about a
Canadian tourist's ordeal in Mexico: kidnapped, forced to fight, shot and
dumped into water where he was attacked by crocodiles.
The only
problem is the tale the 20-year-old Richmond, B.C., man told his family this
week isn't true, RCMP say. The Mounties checked out the unidentified man's
story with Mexican authorities and a got far different picture, Cpl. Jennifer
Pound said Thursday.
She said the
Canadian was vacationing in Cancun when he tried to use a lagoon as a urinal
despite signs in English and Spanish warning about crocodiles in the water.
Pound said the
man was apparently bitten on the leg, causing him to fall on the rocks in the
water and hurt himself. He also received more bites from the 30-centimetre
(foot-long) crocodiles in the incident, which happened on Tuesday.
Pound said the
young man received basic first aid at a hospital but refused further treatment
and now is back home.
She said the
RCMP made inquiries after the man's story was reported in the media. Some
stories identified him as American.
"The
details of this story were troubling from the beginning," she said.
"It was
absolutely necessary to get to the bottom of it in order to advise the public
of a more truthful depiction of events."
"These
kinds of false accusations can be detrimental to a country such as Mexico, that
thrive on tourism. If tourists are too scared to travel because of false
information, than we are doing that country a disservice if we don't seek
clarification."
Pound said
alcohol was a factor in the incident and the man is not facing any charges.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gejMB7k6JAh2UXmD8Mg1oLgs1PXg
THE AUSTRALIAN (Sydney) 02 October 09 Campers
save tourist from croc (Rebekah Cavanagh)
A tourist has
been attacked by a crocodile after taking a dip in a croc-infested billabong in
Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.
The
57-year-old man ignored the park's crocodile warning signs erected in the area,
the Northern Territory News reports.
He was bitten
on his arm as he swam at Bucket Billabong near his camping ground off the
Arnhem Hwy about 10.30am (CST) today.
Police said
campers on the other side of the bank jumped in a boat and went out and dragged
the man to safety. His rescuers took him to his campsite and provided medical
treatment. He then drove himself to the Jabiru Health Clinic to receive further
treatment.
Police said it
was a deadly reminder for people to use caution when attempting to swim in any
body of water in the Northern Territory.
They said
people should pay particular attention to any signage that may indicate the
presence of crocodiles.
Parks
Australia are now investigating the incident.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26156536-12377,00.html
NEWS ADVERTISER (Ajax, Ontario) 01 Ontario
09 Wet
summer benefits Ontario's salamanders
The good news:
although brutal on butterflies and many birds, two wet summers in a row have
been beneficial for some residents of southern Ontario ecosystems. Ones that
like to stay moist and inhabit soggy places. Ones that breed in wet woods with
shallow pools. Binge feeders that get out and about in rainy weather, storing
up fat for dry times ahead.
We're talking
salamanders.
I suspect many
Ontarians seldom see salamanders and may not even know they exist. They're
silent, small, nocturnal and spend the day under rocks, logs and leaf litter on
the forest floor. None of this hopping about catching insects, like their
amphibian cousins, frogs and toads. Salamanders are slim and streamlined, built
for burrowing.
Which isn't to
say they're insignificant! I've heard tell they make up more of the biomass
than any other animals in an Ontario woods. And play an important role,
catching mites, flies, centipedes, spiders, snails, ants and caterpillars with
their darting tongue.
I see them
most often in fall, when my husband and I are drawing wood in the sugar bush.
Moving heavy blocks that have been sitting on the ground since spring, we'll
often uncover a salamander or two. They're territorial, protecting their
feeding range with scent markers.
Six- to
twelve-centimetres long, the glossy creatures often sit motionless for a while,
wondering where their damp dark shelter has gone, then wriggle off under the
leaves and moss. We're always careful to cover them up with pieces of bark to
keep them from the sun.
Redbacked
salamanders, the species most abundant in our sugar bush, are usually slaty
grey with an orangey-red stripe down their back from head to tail. The
"leadback" colour morph is blackish grey. They're entirely
terrestrial, not needing ponds to mate or lay their eggs in. Instead, the
mother redback lays her eggs in a burrow, curling her body around them for
protection and carefully turning them to avoid mould problems.
Yellow-spotted
and blue-spotted salamanders, the next most common, need shallow ponds to breed
in. On the night of the first warm rain in spring, they all head back to the
exact same pool where they were born, an amazing migration to witness.
Amphibians
were the first creatures to crawl up on land, around 150 million years ago.
Most salamanders have two pairs of legs, like lizards, but they didn't make the
evolutionary transition to a dry habitat that reptiles did. Some have lungs,
others breathe through their skin. The babies have feathery gills that are
re-absorbed when they become adults.
Southern
Ontario was once blanketed with forests and populated with salamanders. But as
soon as a patch of woods is cleared, the salamanders vanish. One more reason to
treasure and protect our precious legacy of woodlands.
http://newsdurhamregion.com/entertainment/article/136516#
TAMESIDE ADVERTISER (Manchester, UK)
01 October 09 Toad alert over pond weedkiller
Toads, frogs
and newts are feared to be in danger after weedkiller was sprayed all around a
pond.
David Cooper
says herbicide has been applied all around the pond in Pole Park, Gee Cross,
Hyde in a band 1ft 6ins to two feet wide to reduce the foliage.
"These
toads are only the size of a five pence piece," Mr Cooper said."They
spawn in the pond and frogs and newts are in there too. The toads lived at the
edge of the pond in the long grass. When me and my brother went down we saw
this strip of dead, yellow foliage around the circumference of the pond.
Nothing could go in or out (of the pond) without going through this. It can’t
be good for anything that crosses it. What will the long- term effects
be?"
He added:
"Whoever did this should have strimmed the grass or used edge
cutters."
David, 53, a
lorry driver, was born on Apethorn Lane and regularly returns to the park to
take photographs of the wildlife.
Greater Manchester
Ecological Unit confirmed that a licence from the Environment Agency is needed
to use herbicides in or near water courses like canals or ponds, particularly
in ancient woodland like Pole Bank Park.
A Tameside
Council spokeswoman said: "Our grounds maintenance team carried out some
routine maintenance in Pole Bank Park including weed control work. We were not
aware of any distress being caused to aquatic wildlife in or around the pond
and subsequent inspections have not revealed any problems that may be
attributed to the work we have undertaken. However, we do take such matters
very seriously and will review how future maintenance in the vicinity of the
pond is undertaken."
She said they
are also looking at improvement works aimed at enhancing the pond as a habitat
for wildlife.
http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/1149731_toad_alert_over_pond_weedkiller
Dorsten.
Ungewöhnliches Angebot in der Dorstener Schildkrötenauffangstation: Tierärztin
Susanne Ewens und Reptilienexpertin Barbara Klobusch bieten dort die
kontrollierte Überwinterung für die gepanzerten Tierchen an - im Kühlschrank.
„Als meine
Mutter hörte, dass El Greco die nächsten Monate im Kühlschrank verbringen wird,
war sie entsetzt”, gibt Daniela Vengels zu. „Ich musste mir diesbezüglich schon
einiges anhören. Ich gebe ja zu, auch ich hatte zunächst Bedenken. Es ist
schließlich das erste Mal.” Ja. Aber nicht nur für sie und für El Greco – auch
für Tierärztin Susanne Ewens und für Barbara Klobusch von der
Schildkröten-Auffangstation. Die beiden Fachfrauen für Reptilien bieten in den
kommenden Monaten nämlich diesen ganz besonderen – für die Tiere allerdings
Über-Lebensnotwendigen Service an: Die kontrollierte Überwinterung.
Tiere
benötigen dringend Ruhephase
„Leider wissen
viele Schildkröten-Besitzer gar nicht, dass die Tiere diese Ruhephase dringend
benötigen”, ärgert sich Susanne Ewens. „Manche Reptilien sind fünf, sechs Jahre
oder noch älter – und haben noch nicht einmal richtig überwintert.” Das soll
sich nun ändern. Zum einen werden die etwa 50 Tiere (Land- und
Wasserschildkröten) aus der Auffangstation nun in den überwachten Schlaf
geschickt, zum anderen aber auch Tiere, deren Besitzer die Möglichkeit nicht
haben, ihren Vierbeinern in der Winterzeit das entsprechend temperierte Umfeld
zu schaffen. „Wir hatten überlegt, ob wir in diesem Punkt nicht mit der
Eishalle in Dorsten kooperieren können. Die haben dort auch große Kühlräume”,
sagt Ewens. Das scheiterte letztlich aber an den Hygienevorschriften.
Nun kommen die
Reptilien natürlich nicht einfach in eine Kiste und ab in den Kühlschrank, wo
sie die nächsten Monaten vor sich hin bibbern. Nein, die Tiere werden zunächst
untersucht, Stuhl- und möglicherweise Blutproben sollen Aufschluss über
eventuellen Krankheits- oder Parasitenbefall geben. Die Veterinärin schaut nach
den Vitalfunktionen der kleinen Patienten. El Greco beispielsweise ist da ein
vorbildlich fitter Kandidat. „Gut gehalten, gut ernährt”, lobt Ewenes. Nicht
jede Schildkröte ist so gut drauf wie der kleine Grieche, der sich bei der
Untersuchung als Griechin entpuppte. Viele leiden unter falscher Haltung und
Ernährung. Oft ein jämmerlicher Anblick. Susanne Ewens tut in diesen Fällen,
was medizinisch noch möglich ist. Inzwischen hat sich die Dorstenerin
bundesweit als Reptilienexpertin einen Namen gemacht. Gleiches gilt für die
Schildkrötenauffangstation. „Wir bekommen inzwischen Tiere sogar aus
Ostfriesland oder Leipzig”, sagt Barbara Klobusch.
Erster
Europäischer Kongress für Reptilien
Die
kontrollierte Überwinterung will Dr. Ewens auch nutzen, um darüber eine
entsprechende Studie anzufertigen. Sie hat Untersuchungsbögen entwickelt, um
möglichst viel Datenmaterial zu sammeln. Ewens: „Nächstes Jahr findet in
München der erste Europäische Kongress für Reptilien statt. Dazu möchte ich
dann eine praktische Anleitung für die kontrollierte Winterruhe fertigen, um
sie Kollegen zur Verfügung zu stellen.”
El Greco indes
interessieren die Daten nicht. Sie ist froh, dass keiner mehr an ihr rumzuppelt
und sie wieder in die Box darf. In einer Woche wird Daniela Vengels El Greco
wieder in die Praxis bringen. Dann kommt die Kleine auf Diät und wird auf den
Winterschlaf vorbereitet, bevor es in die Kühlkammer geht.
Ob's für
Herrchen und Frauchen ein Besuchsrecht in der Winterzeit gibt? „Darüber
verhandeln wir noch”, lacht Susanne Ewens. Spätestens im Frühjahr gibt's
ansonsten ergreifende Wiedersehens-Szenen.
http://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten/staedte/dorsten/2009/10/1/news-135184496/detail.html
MINDENER TAGEBLATT (Germany) 01
October 09 Wo Frösche mit den Büffeln leben - Nabu Projekt: 300 Tümpel für seltene
Amphibien schaffen
Winzlar (ade).
300 Teiche sollen in Niedersachsen in den kommenden fünf Jahren entstehen - als
Heimat für seltene Amphibien. Der Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu hat ein
entsprechendes Projekt von der Europäischen Union genehmigt bekommen.
Der erste
Tümpel, an den Thomas Brandt, wissenschaftlicher Leiter der Ökologischen
Schutzstation Steinhuder Meer (ÖSSM) in Winzlar die Gruppe von Vertretern der
an dem Projekt beteiligten Institutionen führt, ist nur noch eine
"Hohlform". Über diese Bezeichnung habe er vor Kurzem selbst noch
gelacht, sagt Brandt.
Nach diesem
verhältnismäßig trockenen Sommer sei ihm aber klar, weshalb die Tümpel manches
Mal so genannt würden - zu sehen ist eine trockene Mulde mit rissigem
Lehmboden. Holger Brandt klärt auf: Da viele der gefährdeten Amphibien kaum
Schutzmechanismen gegen Feinde hätten, sei es gut, wenn die Tümpel bei
Gelegenheit vollkommen trocken sind. Fische beispielsweise hätten so keine
Chance, sich die Frösche und Kröten zu schnappen.
Rund 100
solcher Tümpel sind mittlerweile angelegt worden. Weitere 165 aus dem nun genehmigten
Kontingent von 300 kommen in diese Umgebung. Rund 1,1 Millionen Euro stehen für
das Projekt zur Verfügung, rund 500 000 Euro davon kommen vom Land
Niedersachsen aus Hannover.
Über die
Anlage der Tümpel hinaus würden von dem Geld auch Landlebensräume aufgewertet -
wie etwa mit Hecken für Laubfrösche oder Rohbodenschaffung für Kreuzkröten. Im
Umkreis eines Kilometers des trockenen Tümpels und des benachbarten Tümpels,
der noch eine größere Pfütze in der Mitte hat, gebe es 14 von 19 in Deutschland
beheimateten Amphibienarten.
Die besondere
Lage mit dem Steinhuder Meer, den Feuchtbiotopen und den Ausläufern der
Rehburger Berge sei für die Vielfalt zuständig - die Vergrößerung der
Populationen in den vergangenen Jahren sei jedoch auf die Schutzmaßnahmen
zurückzuführen.
Und auch für
eine Begleiterscheinung der Amphibiengewässer erhofft Brandt sich noch größere
Populationen: Etliche Tümpel in den Niedermooren teilen sich Frösche, Kröten
und Co. seit Jahren mit Wasserbüffeln. Wie mittlerweile feststeht, sind die
Büffel ideale Gefährten für die Amphibien - und vorzüglich in der Lage die
moorigen Flächen extensiv zu beweiden.
http://mt-online.de/lokales/nachbarschaft/uchte/3166615_Wo_Froesche_mit_den_Bueffeln_leben.html
ÚLTIMA HORA IBIZA (Spain) 01 October 09
Llama al 112 tras toparse en su
terraza con la pitón de su vecino
Un hombre
llamó al 112 a las siete menos diez de la madrugada para advertir de que en su
terraza se había topado con una gran serpiente.
A la
vivienda, ubicada en la avenida Pedro Matutes Noguera, acudió una patrulla de
la Policía Local de Vila, avisada por los servicios de emergencias, cuyos
agentes se entrevistaron con la persona que llamó al 112 y les dijo que la
serpiente podría ser de su vecino.
En
concreto, la serpiente que motivó la alarma del vecino era una Pithon Molurus Bivittatus albina, según la
Policía Local.
Los agentes de
la Policía Local de Vila se pusieron en contacto con el Servicio de Protección
de la Naturaleza (Seprona) de la Guardia Civil para que los especialistas se
hicieran cargo de la bestia.
http://www.ultimahora.es/ibiza/segunda-ib.dba?-1+1006+488793
LA PRENSA (La Paz, Bolivia) 01 October 09 Un lagarto que parece Spiderman
Los vivos colores azules y rojos son misteriosamente parecidos a los de
la estrella de Marvel, y los seguidores del cómic han acudido a las tiendas de
animales para hacerse con uno. El agama parece
el spider-lagarto, se vende como una buena mascota.
El lagarto
de fuego (agama) procede de Kenia, puede crecer hasta 38 centímetros de largo y
se ha convertido en una buena mascota porque es bastante manso y dócil. Sin
embargo, es muy delicado y hace falta tener un equipo especializado para
mantener su temperatura ideal.
Este
lagarto es incapaz de lanzar telarañas, pero se puede poner de pie sobre sus
patas traseras y, como Spiderman, puede escalar paredes.
http://www.laprensa.com.bo/jucumari/01-10-09/01_10_09_edicion11.php
THE RECORD (Cambridge, Ontario) 30 September
09 Turtles,
snakes get their own eco-crossing (Kevin Swayze)
Cambridge: Just call it a turtle tunnel.
As part of the
$4-million rebuilding and resurfacing of George Street and Blair Road this
summer, an extra $2,200 culvert was installed just west of the Cambridge city
limits. It opened for use by reptiles and amphibians a few weeks ago.
“When we were
out here during pre-construction, we saw reptile and amphibian mortality on the
road,” said Chris Gosselin, the region’s environmental planner.
“It’s just
deadly for them, especially turtles. They’re so slow.”
Since Blair
Road was going to be dug up anyway for repaving, Gosselin suggested adding an
“eco-crossing” to keep animals away from passing cars.
For about 10
metres on either side of the corrugated pipe is a wall of concrete retaining
wall blocks, piled as much as one metre high to funnel animals toward a safe
crossing.
“The turtles
can’t get up over it, or snakes. They’ll get here and they’ll see the light at
the end of the tunnel and go right through,” Gosselin said.
The money for
the 18-metre long, 40-centimetre diameter steel culvert came from a $300,000
“environmental stewardship fund” created last year by regional council. It’s
the first money spent from it.
Gosselin says
the money is intended to pay for environmental enhancement projects — like
wildlife tunnels — purchasing of land to protect it or research projects. He
expects to have application forms ready by early next year and start funding
projects not long afterward.
There’s
already an eco-tunnel under Can-Amera Parkway, near Townline Road, at the order
of the Ministry of Natural Resources. It gives access across that four-lane
road between areas of the protected Portuguese Swamp.
The bridge
carrying Westmount Road over Laurel Creek and a bridge along Laurelwood Drive
in Waterloo both have wildlife crossing features.
Gosselin
doesn’t propose ripping up roads to put in tunnels for salamanders. He’s
working with the region’s road reconstruction office to ensure opportunities
aren’t missed when a road is already under repair.
“These things
are quite low-tech,” Gosselin said.
“We’d only
look at them where there’s amphibian and reptile mortality.”
Wildlife
passages around, under or over roads have been popular in Europe since the
1970s, and have slowly come to North America within the last decade, said Geoff
Gartshore, an ecologist at EcoPlans, a Kitchener-based environmental consulting
firm. He recently returned from a U.S. conference where he delivered a research
paper on how to reconnect natural areas torn apart by roads in the Long Point
nature preserve.
A photo of an
eco-passage regularly makes the rounds on the internet: elk cross their own
bridge over a major highway outside Banff, Alta.
Gartshore said
he’s designed animal tunnels built under roads north of Toronto. Cameras were
installed to see if the routes were used.
“There were 17
species counted . . . we are surprised at the number,” he said.
There are no
plans to add a camera to the Blair Road tunnel, but regional officials are open
to university researchers installing one.
Environmental
experts have looked for any evidence that the tunnels create traps for animals
where predators might feast, Gartshore said. So far, nobody has found any hint
that the risk is anything as serious as 80-kilometre-an-hour traffic.
Road projects
are now expected to include efforts to protect wildlife, so Gartshore is busy
looking for ways to include animal crossings along highways in northern Ontario
to a proposed road crossing of Blair Creek in south Kitchener.
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/605832
MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS (New Zealand)
29 September 09 Habitat hope for endangered frog
A small
Marlborough Sounds frog, listed among the most evolutionary distinct and
globally endangered amphibians in the world, will soon take pride of place in Orana
Wildlife Park outside Christchurch.
The park is
run by the Orana Wildlife Trust, which also runs Natureland zoo in Nelson, and
recently received approval from the Department of Conservation to hold a native
frog species.
A specially
created habitat will be built next year for the nationally endangered native
Maud Island frog, said head keeper of native fauna, Tara Atkinson.
"One key
objective will be to breed and rear Maud Island Frogs from eggs through to
adults.
"This has
not been achieved in a captive setting," Ms Atkinson said.
The
announcement coincides with Frog Week which began on Sunday, and to mark a
"global amphibian crisis" described as the single largest mass
extinction since the disappearance of the dinosaurs.
New Zealand
once had seven native frog species, but three became extinct after human
habitation, a statement from Orana Park said.
The four
remaining species are Archey's, Hochstetter's, Hamilton's and Maud Island,
which have changed very little in millions of years. They are small, nocturnal
and have superb camouflage.
Ms Atkinson
said the frog habitat to be built at Orana Park will be the only one of its
type in the South Island.
The process
required to gain permission to hold the frogs included submitting a proposal to
the Native Frog Recovery Group, plus lengthy consultation with scientists, DOC
staff, iwi and other zoos.
Maud Island
frogs number less than 30,000 and the species is restricted to a few island
locations making the animals especially vulnerable to habitat destruction and
predation, Ms Atkinson said.
She said the
new habitat will be built as a nocturnal display which will give visitors the
rare chance to see the animals.
"Orana's
project will be crucially important in raising awareness of a lesser known endangered
native species, while assisting the DOC in preserving these precious native
animals," Ms Atkinson said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/2913262/Habitat-hope-for-endangered-frog
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION 28
September 09 Death knell looms for southern bell frog (Sarah Clarke)
A species of
frog is fighting for survival as water dries up in the lower Murray-Darling
Basin wetlands in south-western New South Wales.
Although some
rain has fallen in the north of the river system, the lower end is still as dry
as a bone in places, and the wetlands area is the hardest hit.
As the
wetlands dry up, the animals, birds and plants that live there are
disappearing.
Skye Wassens
from Charles Sturt University is studying the threatened southern bell frog, a
large species, typically bright emerald green, with irregular black and bronze
spotting on its back.
Dr Wassens
spends a lot of her time wading through what is left of the wetlands at Yanga
National Park. She says every year the volume of water entering the system
drops dramatically and large areas of habitat have been lost as the vast
wetlands become scattered ponds.
"All the
elements at the moment are starting to fail and it's just critical we get water
just to hold these systems over during this dry period," she said.
Part of her
research involves doing a visual and audio count in search of tadpoles and
adult frogs, noting how many calls she can hear, and their location.
But as
habitats dry up, the number of frogs continues to diminish, and some
populations have disappeared altogether.
"In 2000
you'd walk along and they'd just be hopping along in front of you, really in
their hundreds, and we'd collect hundreds in a night," Dr Wassens said.
"Now
we're lucky to collect 100 over a four-month survey period. So they've become
very rare. Maybe you're looking at 20 in a wetland the size of this one."
As the
wetlands dry, the southern bell frog is being exposed to more and more
predators.
Local graziers
around the Murrumbidgee floodplains have played a major role in trying to
rescue the frog.
Steve Blore
and two of his neighbours have redesigned their dams and waterholes in an
effort to give the frog a better chance.
"Probably
what it has done is made us more aware of the bigger landscape," he said.
"If you'd
come here five years ago and said 'southern bell frogs' or whatever ... they're
insignificant, what are they? We couldn't care less about them. Now as you've
seen in the kitchen there, there is a photo of a southern bell frog hanging on
the wall."
Their efforts
have had some success but it is too late for those frogs that have already
disappeared.
A lack of
annual flooding has effectively isolated key populations leaving them
vulnerable to more local extinctions.
Even so, Dr Wassens
remains full of hope.
"They
just need a chance to recruit properly free of carp," she said.
"They
need a large area of habitat. They need the water to be on the wetlands at the
right time and they just need a chance. If they have that chance they'll be
OK."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/28/2698192.htm
THE SUN (London, UK) 28 September 09 It's
Kerm-lit the frog (Harry Haydon)
This
frog looks pretty bulb-ous after biting off more than it could chew while
hunting for insects.
The unlucky
amphibian got its wires crossed after it swallowed the fairy light whole in a
botched bid to catch a bug.
The Cuban tree
frog was snapped by wildlife photographer James Snyder in his back garden.
The
29-year-old, of Palm Beach, Florida, decorated his yard with the bright lights
after realising frogs would flock to eat the swarms of bugs attracted to them.
James, who was
hoping to capture the perfect nature pic, said: "I noticed the frog
glowing on the tree and at first I thought that the frog was sitting on top of
the light.
"I zoomed
in and noticed that the wire was actually going into the frogs mouth, he had
swallowed the entire light, he wasn't sitting on it at all.
"So I
fired off a few more shots, then gently grabbed the wire next to the bulb and
slowly pulled it out of his mouth.
"He
seamed a little lethargic, maybe drunk on the heat from the bulb, but he came
to and slowly crawled away."
James added:
"I've seen him again since, so luckily he didn't croak it."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2657837/Its-Kerm-lit-the-frog.html
ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY (Bloomington,
Illinois) 28 September 09 Professor Helps to Discover New Species of
Frog
Bloomington,
Ill.: Edgar Lehr, assistant professor of
biology at Illinois Wesleyan University, is part of a duo that recently
discovered three new species of frogs living in the forests of southern Peru.
Lehr and his
partner, Swiss-Peruvian ecologist Alessandro Catenazzi from the University of
California at Berkeley, have worked together to uncover more than 10 new
species of amphibians. “We should know what else is living on our planet,” said
Lehr, who noted scientists estimate there are between 5 million to 100 million
organisms on Earth, with only about 2 million classified. “So we are far from a
true understanding of the complete planet.”
The three
recently discovered species are excellent examples of the diversity of
amphibians, according to Lehr. All three new species – Bryophryne hanssaueri, Bryophryne gymnotis, and Bryophryne zonalis – actually do not have a tadpole phase. “Every
school child learns that frog eggs turn into tadpoles, but across the globe,
there are frogs who carry eggs on their back, or in pouches on their back.
There was even a frog in Australia that swallowed eggs to let them develop
inside her stomach,” he pauses and smiles. “Can you tell I love frogs?” With
their discovery, there are now six known Bryophryne
species.
Over the past
several years, Lehr has made nearly two dozen trips to the Peruvian forests.
His first journey there dates back to 1997, when he was working on his
doctorate from the University of Frankfurt am Main in Germany. After earning
his degree, he worked at the State Natural History Collections in Dresden,
Germany, where he was the curator of herpetology. He joined the Illinois
Wesleyan biology faculty this fall.
Along with
advancing the field of biology with their discoveries, Lehr said he and
Catenazzi are also assisting conservation efforts in Peru, reinforcing the
necessity of the protection of the national forests where the frogs were
discovered. “Will tourists be able to see each type of frog discovered?
Probably not,” said Lehr. “But when we report the discoveries to the Peruvian
ministries, it strengthens their arguments that national forests are needed for
these species we never knew existed.”
The co-author
of Terrestrial-Breeding Frogs (Stabomantidae)
in Peru (Natur- und Tier-Verlag, 2009) Lehr has built an impressive
career studying amphibian species. First published at the age of 17, he
discovered a new species of turtle at age 23 when he was studying in South
Vietnam, and so far has described 70 new species. He is the recipient of
several grants, including those from the German Research Foundation, the BIOPAT
initiative, the Alexander von Humbolt Foundation, the Field Museum of Natural
History and the American Museum of Natural History. He is associate editor of
the Journal of Herpetology.
Lehr plans to
return to Peru to continue his research and classification of amphibian
species. “I enjoy the vastly diverse biodiversity,” he said. “I will travel
there until I cannot travel anymore.” Continuing the research is important for
humans to have a deeper understanding of our home, he added. “When we
understand more about the species that live on this planet, we can understand
how we are interconnected, and how each species contributes to our lives.”
http://www.iwu.edu/CurrentNews/newsreleases09/fea_PeruvianFrogs_00909.shtml
WEYMOUTH NEWS (Massachusetts) 28 September
09 Pop
stops traffic so turtle could cross road, almost gets bagged (Neil Russo)
Pop: Put the
kettle on, Mom, I've got a super lemon loaf cake that Eb baked. I had a nice
visit with him and Mr. Snaid. Eb got his copy of Massachusetts Wildlife, the
magazine put out by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Eb was quite
excited because this fall issue is actually a field guide to the reptiles of
Massachusetts. It was originally conceived as a guide to all 'herps' (reptiles
and amphibians), but it was found that there was too much material for one
publication so a separate future publication will be devoted to amphibians, and
this guide covers turtles and snakes.
The three of
us had a good laugh as we recalled the day last June when I had driven Eb and
Snaid to the market and we encountered a large snapping turtle crossing a road.
Eb insisted that I immediately pull off to the side of the road. He then
instructed Snaid to halt traffic, acting as a policeman, while Eb escorted the
snapper to the opposite side of the road. Well as to be expected, the traffic
started to back up which caused one driver to call the police with his cell
phone. Fortunately, by the time the police arrived, the snapper had crossed the
road and the traffic moved along. The policeman questioned the three of us
about the incident and then sternly warned us to never attempt halting traffic
again or face a charge of trying to impersonate a police officer. I kind of
figured he was an ecologist at heart though - because be gave me a smidgen of a
smile and a wink.
Mom: Yes, I
recall that incident. The three of you were quite lucky to just get a warning.
If it happens again, be very careful before you exit the vehicle (dangerous
traffic), and then get behind the snapper and pick it up - keeping well away
from the head - and carry it across. More than likely it was a female as they
travel considerable distances from water to lay their eggs.
I'm happy with
the magazine … although I must admit that even just pictures of snakes make me
uncomfortable. People at MassWildlife state that there is no reason to fear
them. Maybe so but I'm happy when I'm here and snakes are elsewhere!
Pop: You'll
get no argument from me, Mom. My philosophy is the same as yours.
Reptiles and
amphibians are only distantly related, but they have been traditionally placed
together by scientists under a discipline called herpetology; animals
classified as herptofauna, herptiles, or herps, include turtles, snakes,
lizards, frogs, toads, and salamanders.
Herptofauna
are cold-blooded (poikilothermic or ectothermic) meaning they have body
temperatures matching the environment. They typically take advantage of the sun
for warmth, and if they get too hot, will move to shady areas. Since they
cannot manage body temperature internally, they manage by physical adjustment
absorbing sunlight or moving to the shade. Turtles and snakes are masters of
the art.
In winter the
herptofauna must brumate (hibernate) to survive. Some herps become entirely
immobile during cremation, and certain frogs - and perhaps some turtles -
literally freeze, and enter a state of suspended animation until they thaw in
the spring!
Mom:
Massachusetts is near the northern range limit of many herp species, and the
abundance of our herps is sparse when compared with southern regions. Our
awareness of herps is greatest in the spring when basking is necessary and
breeding occurs.
Life cycles
involve annual movements between various habitats (wintering, breeding,
foraging), and many use both terrestrial and aquatic habitats during the course
of a year.
Land
development and extensive road construction - along with ever increasing
traffic - have created significant hazards for many species. Road mortality is
high for turtles, snakes, and other species. They are attracted to the warmth-holding
pavement, and cross roads to breed and deposit eggs. Aerial spraying of certain
pesticides decades ago to control mosquitoes is also believed to have
contributed to a decline in various herps.
Turtles
compensate for the heavy losses by reproducing each year, but the decline is of
great concern to conversationalist, and most species have been granted complete
protection in MA. from collection, killing, and habitat destruction.
Turtles (Testudines) date back around 220 million
years in fossil record, along with the dinosaurs. A recent fossil discovery in
China has scientists theorizing that the turtle shell developed from below. A
belly shell or plastron formed first, and the hope is that further discoveries
will determine how the back shell (carapace) formed.
Mom: About 300
species of turtles are known today. In Massachusetts, they range in size from
just a few inches long and a few ounces in weight to the pelagic (living in the
open seas) leatherback sea turtles that can attain growth of over 6 feet and
weight around 1,000 pounds!
Here in
Massachusetts we have 10 native species and 1 exotic (non-native). Around
Whitman's Pond the snapping turtle is probably the most noted. Snappers
commonly weigh 10-35 pounds. Snappers are also harvested for their meat.
Massachusetts holds the world record for size; a wild-caught snapper weighed
76.5 pounds.
The exotic
turtle is the red-eared slider, which is native to the Mississippi River basin.
It is large with a bold reddish stripe on each side of the head. It is the
classic pet shop turtle - millions of babies were shipped to stores all over
the country. If spotted in the wild, notify MassWildlife because they have the
potential to transmit exotic diseases to native species. (508) 389-6300
The remaining
nine natives are: The Eastern Musk (often called 'stinkpot' because of
foul-smelling secretions when handled), Painted Turtle, Northern Redbellied
Cooter) Spotted Turtle, Bog Turtle, Wood Turtle, Blanding's Diamond-backed
Terrapin, and Eastern Box Turtle. Each species is interesting.
http//turtleatlas.com
LA OPINIÓN CORUÑA (Spain) 26 September 09 ¿De dónde vino la pitón? Los veterinarios del Centro de Recuperación
de la Fauna Salvaje de Oleiros investigan si su origen es asiático o africano
N. R. |
SADA La Policía Local de Sada no ha podido localizar todavía al propietario de
la pitón real que apareció la madrugada del pasado jueves en un tercer piso de
la calle Párroco Villanueva, en un edificio en el que hay numerosos pisos en
venta y en alquiler.
Todavía se
desconoce, por tanto, si la serpiente fue abandonada o escapó de algún
terrario. Lo que parece estar un poco más claro es su procedencia. Los
veterinarios del Centro de Recuperación de la Fauna Salvaje de Oleiros, a donde
fue trasladada por agentes del Servizo de Conservación da Natureza de la Xunta,
estudian si el reptil es de origen asiático o africano, aunque todo parece
indicar en un principio que el oficio hizo un largo viaje desde Asia hasta
alguna de las tiendas de animales de la comarca. La Python Regius que asustó a
los inquilinos del 3ºA del número 24, que descubrieron al animal al mover un
mueble, mide 90 centímetros y pesa menos de un kilo.
Los
vecinos de Párroco Villanueva comentaban ayer la aparición de la serpiente, que
se pudo colar por algún conducto de la ventilación o por una ventana abierta.
Hasta el número 24 se acercó ayer un equipo de Telecinco que pudo constatar que
el tamaño de la serpiente crecía según avanzaba la mañana y se conocía la
noticia. Tanto creció que una señora llegó a comentar que la pitón medía cuatro
metros y medio de longitud. Este tipo de serpientes pertenecen a la familia de
las constrictoras y no son venenosas. Acostumbran a atacar y matar a sus presas
por asfixia. Primero las agarran con la boca y luego enrollan rápidamente su
cuerpo alrededor de ellas. Normalmente se
alimentan de pájaros y pequeños roedores, aunque también capturan otro reptiles
y anfibios.
http://www.laopinioncoruna.es/coruna-metro/2009/09/26/vino-piton/322029.html
GUELPH MERCURY (Ontario) 25 September 09 Variety
of frog species killed on Laird Road
Guelph: A variety of frogs were killed Monday night
during a mass migration across a small portion of Laird Road.
Melanie Sohm,
a masters student and teaching assistant at the University of Guelph and member
of the environmental activist group Land is More Important Than Sprawl (LIMITS)
sifted through 217 amphibian carcasses collected by conservationists Monday.
Green frogs,
leopard frogs, wood frogs, grey tree frogs, spring peepers, American toads and
a garter snake were among the dead conservationist Norah Chaloner brought to
Sohm.
“I was only
asked to record the species; we did not record the number of individuals for
each species,” Sohm wrote in an email to the Mercury. “I can tell you that the
majority were leopard frogs, followed by green frogs and American toads.”
A species of
frog not identified, however, was the western chorus frog, a species many say
is at risk on the site of the proposed Hanlon Creek Business Park.
“The western
chorus frogs could have just as easily been spring peepers. The distinctive
markings were not discernible as the bodies were very badly damaged,” Sohm
wrote. “I just (want) to clarify that due to the status and possible
controversy surrounding the western chorus frog.”
The City of
Guelph elected to close the portion of Laird Road that bisects the HCBP lands
between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. each night as frogs make their way from the land in
which they eat to the wetlands where they will hibernate for the winter.
A small group
of locals have been on the road each night helping frogs safely cross. Next
year, the city plans to build a culvert and use silt fencing in order to allow
the frogs to cross under the road rather than over it.
“It's great
that the city is keeping the road closed for now . . . it would be better if
people actually obeyed the signs,” said Dave Sills, who has twice been out to
help the frogs cross.
“The best
permanent solution is to close Laird Road where it crosses the wetland as soon
as possible.”
Sills
estimates that 350 frogs had been killed through Wednesday night.
http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/538775
LA VOZ DE GALICIA (Coruña, Spain) 25 September 09 Una
pitón espera en Oleiros a que aparezca su propietario - El reptil irrumpió en
un domicilio del centro de Sada el pasado jueves por la mañana
Una pitón
de cerca de un metro y medio de longitud aparecida en un piso de Sada espera
ahora a que su dueño acuda a reclamarla al Centro de Recuperación de Fauna
Salvaxe de Oleiros. Fue la Policía Local sadense, avisada por el 112, la que
acudió al rescate de una familia que se encontró el animal en su domicilio,
ubicado en la avenida Párroco Villanueva de Sada.
Los
agentes llevaron a la pitón a las dependencias policiales y de allí fue
trasladada por la protectora al centro de Oleiros. La hipótesis más probable
para las fuentes de la investigación es que el reptil se escapó de una vivienda
colindante. Ahora, queda que el propietario del animal aparezca para
reclamarlo. No será eternamente. La ley obliga a un mes de espera antes de que sea dado
en adopción. No obstante, la pitón de Sada no volvería a
ocupar una residencia particular. «En casos así donaríamola a unha institución
pública como un zoo, por exemplo», explica Javier Balado, veterinario del
centro oleirense. Balado recordó ayer que «para ter este tipo de mascotas hai
que demostrar que se mercou cun certificado, que foi unha compra en toda
regra».
Tras las
primeras observaciones, el equipo veterinario asegura que la pitón «atópase en
perfecto estado, ben alimentada e sen nengún tipo de lesión». De no ser así el
propietario se enfrentaría a una multa.
Aparezca o
no el dueño, lo único seguro para la pitón es que permanecerá en el Centro de
Recuperación da Fauna Salvaxe de Oleiros durante todo el fin de semana.
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/coruna/2009/09/26/0003_7995906.htm
VARINGEN (Nittedal, Norway) 25 September 09 Salamanderne reddet - kritisk for
frosken: Mens fiskene kjempet for livet,
gliste menneskene på land. (Vegard Førland Venli)
Det er trist å
være vitne til at fisken dør, men det er viktig at vi tar vare på salamanderne våre,
konstaterte ordfører Mette Tønder.
Veterinærinstituttet
sprøytet med rotenon for å utrydde mortefisken i den lille dammen ved Holum
skog. Effekten kom til raskt til syne. Fiskene søkte til overflaten og gispet
etter luft. Til ingen nytte. Snart lå de med buken i vannflaten og ventet på å
komme til fiskehimmelen.
Bittersøt
seier
Biolog Jeroen
van der Kooij og naturentusiast Keith Redford var til stede under hele seansen.
Begge har fulgt dammen tett over flere år og er glade for at fisken nå endelig er
borte.
Men det skulle
vært gjort for to år siden, sier Redford. Han påpeker at salamanderstammen
gradvis har minsket mens byråkratene har tygd på søknaden om å utrydde fisken.
Kommunens miljøvernkonsulent Guro Haug og konsulent Jeroen van der Kooij
er enige. De sendte en hastesøknad til Fylkesmannen høsten 2007 med håp om å få
giftbehandle dammen før snøen kom.
Vi synes det
har tatt altfor lang tid og vi har vært redde for hva som ville skje med
salamanderen i mellomtiden, sier Haug.
Men nå har vi
stor tro på at det vil gå bra med dem, sier van der Kooij.
Kritisk for
frosken
I tillegg til
stor og liten salamander finnes både padde, buttsnutefrosk og spissnutefrosk -
hele fem av seks amfibiearter i Norge. For den rødlistede spissnutefrosken er tilstanden
dramatisk.
I år fant vi
bare èn eggklase i dammen, sier Jeroen van der Kooij. Han påpeker at amfibiene
trolig har levd i dammen i flere hundre år.
Ferskvannsbiolog
Leif Åge Strand var også til stede. Det var han som først påviste salamanderbestanden
i dammen i 2000. Strand føler seg sikker på at fisken først ble satt ut i
dammen i 2007.
Ikke sett ut
fisk
Biolog Jeroen
van der Kooij har registrert så godt som alle amfibier i dammen. Resultatet av
registreringen skal oppsummeres i en rapport til kommunen. Først når denne rapporten er klar, vil man kunne si
noe om hvor nær salamanderne var fra å bli fullstendig utryddet. Rapporten
forventes å være ferdig innen nyttår.
Det viktigste med denne saken er at folk forstår at det ikke bare er å
sette ut fisk hvor som helst, påpeker van der Kooij.
Salamandersaken
2001 påviste
ferskvannsbiolog Leif Åge Strand salamandere i Holum skog
2007 ble det
oppdaget mort i dammen, som trolig er fanget i nabovannet Mortetjern og satt
ulovlig ut
Høsten 2007
sender kommunen en hastesøknad om giftbehandling for å utrydde fisken, som
spiser salamanderegg
Fylkesmannen
nektet å videresende søknaden til Statens forurensningstilsyn før en egen
salamanderplan for regionen var klar
I september i
år ble søknaden fra SFT innvilget som et pilotprosjekt
http://www.varingen.no/artikkel.asp?Artid=24979
YALE DAILY NEWS (New Haven, Connecticut) 23
September 09 Water disrupts frogs’ development (Allegra Krasznekewicz)
There’s
something in Connecticut’s water — and Yale ecology professor David Skelly is
in the process of investigating it.
Thanks to a
$30,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Skelly is set to
continue his research examining why growing numbers of male green frogs
inhabiting Hartford ponds are exhibiting female sexual traits. Central to his
research is the possibility that hermaphrodite frogs might be harbingers of
human health problems resulting from water contamination.
Skelly’s
preliminary research, carried out at 23 ponds in 14 Connecticut communities,
has led him to conclude that male green frogs living in suburban and urban
areas exhibit female sexual traits more frequently than their rural
counterparts. Using histology — a process that involves dissecting frog gonads,
cutting them into small slices, staining them and mounting them on slides — he
found that 21 percent of male frogs in suburban ponds and 18 percent in urban
ponds exhibit immature eggs growing in their testes, whereas only 7 percent of
frogs in agricultural regions demonstrate this abnormality.
“Amphibians
appear to be relatively indestructible — this is a group of animals that has
weathered just about everything nature has thrown at them,” Skelly said in a
podcast called “It’s Not Easy Being a Frog” on the Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies’ Web site. “[But] in the last 20 to 30 years, we’ve
recognized a real phenomenon, that all over the world, the frogs are
disappearing; we’re losing species, we’re losing populations, and we have this
deformity phenomenon going on.”
The importance
of Skelly’s research lies in its implications for human health. Previously, it
was thought that agricultural pesticides, such as atrazine, were the key
factors causing amphibian abnormalities. In past studies, Skelly and other
biologists have found populations of frogs with missing or additional limbs in
several parts of North America and linked it to agricultural practices.
Now, frogs’
sexual development is becoming equally abnormal.
Based on the
lower numbers of hermaphrodites in agricultural areas compared to those near
urban and suburban developments, Skelly is forwarding a new hypothesis linking
sexual abnormalities with pharmaceutical pollution.
“We are seeing
a lot of pharmaceutical companies advertising all sorts of drugs to cure all
sorts of maladies, and we are encouraged to use pills instead of implementing
lifestyle changes,” said Oswald Schmitz, professor of population and community
ecology at the environment school. “One of the consequences of this overmedication
is that the residue of drugs, passed out of the body through urine, is building
up in our sewage systems.”
Because sewage
systems are not equipped to deal with these types of chemicals, they remain in
the water that ends up in rivers and lakes. According to Skelly and Schmitz,
one possibility is that rising levels of estrogenic compounds, the major
ingredient of birth control medications, in the water might be affecting the
developmental pathways of frogs and create the observed gender abnormalities.
Frogs are good
for studying effects of environmental degradation because they spend the
majority of their time in water, where pollutants accumulate.
Although
Skelly’s work highlights a formidable threat to green frog species, the larger
question remains: Are amphibian deformities due to environmental changes a
warning sign of human health issues to come?
George
Chappell, communications officer at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving,
the study’s funding source, said the Foundation funded this research due to
these potentially very important implications.
“While we have
no information linking illness in amphibians to human health, the fact remains
that they are vertebrates like us and share similar physiological and
developmental pathways,” Skelly said in a statement. “Understanding the cause
[of abnormalities] in amphibians can help us characterize risks to other
species, including humans.”
Though a
definitive link between chemicals in the water, amphibian deformities and human
health risks has yet to be established, one thing remains clear. As Schmitz put
it, “Nature is telling us that we’re doing something to the environment and we
better start paying attention to exactly what it is.”
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/scitech-news/2009/09/23/water-disrupts-frogs-development/
KOREA TIMES (Seoul) 20 September 09 Imported
Fungal Disease Threatens Local Frogs (Kim Tong-hyung)
Scientists
reported that a deadly disease sweeping through the populations of frogs,
toads, newts and other amphibians across the globe has reached South Korean
shores, heightening concerns over the protection of local species.
A research
team led by Seoul National University (SNU)'s Lee Hang confirmed the local
existence of the killer disease, chytridiomycosis.
The fungal
disease is blamed for the extinction of about one-third of the 120 frog species
lost since the 1980s, and has some scientists fearing the largest mass
extinction since that of dinosaurs.
In a study
published in peer-review journal Disease of Aquatic Organisms, Lee's
team said batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
(Bd), the fungus that causes
chytridiomycosis, was discovered in seven frog species collected from the wild
here.
The fungus was
also present in frogs imported as pets, which give clues on how the disease got
to Korea, Lee said.
"These
results confirm that Bd is present in
South Korea and, hence, on the Asian mainland. Studies are urgently required to
determine the impact of chytridiomycosis
on Korean amphibians, and to map the distribution of Bd in Korea and other
Asian mainland countries," the study said.
Lee said that
the arrival of chytridiomycosis could further threaten locally endangered
amphibians such as the "maeng kkongi,"
or narrow-mouthed frog, and the Korean golden frog.
The disease
kills the animals by damaging their skin, thus blocking the passage of air and
moisture and effectively suffocating them.
Bd, first identified in 1998, is firmly established
in parts of the Americas, Australia and Europe, but its presence in Asia has
not been previously confirmed. Lee called for stronger measures to detect
diseases in imported animals more quickly and prevent them from spreading.
"Past
studies have shown that the international transmission route of
chytridiomycosis has been provided by the movement of amphibian animals from
country to country through trade," Lee said.
"The
country needs to put a closer watch on frogs and other amphibians imported here
as pets. There should be stricter rules on the importing and exporting of
amphibians."
Chytridiomycosis was added to the list of wildlife
diseases of concern of the OIE (World Organization of Animal Health) in 2001.
The disease
has so far proven unstoppable in the wild, with scientists saying it can kill
up to 80 percent of a native amphibian population within 4 to 6 months after
its arrival.
However, not
all amphibians develop the disease, as some species carry and spread the fungus
without developing any symptoms.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/09/113_52156.html
TELEPRENSA (Almería, Spain) 18 September 09 La Guardia Civil interviene en Taberno tres
ejemplares adultos de Tortuga de Espolones Africana
Almería: Durante la tarde del pasado día 15, Agentes
del Servicio de Protección de la Naturaleza (SEPRONA) de la Guardia Civil de
Albox (Almería), recuperan 3 ejemplares adultos de Tortuga de espolones
africana (Astrochelys yniphora), localizadas en instalaciones habilitadas para
su cría en cautividad, junto a un domicilio de la localidad almeriense de
Taberno.
La Guardia
Civil recupera los animales al tener conocimiento de la localización en
libertad de una tortuga adulta, de considerable tamaño y con un peso superior a
los 25 Kg., en el Paraje “Los Gregorios”, próximo a la localidad de Taberno.
Los agentes
del SEPRONA de la Guardia Civil verifica, que el reptil encontrado se trataba
de una Tortuga de espolones africana (Astrochelys
yniphora), animal foránea de la zona y protegida por diversa normativa,
entre la que se encuentra el Anexo A del Apéndice I del Convenio Internacional
de Especies Amenazadas de Flora y Fauna Silvestre (CITES).
A
continuación, los agentes de la Guardia Civil recopilan diversa información,
realizando a la vez un minucioso reconocimiento de la zona de localización del
ejemplar, logrando localizar un cortijo próximo, con unas instalaciones
preparadas para la cría de animales, entre los que encuentran otros dos
ejemplares de la misma tortuga.
Tras comprobar
los agentes de la Guardia Civil que la persona responsable de la vivienda no
puede presentar la documentación de la procedencia legal de los reptiles, al
tratarse de una especie protegida, proceden a su incautación y puesta a
disposición de la Autoridad competente, indicando ésta a los agentes que otros
dos ejemplares de tortuga se había escapado de la instalación.
Por otro lado
el SEPRONA de la Guardia Civil, advierte que la entrada de animales exóticos e
invasores, pone en riesgo y amenaza con destruir la biodiversidad de la
Península Ibérica. Observar hoy en día en el
territorio español un cangrejo de río, una malvasía cabeciblanca o un visón
europeo es casi un milagro. Estas tres
especias se encuentran en grave amenaza por la llegada masiva de animales
invasores.
La procedencia de estos animales invasores son muy variadas como por
ejemplo a través del comercio marítimo (barcos), aunque la mayoría de los casos
la invasión está provocada por la suelta voluntaria de particulares, como es el
caso de las Psitaciformes (cotorra Kramer, Inseparables -Agapornis- o
Periquitos), las tortugas de Florida o como en este caso las serpientes (pitón,
boa, etc.).
Por otro
lado el hecho se soltar animales no autóctonos puede constituir las
infracciones siguientes:
En el
ámbito Penal: Delito relativo a la protección de la flora, fauna y animales
domésticos, siempre y cuando la introducción o liberación de estas especies
perjudique el equilibrio biológico de la zona.
En el
ámbito administrativo: La Ley 8/2003, de flora y fauna silvestres de Andalucía,
clasifica como muy grave la infracción consistente en la introducción de
ejemplares de fauna silvestre no autóctonos sin autorización (multa de
60.101’22 a 300.506’05 €).
Además la citada Ley dispone que los propietarios responsables de
cualquier ejemplar de especies no autóctonas, vienen obligados a adoptar las
medidas de seguridad que garanticen el total confinamiento de los mismos, a fin
de evitar su fuga y propagación en el medio natural. En caso de que se produzca
la citada fuga deberán comunicar este hecho a la Consejería de Medio Ambiente
en el plazo máximo de 48 horas (el incumplimiento de este precepto está
calificado como infracción grave).
El SEPRONA de
la Guardia Civil RECOMIENDA, no obstante, que aquellas personas que posean
animales no autóctonos, antes de abandonarlos, se pongan en contacto con la Delegación
Provincial de la Consejería de Medio Ambiente o la Guardia Civil (SEPRONA) para
hacerles entrega de los mismos, evitando con ello las infracciones
anteriormente reseñadas, contribuyendo así a la protección de la biodiversidad
y del animal en cuestión.
TASMANIA MERCURY (Hobart, Australia) 16
September 09 Hunt on for growling frog (Sally Glaetzer)
Have you ever
heard a frog growling in your garden?
If you have,
wildlife experts want to hear about it because they fear Tasmania's green and
gold frogs may be disappearing.
The frogs,
known in Victoria as "growling grass frogs" because of the males' distinctive
call, are listed as threatened nationally because of pollution and declining
habitat.
"At a few
of the sites in the Hobart area previously recorded for the species we haven't
been able to find any evidence of them," said state wildlife health officer
Annie Philips.
"We would
like to know if they are still out there."
Dr Philips
said now was the perfect time for backyard sleuths to investigate.
"The rain
leads them to vocalise, making them easier to locate," she said.
The department
hopes Hobart residents will email location details, photos and call recordings
to david.wilson@dpipwe.tas.gov.au
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/09/16/97545_lifestyle.html