HERP
NEWS 282/2009
KSAT (San Antonio,
Texas) 09 October 09 7 Snakes Killed At Coker Methodist United
Church, School
San Antonio: A church on the city's north side is battling
a snake invasion.
More than a dozen snakes,
some of them baby rattlesnakes, were found at Coker Methodist United Church and
Coker Methodist Day School at east North Loop Road near West Avenue.
Church and school
officials said the snakes moved in recently following some heavy rains.
"We have killed seven
snakes since the rains in September," said Jodie Sell of Coker United
Methodist Church. "Some of them were in the prayer garden, some of them
were on the school playground."
School officials have
suspended all outdoor activities while crews look for more snakes.
http://www.ksat.com/weather/21249605/detail.html
TIMES
OF INDIA (New Delhi) 09 October 09
Albino common krait rescued
Panaji: An Albino common krait was found in a house on
Tuesday at Conem, Priol. Animal lovers, who rescued it, say it may have
survived under difficult conditions.
The one-metre long snake,
an uncommon one because of its low pigmentation, may have survived after
restricting its movement to the dark. Amrut Singh of the Bicholim animal rescue
squad (ARS) said, "It is active only at night, hence it could have survived
for some time and grown to such a length."
On finding the snake, the
owner of the house informed Sandesh Amonkar, a member of the ARS. The reptile
was rescued at 8.15 pm on Tuesday and taken to Bicholim.
Stating that releasing it
in the wild, especially during the day, would endanger its survival due to the
harshness of direct sunlight, the snake has been kept under observation and
cared for by the squad, whose members are trying to collect more information
about it. "If we release it, it may die," Singh said, adding that
finding albino snakes is uncommon.
Nirmal Kulkarni, a
herpetologist said, "Lack of colour pigmentation makes it difficult for it
to survive in the wild. A proper scale count of animals like these should be
taken and other taxonomic (science of classification) details worked out."
The common krait is found
in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and is considered one of the deadliest of
snakes.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/city/goa/Albino-common-krait-rescued/articleshow/5104306.cms
MOORESVILLE
TRIBUNE (N Carolina) 09 October 09
Wayward tortoise is returned home
A 40-pound desert tortoise
missing for more than a week from a Mooresville home was returned to its owner
late Thursday night.
Jacki Bagwell said her
beloved Sulcata tortoise, named Chip, was spotted walking down a dirt road
about 9:30 p.m. by a motorist. The driver called Bagwell, whose number had been
posted on "Lost Tortoise" flyers posted in the area.
Bagwell said Chip had
gotten out of her home off Perth Road on Oct. 1. The family was particularly
worried because the tortoise is a warm-weather reptile and the nights have been
cool recently.
http://www2.mooresvilletribune.com/content/2009/oct/09/wayward-tortoise-returned-home/news/
WPDE (Myrtle Beach,
Florida) 09 October 09 Alligators on golf courses: how often do
attacks happen? (Joel Allen)
Alligators are a common
sight on golf courses all over the Grand Strand.
The 13th hole at Dunes
Golf and Beach Club is world famous, one of the top 100 holes in the country, according
to Sports Illustrated.
Among local golfers, the
hole is well known for another reason: gators.
"There's some here
must be 12, 14 feet long. And there's some smaller ones, 8 feet. I've seen them
all sizes," said golfer Dick Spivey.
The head golf pro says
some newcomers think the "beware of alligators" signs are just an
inside joke or self-promotion based on the course's gator logo.
But no, this warning is
very real.
"We've had upwards of
3,4,5 on a hole at a time, laying on the banks," said Dennis Nicholl Head
Golf Pro at Dunes Club.
Most of the time, that's
all the gators do, lay on the banks of Singleton Lake or drift by quietly.
No one can recall any
golfer anywhere in the area having a problem with a gator.
"Most of it is snakes
or some other forms of creatures that get in your way.
But the alligators kind of
mind their own business and really don't bother you," Nicholl added.
The golf says in a way,
the gators have as much to fear from humans as humans do from the gators. So
the key for golfers and gators to get along is for the golfers to just use
common sense.Nicholl said, "We warn them, tell them just to stay a safe
distance and if they get too close, the gators just kind of slide into the
water and swim away."
The gators are so mild-mannered
some golfers don't believe they're real.
According to local legend,
years ago, an older woman saw an alligator in her path and was convinced it was
just a prop. "She walked up and tapped it on the head and when it looked
at her, they say you never seen a 70 year old lady run so fast in your
life," Nicholl explained.
The moral of this story:
take a picture of a gator, from a distance, but don't tap one on its head.
An alligator's bite can
produce more than 2,000 pounds of pressure.
http://www.carolinalive.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=361282
SCIENTIFIC
AMERICAN (New York, New York) 09 October 09 What Is
Killing South African Crocs? Mass deaths
of South Africa's Nile crocodiles puzzle biologists (Naomi Lubick)
Carcasses of adult
crocodiles do not usually signal the return of winter in South Africa, but mass
death seems to be becoming the harbinger of the season. Rangers at the Kruger
National Park have found Nile crocodiles floating in the Olifants River or
bloated and decaying along its banks. Investigators are rushing to figure out
the cause and worry that the deaths might be signaling the presence of toxins
or pathogens that could threaten not only the croc population but also the
livelihoods of the people living near the river.
The Olifants River runs
several hundred kilometers through three South African provinces and into
Mozambique. It supplies water to industrial agriculture operations that send
food to Europe and to the local rural communities, which also depend on those
waters for fishing and farming.
The first sign of croc
trouble in the river came in the winter of 2008, when rangers collected 170
dead individuals, sometimes at a rate of 20 bodies a week. A survey at the end
of this May showed nearly 400 crocs living in the park’s gorge, down from at
least 1,000 in 2008. So far, as of August 7, rangers and scientists have
found 23 carcasses.
After slicing open some of
the crocodile corpses last year, researchers determined some kind of
pansteatitis—an inflammation of adipose tissue—was killing the animals.
Specifically, their tails were swollen with the hardened, enlarged fat
deposits, which had stiffened and immobilized the crocodiles and left them
unable to hunt. Samples of the fat showed the deposits had oxidized to bright
yellow.
The disease may not be
limited to crocs. Scientists found the same kinds of fat deposits in fish in
the Olifants River. And in the river’s gorge just upstream from Massingir Dam
in Mozambique, which also has seen croc declines, birds were absent, raising
the possibility that they, too, have succumbed to the same agent.
But the cause behind the
strange fattening remains a mystery. In June a team led by Henk Bouwman of
North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, in South Africa reported test
results from crocodile tissues at two European chemistry meetings. “Everything
is there,” Bouwman says, referring to the detection of DDT, PCBs, dioxins and
brominated flame retardants, “but nothing is screaming, ‘it’s me, it’s me, it’s
me.’ ”
One possibility could be
related to dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria found upstream in the catchment,
which might be releasing toxins similar to those that cause red tides in marine
environments, says Peter Ashton, a water resources specialist at the Council
for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa and the University of
Pretoria.
“It never is a quick, easy
solution” in which it takes one test to find a culprit, explains Danny
Govender, a disease ecologist for South African National Parks. She notes that
samples taken from live crocs in 2007 showed that the fat of some crocodiles
was beginning to harden. Along with Bouwman, she hypothesizes that all these
toxins, found below harmful levels individually, could be acting together in a
deadly brew.
Govender cites changes to
the river’s ecosystem that stem from infrastructure outside the park, including
hundreds of coal-mining operations upstream, where crocodiles have disappeared
almost completely, and a dam downstream of the gorge. For the first time in the
two decades since it was built, the dam’s reservoir was full last year, slowing
down the Olifants’s flow through the crocodiles’ gorge. Govender wonders if the
slowed water enabled toxins to build up along the crocodiles’ stretch of the
river. Indeed, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and other compounds from river
sediments probably caused massive fish deaths in July, scientists have
concluded, and crocs eating these contaminated fish could have been affected.
Even if researchers find
the culprits, the impacts could reach further than suspected. “We really
underestimated [the number of dead] crocodiles from last year’s count,”
Govender adds, noting that their bodies could have been eaten by other crocs or
sunk to the bottom of the river. “I suspect we’re losing a lot of breeding
females,” whose carcasses are smaller and more easily scavenged. If that is the
case, she says, the gorge’s crocodile population may not ever recover, even if
scientists can pinpoint the cause of the die-off.
As for the people who
depend on the Olifants River, “I don’t know what to tell them,” Bouwman says.
His colleague Henrik Kylin of Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in
Uppsala wants to go into Mozambique to test fish there, and possibly people, to
see if the croc killer kills more than just crocs.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-killing-crocs
LEADER-NEWS (Melbourne,
Australia) 09 October 09 Two boa constrictors seized in Craigieburn
(Shaun Turton)
A man will face court
today after two boa constrictors were seized from a house in Craigieburn.
Department of
Sustainability and Environment operations manager Keith Larner said wildlife
officers and police from Fawkner Divisional Response Unit executed a search
warrant at 7am today.
It is alleged two large
enclosures were discovered, each housing a three-metre boa constrictor.
A number of other native
reptiles were also kept at the house, but Mr Larner said the occupant held a
valid license for them.
He said boa constrictors
were known to host the fatal inclusion body disease, which can be transferred
to native pythons.
“We’re particulary
concerned about the disease spreading to pythons and we’re extremely concerned
about the release of one these snakes into the wild,” Mr Larner said.
“(The disease) has been
around for a number of years and we’ve found it in native reptiles that have
been co-housed with exotic reptiles.
“Because there’s such as
black market for exotic snakes we don’t know how far it has spread (in
Australia).
“That’s why we’re so keen
to pick up exotic snakes.”
Mr Larner said the man was
facing numerous charges in relation to the snakes.
He said DSE would try to
find a home for the boa constrictors.
http://leader-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/two-boa-constrictors-seized-in-craigieburn/
LEADER-NEWS (Melbourne,
Australia) 09 October 09 Clouds’ slither lining in Melton (Greg
Gliddon)
A Melton snakecatcher has
warned people to keep an eye out for snakes after the recent wet weather.
Per Thomsen said the
recent rain coupled with ongoing development throughout the shire meant snakes
were likely to find shelter in built-up areas as their natural habitat
disappeared.
Melton’s Pauline Osborne
said she was walking with her three granddaughters and daughter last Monday
when she came across what she believed to be a tiger snake in Melton’s central
business district.
“We were just taking the
children for a walk and we saw one slithering along the footpath near
Palmerston St,” she said.
“Usually you see a couple
when the weather heats up, so to see one so early was a shock.
“I’m not sure what it was.
It looked a bit stripey so it might have been a tiger.”
Mr Thomsen said there was
every chance Mrs Osborne saw a tiger snake.
“In Melton we get a lot of
tigers and a lot of brown snakes,” he said.
“The most common snake in
this area is the copperhead and you find a lot of them near the Werribee River.
“We often get call-outs
after some rain as the snake has been displaced because its home has been
washed out.”
Mr Thomsen said the best
advice if anyone saw a snake was to leave it alone.
“It’s probably more scared
of you than you are of it,” Mr Thomsen said.
“You often see people
getting bitten because they’ve tried to handle one.
“Get any pets and children
away from it and call a snakecatcher to come and remove it.”
Anyone seeing a snake can
phone Snake Rescue on 0408 365 948.
http://leader-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/clouds-slither-lining-in-melton/
TIMES-ARGUS (Barre,
Vermont) 09 October 09 Lampricide kills salamanders in river - By some estimates, as many as 512 mudpuppies
died after lampricide treatment in the Lamoille River. (Louis Porter)
Montpelier: When the state treated the Lamoille River
with a chemical to kill sea lamprey last week, a large number of mudpuppies, a
prehistoric-looking creature that is the second rarest salamander in Vermont,
were killed as well.
Final numbers are not in,
but by some estimates as many as 512 mudpuppies died after the Lamoille
treatment. Only two dozen mudpuppies have been killed by previous lampricide
treatments in Vermont, which are meant to kill parasitic lamprey that harm or
kill fish in Lake Champlain.
The reclusive mudpuppies,
which can grow to be 14 inches long and have a branching network of external
gills extending from their throats, are a species of special concern and of
greatest conservation need in Vermont, meaning they are rare and biologists
carefully watch their status. They are not legally protected or have threatened
or endangered species status, although in the past some have suggested they
should be given protection in the state.
The numbers killed are
higher than he is comfortable with, said Jim Andrews, an adjunct professor at
the University of Vermont and the coordinator of the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian
Atlas. The response by the state to such a die-off of mudpuppies would likely
be quite different if a private company, rather than the government, had caused
it, Andrews said.
"The assumption is
that there is no real cost involved" in the lampricide treatment, Andrews
said. "There is a cost."
But there is also a cost
in not using the chemical and other means of lowering sea lamprey populations,
said Vermont Fish and Game Commissioner Wayne Laroche.
A variety of fish species
are harmed or killed by lamprey. Some, like lake trout, are valuable game fish
while others — the Lake Sturgeon, for instance — are endangered, Laroche said.
Laroche said the treatment
to control lampreys is not just about the economic benefit of sport fishing to
Vermont but about maintaining a balance of all species — including sea lamprey
which although native to the Lake Champlain basin, have dramatically increased
in number as more silt has provided more spawning grounds.
"Lake sturgeon are
endangered, they have been devastated," Laroche said. "Sea lamprey,
if left unchecked, could cause extinction of the natural genetic population
left in Lake Champlain."
Lampricide is applied to
rivers in the Lake Champlain basin by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Dept. in
partnership with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
According to a recent
statement from the Vermont department "under the sea lamprey control
program, TFM (3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol) is applied in precise concentrations
to the streams in a continuous, metered manner over a 12-hour period in order
to kill the immature, larval form of the sea lamprey.
The application, according
to that statement, should have "little or no effects on populations of
other aquatic species."
But the number of
mudpuppies killed in the Lamoille during the lampricide treatment a week ago
raises questions about how well biologists understand the population of the
salamander, the effect of the chemical used to control lamprey and the potential
that other stresses can put the creatures at risk during such treatments,
Andrews said.
"These are complex
systems we are tinkering with," he said.
"It is a large
number," Laroche said of the mudpuppies killed. But, he added, "I am
not alarmed."
The large number of
mudpuppies killed might mean that the Lamoille — which has never been treated
with lampricide before — has a very high population of the mottled brown
salamanders, he said.
"We could have an
abundance of mudpuppies and just have a situation where it is difficult to find
them and catch them," Laroche said.
Laroche said as the data
and research on the most recent treatment with lampricide comes in it will be
evaluated objectively and thoroughly.
"If we find out
something went wrong on this treatment we are going to make sure it doesn't
happen again," Laroche said.
But — in part because of
the effect on the sport fishery — lamprey control is a very political issue,
one that scientists in the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department can be afraid
to speak out about, said Andrews.
Mudpuppies are not the
only species besides sea lamprey killed by past lampricide applications. Other
kinds of lamprey that do not pose the same risk to fish, including the
endangered brook lamprey, have also been killed, although apparently not in the
most recent application.
"It doesn't
distinguish between sea lamprey and the other species," said Andrews.
But Laroche said the
department does what it can to avoid killing those other lamprey species.
"We are doing everything
we can to minimize the impact on brook lamprey," Laroche said.
http://www.timesargus.com/article/RH/20091009/NEWS03/910090350/1004/SPORTS
BURLINGTON
The treatment was applied
Oct. 1 at the Peterson Dam in Milton. A survey downstream over the next two
days found, in addition to dead lampreys, hundreds of dead mudpuppies, said
Bradley Young, a fish biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Young did
not have numbers; he said small numbers of several other species also were
found.
Jim Andrews, a
herpetologist and chairman of the state's Reptile and Amphibian Scientific
Advisory Group, said he'd been told the preliminary figure for dead mudpuppies
was 512. He said the largest mudpuppy die-off in previous Vermont lamprey
treatments on other streams was below 30, and the largest die-off on the New
York side, in the Ausable River, was fewer than 200.
"We know this is a
significant hit," Andrews said. Because a post-treatment survey typically
covers just part of the river, roughly 10 percent or 20 percent, the actual
die-off is likely to be larger, he said.
However, the size of the
pre-treatment mudpuppy population in the Lamoille is unknown, so it's unclear
how large a fraction might have died. Young said efforts are under way to
determine how large the remaining population is.
Calls Thursday afternoon
to the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, the lead agency in the
treatment and survey, were not immediately returned.
This was the first
treatment on the Lamoille, where a large population of lampreys was found this
year, and the only treatment of the year for Lake Champlain's tributaries in
Vermont. The lamprey is a parasitic eel-like fish that reproduces in rivers,
then makes its way into the lake, where it attaches to prey, sucks blood, and
damages game fish populations.
A pesticide has been used
in about a dozen Vermont and New York streams feeding the lake since 2002, with
the aim of killing lamprey larvae. According to the Vermont Agency of Natural
Resources, the pesticide -- 3-trifluoromethyl-4-notrophenol, known as TFM -- is
applied in precise concentrations in a metered manner over a 12-hour period.
The agency says the treatments have helped restore fish populations in the lake
and that wounding rates have diminished.
In a news release last
month announcing the Lamoille application, the agency said the treatment has
"little or no effects on populations of other aquatic species."
Conservationists have
opposed the lamprey treatment, contending that effects on other species are not
fully known. In the Lamoille, softshell turtles and freshwater mussels also
were species of concern, said Mollie Matteson of the Center for Biological
Diversity in Richmond.
Andrews said the mudpuppy,
a form of salamander that retains its gills and remains aquatic after it
outgrows the larval phase, can grow to be 16 inches long, with a lifespan of 10
to 20 years. It is not an endangered species, but is considered a "high
priority conservation species." On a five-point scale, with "1"
the rarest and "5" most common, the mudpuppy is classified as a
"2."
A proposal several years
ago that the mudpuppy be given protected status was rejected by state
officials, in part because this could prevent lamprey control, because the
salamander could be killed by lampricides. The mudpuppy's range is the same as
that for lamprey, Andrews said -- from the lake to the first big obstacle in
the river, which in the Lamoille's case was the Peterson Dam. The dead lampreys
and mudpuppies were found along the full length of the river from the dam to
the lake, Young said.
Lamprey control has been a
state priority, urged by commercial fishing derby organizers and sport
fishermen, who opposed putting the mudpuppy on the state's endangered list.
They have prevailed, Andrews said, over the relatively few who "speak up
for nongame species."
The advisory group Andrews
chairs recommended this summer to the Vermont Endangered Species Committee that
a lampricide treatment permit for the Lamoille be denied. The group's June 24
memo cited concerns about spiny softshell turtles, and then said:
"We also continue to
be very concerned about the potential impacts of lampricides on Vermont's
population of Mudpuppies."
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910090308
COFF
COAST ADVOCATE (Coffs Harbour, Australia) 09 October 09 Lamenting
the legendary Leroy
Care-Free, educational and
loving are not three words you'd ordinarily use to describe a snake, but there
was nothing ordinary about Steve McEwan's Leroy.
Sadly, the 24-year-old
black-headed python and star of Steve McEwan's Reptile World passed away last
week.
Known and loved by anyone
who saw Steve's show over the past five years, Leroy was a celebrity in his own
right.
“A lot of kids grew up
with Leroy,” Steve said.
“And a lot of people got
over their fears with him. Local pre-schoolers are going to be absolutely
devastated, they loved him.
“They used to sit in a
circle with their legs out and he would crawl over their legs.”
He's also had cuddles with
television star Mike Whitney and the NSW Premier Nathan Rees.
At 24 years of age, Leroy
had definitely been around.
Previously owned by Phil
Emmanuel, he became a part of the McEwan show nine years ago and has since
become quite a celebrity.
Steve said he lived a long
and full life.
“He was going through the
shedding process, had a belly full of food and had made love - he died a happy
snake,” Steve said.
“He really was part of the
family, we knew it was coming but it was still very sad.
“He was the most
educational, carefree and loving animal - it really is hard to describe him, he
was a very different snake.”
Leroy is survived by his
son Buddy, who will now take over as the star of Steve's Reptile World show.
“He's not as long or big
but he's only five years old so he'll get there.”
“Before he died he passed
on his genes - he's going to be a dad again.”
http://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/story/2009/10/09/lamenting-the-loving-and-legendary-leroy/
THE
HINDU
(Chennai, India) 09 October 09 After the deluge, it’s snakes now (G.V.R. Subba Rao)
Vijayawada: With the
floodwater receding in the Krishna and life slowly limping back to normalcy,
the officials as well as the affected people are faced with the problem of
snakes sneaking into inundated houses.
Even as the Vijayawada
Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials have started looking out for snake
catchers, their attempts seem to be bearing no fruits as the handful of snake
catchers have apparently migrated to safer places from their flood-ravaged
localities.
The officials say they
require 6 to 10 snake catchers for deploying them in the flood affected areas
in the city. Officials say two to three families of snake catchers used to live
near Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) and a few others near Durga Mahal and
Sailaja theatres.
But, they were not to be
seen now. They plan to bring them from the outskirts of the city.
Officials decided to hire
snake catchers as snakebite case was reported from a flood-hit locality in
Yanamalakuduru downstream of Prakasam Barrage. A 30-year old person was bitten
by the reptile when he was trying to clean his house after the water had
receded. He was given first aid and admitted to hospital. People of other
localities, both upstream and downstream of the barrage, have been coming
across live as well as dead baby pythons and cobras.
Deputy DMHO and flood camp
officer Kolli Srikaruna Murthy says floods drive snakes and rodents into areas
that they may not venture into normally, such as homes and storage buildings.
Floods could cause new infestations of insects, rodents, snakes and other pests
that can cause health problems for humans and livestock.
As a precautionary
measure, anti-venom has been kept ready at all the Primary Health Centres
(PHCs).
There may be an increase
in snakes and rodents in homes or near piles of debris outside, around stalled
automobiles, near or inside outbuildings or any area that offers shelter, he
cautioned.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/09/stories/2009100955780400.htm
WBZ (Boston,
Massachusetts) 08 October 09 Boa Constrictor Slithers On Roof For Days
Fall River: A 9-foot boa constrictor slithered on the
roof of a Fall River building for days.
The roof of a triple-decker
building in Fall River is no place for a boa constrictor. But that's exactly
where a 9-foot snake has been hanging out recently.
The boa has been
slithering on the roof for days at the building on East Main Street. It was
first spotted on Sunday by neighbors across the street. The Boston Animal
Rescue League was called in to grab it, but they were unsuccessful.
"It climbs itself
into the gutter, in and out, up and down the roof."
So it was up to the
building's landlord and his friends to get it. They used materials from the
Rescue League and managed to catch the boa on Thursday.
The building has a no-pets
policy. Nobody has come forward to claim the snake.
http://wbztv.com/local/boa.contrictor.fall.2.1237274.html
WICZ (Vestal, New
York) 08 October 09 Gator Seized in Arrest Gets New Home in Endwell (Chris Whalen)
Fluffy is a three year old
alligator that was taken in by Mark Short after he was seized during a domestic
disturbance between a mother and son in Endicott.
Ever since a local reptile
store closed its doors, Short has become the go-to guy for reptile
rescues.
"Ever since they
left, I've become the one. Everybody calls me, it's all word of mouth, I don't
advertise or nothing. Next thing you know, people call me on the phone, they've
got a snake to get rid of, an iguana to get rid of," Short said.
Short, dubbed 'the Critter
Dude' by friends, has two alligators, two snakes, two chinchillas, and a
monitor lizard, that he keeps in a mini zoo in his basement.
All the creatures have
been turned over to him by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
"I applied, they gave
me the license, so I started working with the DEC with (the other alligator)
Zeus, and that's how I came across Fluffy, because I was already in the DEC's
chain, they already knew I had a license for one," Short said.
Upstairs, Short has what
most people would consider traditional pets, dogs and cats, and he says they
know to not get too close to the less furry creatures downstairs.
"Dogs and cats, believe
it or not, they're not stupid either, they can kind of sense when something's
out to possibly get them or something like that, so they're very cautious, they
tip-toe around, that's for sure," Short said.
The Critter Dude says he
takes in reptiles not just because he loves it, but because he wants to educate
people and show them that they're not as scary as they look.
"At a zoo everything
is behind glass, when you come to my house, just like you're seeing here
everything is hands on and to me there's nothing better than to see children's
eyes light up at an animal right there in front of them," Short said.
And this reporter wasn't
the only one who was reluctant to get a closer look at Fluffy and his friends.
Once, Short was stopped by a police officer who had second thoughts about
confronting him.
"She said 'I called
for backup,' and when the other officer came, same thing, he wouldn't get out
of his car or nothing," Short said.
And he even has a tough
time getting his own family to enter his house.
"My own parents have
only been in my house twice since I've lived here, and I moved in here in 2000,
so it just shows you..." Short said.
But that doesn't stop the
Critter Dude from doing what he loves, which he says he'll do until the day he
dies.
http://www.wicz.com/news2005/viewarticle.asp?a=10801
NORTHERN
TERRITORY NEWS (Darwin, Australia) 08 October 09 Creepy
camp croc sparks warning (Alyssa Betts)
Photo:
A Tents Situation: A croc expert has warned campers to stay well clear
of the beach... or risk a midnight bite. Pictures: Reader Supplied
If you think it's safe to
camp on the edge of the water, these pics should make you think again.
Taken in northeast Arnhem
Land, they show that our famous maneaters are never too far from the water's
edge.
And they seem to like
tents.
The snaps come from Darwin
man Mark, who was out with an Aboriginal elder in 2007 when he took the pics.
"We had two tents and
when we woke in the morning we found the imprint on the sand ... the croc
having watched one of the tents for quite a while,'' he said.
Crocodylus Park chief
scientist Charlie Manolis said it was highly possible a croc had been lurking
just metres from the camp.
"Crocs have been
known to walk into people's camp sites, and grab bits of food after everyone's
gone to bed - they've been known to walk out of the water and grab people
sleeping in their tents,'' he said.
"There was a lady
grabbed up in Queensland, another lady grabbed here at Little Finniss River -
and a guy in Queensland was sleeping near a billabong and woke to find a
crocodile on his chest.''
Mr Manolis said it was
possible, in this case, that a croc had been sizing up the camp site.
"They're sit-and-wait
predators - they sit and wait for something silly enough to walk down to the
water.''
He said the tents were too
close to the water's edge.
While Mr Manolis said
there was no official rule on a distance to set up camp, generally it was
advised to camp 50m to 100m from water.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/10/08/90855_ntnews.html
SOUTH
WALES EVENING POST (Swansea, UK) 08 October 09 Snake
spotted in Neath
Snakes alive! A viper has
been spotted in Neath.
Police are appealing for
information following the reported sighting of the snake near Neath Canal at
around 11.25am today.
A person has told officers
they saw a 6ft long snake, described as having gold patches with black stripes,
come out of the canal and disappear into undergrowth a short distance from the
town centre.
Inspector Gary Tucker, of
Neath Port Talbot Police, said: "We have not received any reports of such
a snake being lost or escaping in the area.
"Local residents
should be vigilant – particularly in and around overgrown garden areas - and to
contact their local police station if they come across the reptile. For their
own safety, they should not attempt to catch the snake under any
circumstances."
Contact South Wales Police
on 101.
Was it you who saw the
snake, or have you also seen one in the area. If so, please contact our
newsdesk on 01792 514606.
FOSTER
FOLLY NEWS (Florida) 08 October 09
As I See It: Hunters Help Florida
Get A Grip On Python Problem (Rodney Barreto Chairman, Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission)
There is a growing concern
in South Florida regarding how we should help control a particular nonnative
reptile that has been receiving a lot of media attention lately. I’m talking about the Burmese python problem
we are experiencing.
Most experts believe pet
owners are at least partly responsible for the situation we are in because they
released their pet pythons into the wild illegally when the snakes had grown
too large to care for. Over time, these
invasive snakes have spread throughout the Everglades. Since the Burmese python has few natural
predators in Florida, its numbers have grown into the thousands in South
Florida, and it has been preying on native wildlife, including the federally
endangered Key Largo woodrat.
The Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission (
And so, the
What this means is, any
licensed hunter who also has the necessary permits (i.e., management area
permit, archery or muzzleloading gun permit, quota permit) to hunt on any of
these four WMAs is eligible to participate.
In addition, those with a statewide alligator harvest permit can
participate if that permit enables them to hunt alligators on any of those
WMAs.
To be even more specific,
properly licensed and permitted hunters can harvest Burmese pythons during
specified hunting seasons and during legal shooting hours on these four
WMAs. And those who have a statewide
alligator harvest permit allowing them to hunt alligators in the counties where
these WMAs lie can harvest Burmese pythons through Nov. 1, during legal hunting
hours.
Besides Burmese pythons,
all reptiles of concern may be harvested, including the Indian python,
reticulated python, African rock python, amethystine or scrub python, green
anaconda and Nile monitor lizard.
However, there is a slim chance of encountering any of these other
reptiles of concern in the wild in South Florida other than the Burmese python.
There are some
method-of-take stipulations, though, that participating hunters must
follow. Hunters may use nets and snares
to capture reptiles of concern, but they must euthanize them on site. Hunters also can use guns and firearms in
taking these reptiles during hunting periods when their specific use is allowed
(i.e., bows during archery season, muzzleloaders during muzzleloading gun
season, etc.). When alligator hunting,
people may use all legal methods for taking alligators, including bang sticks,
harpoons and spear guns, to take reptiles of concern.
Any harvested reptile of
concern may not be taken out of the areas alive and must be reported to the
You can even have some
fancy cowboy boots made from python, but I don’t recommend eating the meat
because, according to the National Park Service, testing done on two dozen
captured Burmese pythons in the Everglades revealed high levels of mercury in
the meat – levels well above that considered safe to eat.
If you do not feel safe or
comfortable approaching and harvesting a reptile of concern, that’s
understandable, but the
If you’d like more
information on Burmese pythons or the current situation, visit
MyFWC.com/Nonnatives.
Hunters historically have
played critical roles in conservation in this state, and I’d like to thank them
once again for their contributions in helping us eradicate these invasive,
nonnative reptiles from South Florida – thereby preserving native wildlife for
the future of hunting in Florida.
http://www.fosterfollynews.com/news/2009Oct7HuntershelpFloridagetagriponpythonproblem.php
AUSTRALIAN
STAR
(Geelong) 08 October 09 Group jumps in to save frog (Andrew
Mathieson)
A Geelong conservation
group is saving an endangered species from extinction along the Barwon River.
Southern bell frog numbers
have continued to diminish in recent years on Geelong’s biggest fresh waterway.
Volunteers have been
conducting restoration works to reinstate five separate wetland habitats on the
Barwon and a southern bell frog habitat along a trail beside the river.
Conservation Volunteers
Geelong team leader Andrew Quick said he was now confident several measures
undertaken in the past 12 months could help restore a larger population of the
frog in the city.
Mr Quick said the frog was
a victim of a century of development in Geelong.
“The river has been used
and abused for 100 years down at the Pakington Street end and we’re trying to
restore the frog’s habitat,” he said.
“We’re putting in a lot of
grasses again, cutting a lot of the willows and letting the light get back in
again.”
Mr Quick said the southern
bell frog project included removing invasive weeds from degraded wetlands,
planting indigenous wetland vegetation and monitoring “visitor impact”.
The Barwon River’s natural
wetlands and native vegetation provided essential habitat for the
endangered-list frog, he said.
“It seems to be working,”
Mr Quick said of the conservation efforts.
“Even this year we have
had a lot more frog species than normal.
“I’m sure I heard my first
bell frog (last week). Well, I’m 95 per cent sure.”
Mr Quick said the species,
sometimes known as the growling grass frog, had also been spotted in Belmont’s
Gheringhap wetlands.
The frog’s survival was
“another link in the chain” for the region’s eco-system and particularly
important to other bird and wildlife species.
Mr Quick said land
degradation, development and flooding in the Barwon Valley had impacted
adversely on the frog’s habitat.
http://www.senews.com.au/story/80954
THE
RECORD
(Stockton, California) 08 October 09 Red-legged frog won't cost as much green as
was initially thought
San Andreas: Designating habitat for the red-legged frog
won't cost developers and farmers quite as much as expected, according to a
revised economic impact analysis released Wednesday by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
The cost to modify
developments to accommodate frog habitat over the next 20 years will be about
$34 million, down from the $44 million estimate in an initial report issued in
April.
The analysis considers the
effect of a proposal to designate 1.8 million acres statewide as critical
habitat for the red-legged frog, a species that the federal government lists as
threatened with extinction. That total includes 4,500 acres of ranchland east
of Valley Springs in Calaveras County and a small amount of land in the far
southwest corner of San Joaquin County.
The new report estimates
that all costs to agriculture, development and other sectors over 20 years
would be a maximum of $566 million statewide, down about 25 percent from the
April estimate of a maximum of $767 million.
Fish and Wildlife Service
spokesman Al Donner said the figures were revised for a number of reasons,
including a more accurate calculation of how much farmland is likely to be
converted to other uses and removing from their estimates the costs of
complying with California environmental laws that are not part of the federal
government's proposed action.
Donner said the total
economic costs within Calaveras County of designating the frog habitat are
estimated at $7 million over the next 20 years.
Statewide, development is
projected to occur over the next two decades on just one half of one percent of
the 1.8 million areas proposed for designation. Designating an area as critical
habitat can halt or delay development if scientists find the project could harm
the frogs.
The Fish and Wildlife
Service says that the habitat designation won't impose costs on ranchers
because of a rule that protects the ranchers from liability under the
Endangered Species Act if the ranchers continue routine ranch operations.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091008/A_NEWS14/910080318/-1/NEWSMAP
Friedenfels (bsc): Einst war sie gefürchtet, heute steht sie auf
der Roten Liste der gefährdeten Tierarten: die Kreuzotter, unsere einzige
heimische Giftschlange. Um die auch im Steinwald abnehmenden Bestände
langfristig zu sichern und die Kreuzotter als einen Teil der heimischen
Tierwelt zu erhalten, erarbeitete der Naturpark Steinwald nun ein
Maßnahmenkonzept.
Erster Vorsitzender
Eberhard Freiherr von Gemmingen-Hornberg und Dr. Wolfgang Völkl, ein in Bayern
anerkannter Reptilienspezialist, stellten dieses nun in Friedenfels vor. An
vorderster Stelle im umfangreichen Maßnahmenbündel stehen dabei der Erhalt von
Waldwiesen und die Förderung von strukturreichen Übergängen zwischen Wald und
Grünland. Dazu wurden in der "Roten Loh" bei Friedenfels beispielhaft
angrenzende Waldbereiche in eine Weidefläche für das Rotvieh integriert.
http://www.oberpfalznetz.de/zeitung/2033604-126-das_ueberleben_der_kreuzotter_sichern,1,0.html
CRÓNICA (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
08 October 09 Nene De 5 Años Mato A Cocodrilo
Un niño de cinco años mató
de un disparo a un cocodrilo de tres metros, que estaba merodeando el barrio y
causó varios estragos a los vecinos del lugar.
Simón Hughes es un menor
de 5 años, sin embargo a su tierna edad ya es todo un cazador ya que desde que
tenía 1 año de edad aprendido a cazar gracias a su padre.
Es tanta la valentía
de este chico que cazo a un cocodrilo con una escopeta especial que su padre le
obsequio.
El
menor de tan solo 5 años vive en el estado de Texas y el cocodrilo cazado media
más de tres metros de largo y pesaba más de 150 kilos.
La Familia tenía el
permiso del gobierno para matar al animal tras haber puesto una denuncia por
que el animal estaba causando estragos en el pantano del lugar.
Es impresionante que
un niño 5 años haya matado a un cocodrilo de 3.65m de largo y una edad de entre
35 y 40 años de un solo disparo. Tan solo la cabeza del reptil pesaba 25 kilos.
http://www.cronica.com.ar/diario/2009/10/08/25577-nene-de-5-anos-mato-a-cocodrilo.html
JACKSONVILLE
OBSERVER (Florida) 07 October 09
Lawmakers Start Looking at Python
Issue
Lawmakers on Tuesday
opened the door for possible new legislation that could severely restrict the
ability of Florida residents to bring pythons into the state, suggesting a
crackdown on Internet sales of the reptile.
Political opposition to
the suddenly unpopular snake began building in the summer after a pet python
escaped from its holding tank and suffocated a Florida toddler. U.S. Sen. Bill
Nelson, D-Fla. has filed legislation to make it illegal to own the python as a
pet, and state Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, has said she plans to do the
same.
Environmental experts have
estimated there could be anywhere from 100,000 to 150,000 pythons in the state,
mostly in and around the Everglades. And Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission officials have said they have been noticing a trend of pythons
venturing farther north in the park than they have previously.
Senate Environmental
Preservation and Conservation Chair Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, said
Tuesday that he would like to see a number of ideas put forth in order to
reduce the number of pythons in the state, including one that would prohibit
the sale of the snakes over the Internet.
“I just have this vision
of them going through the U.S. mail,” Constantine said.
So far, no legislation on
the state level has come out of bill drafting.
The FWCC has so far
captured 35 Burmese pythons through a permit program that works with
professional collectors and herpetologists to capture the snakes in the
state-owned lands north and east of Everglades National Park. The commission is
also allowing hunters to take snakes, but only on lands owned by the South
Florida Water Management District and Big Cypress National Reserve.
“We don’t want them out
there shooting every snake,” said Timothy Breault, director of the Division of
Habitat and Species Conservation.
The commission has also
organized pet amnesty events to give python owners the ability to surrender the
animals without penalty. Six events have been held so far, netting 350 animals.
http://www.jaxobserver.com/2009/10/07/lawmakers-start-looking-at-python-issue/
WDBO (Orlando, Florida)
07 October 09 State lawmaker urges 24/7 amnesty for snake
owners (Joe Ruble)
Broward County's Senator
Eleanor Sobel simply wants to outlaw reptiles of concern in Florida and make
snake owners get a permit to keep them.
But for those who can no
longer care or choose not to, she also wants to make it easy to turn in the
snakes to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
"I think amnesty is a
good thing, 24-7, We'll take these snakes, if you want to turn them over,"
she explained.
Last Saturday, during an
amnesty program at Gatorland, 45 reptiles were handed over, no questions asked.
Because many owners
consider the reptiles as pets, the state makes sure they can find safe places
for the snakes to live out their lives.
"We're looking at
care facilities that can take care of them into perpetuity," said Tim
Breault,
Without those facilities
in place, he fears snake owners will simply set their pets free and hope they
can survive in the wild.
Top officials with the
Their thought now is to
contain them, and not let them spread northward.
"Try to draw a line
in the marsh, literally," said
http://wdbo.com/localnews/2009/10/state-lawmaker-urges-247-amnes.html
GASPARILLA
GAZETTE (Boca Grande, Florida) 07 October 09 Pythons
put squeeze on South Florida (Terry O'Connor)
As many as 140,000 Burmese
pythons have wrapped their coils around south Florida, according to a recent
report from the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
As few as 5,000 is
possibly the more accurate count, said Linda Friar, spokesperson for the
Everglades National Park.
The problem is no one
really knows, Friar said.
"Our estimate is
anywhere from 5,000 to 140,00," Fair said. "It's a best guess.
They're very elusive and no scientific count has been done."
Regardless of their
numbers, the python invasion is a growing problem in South Florida, she said.
"We see them as a
significant ecological problem," Friar said. "As you bring in species
not endemic to an ecosystem, they challenge the ability of the species that
belong there for habitat and food."
Experts say the snakes are
moving north. More than 900 pythons have already been captured in
Burmese pythons lay about
50 eggs in a clutch. Hatchling pythons are about 20 inches long making their
survival rate much better than most indigenous species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service estimates 17,000 snakes were imported into the United States between
1970 and 1995. Between 1996 and 2006, approximately 99,000 more pythons were
imported.
Pythons costs $20 to $80.
They can reach lengths of more than 20 feet and one measuring 18 feet was
recently captured in Apopka. Many pythons are released into the wild by owners
who no longer can afford to feed the large animals.
Burmese pythons are
fiercesome predators but historically they don't pose much of a danger to
humans unless a family tries to make one a pet, Friar said. A northern Florida
2-year-old was killed earlier this year by a hungry pet python.
"We have not had a
snake-human interaction in the park nor have we had an alligator
interaction," Friar In an area such as ours there's plenty of prey. I
suppose if they're large and hungry they could be a threat. But we don't feel
it's a human threat at this time."
The pythons usually eat
rabbits, mice and rats along with many native bird species such as limpkins,
egrets and herons. But they're not afraid to expand the menu.
"They're
opportunistic hunters and there's an awful lot of wildlife out there,"
Friar said. "We have found they've eaten small bobcats, wading birds such
as herons and egrets and raccoons."
The Corp of Engineers is
trying to help define the growing python problem by using thermal imaging.
"Thermal images may
be very successful at certain seasons and certain times of day for finding
pythons," said Larry Wright of the Operations Division. "Further
testing will be done over the next few months to refine the image gathering
data. Before we can control the snakes, we must detect them."
Thermal imaging uses
cameras capable of detecting radiation in living creatures based on their body
temperatures. Thermography makes it possible to "see" animals and
people not visible to the human eye. As a result, thermal imaging is used
extensively for military and security purposes.
Five specialists from the
thermal imagery industry gathered with governmental and academic experts Sept.
9-10 in Everglades National Park at the request of Jacksonville District
Commander Col. Al Pantano and
Max, a 10-foot Burmese
python born and captured in the Everglades, offered the first test for the
infrared searchers. Company representatives searched for Max with mounted
cameras on an extended scissor lift and bucket trucks more than 30 feet in the
air. Max's infrared image was detectable during the noon sun but images of Max
were much brighter and more distinct between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m..
Governmental agencies on
hand included the U.S. Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S.
Army's Aviation & Missile Research Center, the South Florida Water Management
District and the U.S. Geological Survey. Python expert Mike Dorcas from
Davidson College, also attended. The University of Florida participated with
three two-person teams with expertise in herpetology, thermal imagery and
invasive species.
"We wanted to bring
together as many technical experts and brilliant minds as we could to find
solutions to the problem," said Pantano. "We've surrounded ourselves
with the right people and now we are discovering what tools are available to us
to help us detect these snakes."
http://www.bocagrandetalk.com/page/content.detail/id/504110.html
REVIEW-JOURNAL (Las Vegas,
Nevada) 07 October 09 Clark County votes to halt unwanted tortoise
pickups - State, U.S. wildlife officials warn of animals being released into desert
(Scott Wyland)
Desert tortoises, such as
this one, are listed as a threatened species. The county is no longer going to
care for any tortoises that have been kept as pets and then must be abandoned.
Clark County will quit
picking up and caring for unwanted pet tortoises at the end of the year.
County commissioners voted
Tuesday to stop taking cast-off tortoises and paying for their care at a
220-acre conservation center, which is operated by state and federal agencies.
About 98 percent of the
1,000 tortoises delivered yearly to the center are unwanted pets, which detract
from restoring wild tortoise populations, county officials say.
Although listed as
threatened, tortoises can be kept as pets.
"We really don't have
the responsibility as a local government to pick up these local pets,"
Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said.
Stray tortoises have
pushed the county's yearly cost for running the center to $700,000. The county
also pays a firm $104,000 a year to collect the critters from owners calling a
24-hour telephone line.
Federal wildlife officials
on Tuesday spoke against the county discontinuing the programs on Dec. 31. The
county should do its part to ensure that residents don't dump pet tortoises in
the desert, where they can spread respiratory diseases to wild populations,
they argued.
Also, the county is
obligated to aid tortoise recovery in return for collecting development fees on
1,400 acres exempt from the federal Endangered Species Act, said Janet Bair,
regional field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The county has collected
$34 million under that special permit.
Marci Henson, who oversees
the county's tortoise recovery program, said the county would still comply with
permit requirements even if it stops handling unwanted pets.
The county's emphasis
should be on helping wild tortoises and educating the public on responsible
ownership, Henson said.
County, state and federal
officials agreed to meet and discuss how to deal with the growing volume of
unwanted pets.
Giunchigliani suggested
outlawing new pet tortoises. Existing pets would be grandfathered in, she
added.
That essentially was done
two decades ago, Bair noted, when the desert tortoise became protected. It
didn't stop owners from unlawfully breeding their animals, the root of the
current problem, she said.
Public education and
stepped-up enforcement might slow the unauthorized breeding, though it's
difficult to know by how much, Bair said.
There's been no proven
method for spaying or neutering tortoises until recently, when experiments
showed some success in spaying a female tortoise, said Roy Averill-Murray, who
coordinates desert tortoise recovery for Fish and Wildlife.
It wasn't a desert
tortoise but it was still a tortoise, Averill-Murray said, adding that the
trial spaying will need more research before it's applied.
"We would have to
test that," Bair said.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/clark-county-votes-to-halt-unwanted-tortoise-pickups-63659832.html
NORTH
DEVON GAZETTE (Barnstaple, UK) 07 October 09 Snakes alive - multiple births at Exmoor
Zoo! (Dave.Tanner)
The snake population at
Exmoor Zoo has mushroomed overnight after Mr and Mrs Boa constrictor proved
that one plus one really equals 30.
Mrs B gave birth to a
squirming mass of around 30 baby boas, much to the delight of watching zoo
visitors and staff.
Boa constrictors are one
of the few snakes that give birth to live young. Several of them were still
born, but that is not unusual and 16 of the new arrivals survived to be
transferred to another enclosure in the tropical house at the zoo, near Bratton
Fleming.
"We knew she was
pregnant as we had seen them mating frequently, but did not know exactly when
they were due," said keeper Luke De Wit-Vine.
"They do breed in
captivity but we are pleased as this is our first scaly family to be born here.
Mr and Mrs Boa don't have to worry about looking after the young because they
are born as fully equipped snakes that know what to do."
The young snakes will
eventually find homes at other zoos and wildlife collections.
NORTHERN
TERRITORY NEWS (Darwin, Australia) 07 October 09 250
flee in terror as 'snake' slithers in (Alyssa Betts)
A 'snake' in a Territory
convention centre caused the evacuation of hundreds of people yesterday.
About 250 people were at
the Indigenous Economic Development Forum in the Alice Springs Convention
Centre when a brown-looking "snake" appeared on the speaker's stage.
A forum attendee said it appeared from the spinifex displays on the stage.
"(NT Minister) Karl
Hampton had just finished his speech prior to it appearing," he said.
"Out of (the spinifex)
came this snake-looking thing. It went back in (but) there were a few people
that were getting nervous."
Centre staff called a halt
to proceedings, saying the snake catcher had been called and then ordered the
room to be cleared.
"So we had a forced
morning tea break," the attendee said.
Alice Springs Reptile
Centre's snake catcher Justin Rutherford came to the rescue.
He collared the uninvited
guest pronto, sustaining only a few punctured fingers courtesy of the
unfriendly spinifex.
The intruder turned out to
be a 20cm-long Burton's legless lizard.
Mr Rutherford said it was
understandable the little fella might cause a ruckus, as in the dim light of
the room he looked suspiciously brownish.
"They've also got a
pointy face about them - not like other legless lizards," he said.
Alice Springs has also
recently experienced a drastic increase in deadly brown snakes.
Mr Rutherford's team dealt
with 20 call-outs in a fortnight last month.
Conference-goers were
reportedly able to file back in for further presentations about 40 minutes
after being evacuated.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/10/07/90641_ntnews.html
BRENTWOOD
WEEKLY NEWS (UK) 07 October 09 Dispute grows over reptile event
A leading exotic pet
specialist has denied animals were harmed during a controversial reptile
market.
Mark Amey, who works as a
consultant for the RSPCA, and owns an exotic pet shop in Watford, said it is
unlikely reptiles at the event, at Shenfield High School, on Sunday, September
27, were traumatised by being kept in small boxes.
His comments come after
the Animal Protection Agency said it plans to prosecute the organiser, traders
and the school.
It claims the event was
illegal because the animals were traded on a commercial basis, and said they
were mistreated by being kept in small containers.
Mr Amey added: “Reptiles
are agrophobic. They are afraid of large spaces, so keeping them confined and
only for a short period is better for them.
“I wasn’t at the event
because I’m not allowed. It’s for enthusiasts, people who belong to reptile
clubs, and they are proud to be there and show off what they’ve bred.
“There is always going to
be a demand for these animals and hopefully these sorts of shows will put a
stop to trading in wild animals, which we’ve all got to be in favour of.”
The Animal Protection
Agency attended the event and said it collected enough evidence to mount a case
against the organisers, the Essex Reptiles and Amphibians Club, and the school.
Elaine Toland, spokesman
for the agency, said: “It will take us a while to go through the evidence. Once
we’ve got it we will be sending it to the council and the RSPCA and take it
from there.
“Our concern is always the
welfare of the animals.
“They are very sensitive
animals and we work with one of the leading reptilian behaviouralists who said
confined spaces are very stressful for reptiles.”
Ms Toland also said they
had evidence known reptile dealers were at the event.
She said: “This was not
just a small local meeting, it was a commerical market.”
However, the club have
said the meeting was purely for enthusiasts.
Shenfield High School has
said it was advised there were no legal grounds for preventing the reptile
event going ahead at the school.
http://www.brentwoodweeklynews.co.uk/news/4669886.Dispute_grows_over_reptile_event/
THE
Snakes for
sale at a hypermarket in Kuala Lumpur have drawn the ire of a veterinarian Dr
Kavita Kaur, who sent an email to The Star saying she was shocked to see
shelves lined with mini-terrariums and aquariums containing snakes.
“I believe it
is morally wrong to sell snakes, more so in a supermarket for a number of
reasons,” she said.
“Snakes are
wildlife and should not be kept as pets but in their natural habitat. Keeping
them in small terrariums severely restricts their movement and they are also
subjected to stress due to the constant staring by shoppers,” Kavita said.
She added that
there was a risk that the demand for such animals would increase now that they
were sold in mainstream supermarkets.
“Customers may
be more inclined to buy a snake from a respected supermarket than from a shady
animal trader making it seem more aceptable and legitimate for one to own
wildlife.
“Also, snakes
carry the Salmonella bacteria, which can cause illness and death in humans, so
a curious child could easily contract the bacteria and spread it to other
sections of the supermarket,” she added.
During a visit
by StarMetro, there were a few types of snakes like the Mock Viper and Oriental
Whip Snake housed inside the mini aquariums. A padlock had been put up on top
of each aquarium,
When
contacted, a spokesman for the hypermarket said the company had asked the
trader to remove the snakes from display.
“Customer
satisfaction is our main priority and since there was a complaint from one
customer, we decided to have them removed and the snakes are no longer
available at this particular store,” the spokesman aid.
The spokesman
also said if there were complaints from customers at the hypermarket’s other
stores, then action would be taken on a case-to-case basis.
A spokesman
from the Wildlife and National Parks Department, said the snakes sold were
usually non-venomous and the padlocks would ensure that the snakes could not
escape.
The spokesman
added that the snakes were also unprotected, common species, hence the
hypermarket did not need a permit to sell the reptiles.
Members of the
public also do not need licences to rear the snakes.
When contacted,
Malaysian Nature Society (
“The question
is that we don’t know if the snakes are wild stock or captive bred. Some
wildlife are imported but, most often, they are from the forests so the
Forestry Act still applies and no wildlife can be taken out from the forests.
“The origin of
these animals is always questionable even those in pet shops.
“Even if the
snakes are not exotic species, there is no need for people to sell or keep it.
“A hypermarket
should not be propagating the sale of wildlife to the public,” he said.
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/10/7/central/4847248&sec=central
BIG ISLAND WEEKLY (Hilo, Hawaii) 07 October
09 End
is near for coqui control efforts - County will auction off sprayers used to
control the invasive frogs (Alan Mcnarie)
In April the
County of Hawaii will auction off 26 chemical spray rigs that originally cost
up to $10,000 each.
That auction
will mark the end of the county's efforts to control coqui frogs.
County Budget
Director Nancy Crawford authorized the auction. She says that when Mayor Billy
Kenoi's staff was in the early stages of the budgeting process last year, it
became obvious that "This was an item that we were unable to fund."
She noted that the state had also discontinued funding of coqui control
efforts.
Kenoi was in
charge of the county's coqui control program when he worked for former mayor
Harry Kim.
The sprayers
are used to apply citric acid, the only chemical officially approved to kill
the noisy little frogs. Citric acid is not without its drawbacks: In the
concentrations used on the coquis, it can cause injuries to humans and pets and
can acid-burn foliage. But the foliage usually recovers, while the coquis
usually don't.
Crawford said
she decided to auction the sprayers because, "We felt that was the best
way to help the program continue ...to get these sprayers out into the hands of
the people."
Sixteen of the
26 sprayers that the county plans to sell were given to it for free by the
federal government. Selling them is legal, Crawford said, because the sprayers
were given to the county "with no springs attached."
One of those
sprayers, ironically, has temporarily ended up back in the hands of a federal
agency. Kim Tavares, who heads Hawaii Volcanoes National Park's coqui control
effort, said the county had given her a 400-gallon sprayer to use until
auction. She'd contacted the county property management division about the
possibility of purchasing the unit -- before she discovered that it was useless
for her purposes.
"What I
have is a high pressure, low volume pump," she said. She needed a
low-pressure, high-volume sprayer to operate in the park's sometimes rugged
terrain.
Tavares said
the county should keep the sprayers and loan them to the public.
"I think
they should be distributed around the island," she said, and suggested
setting up lockers for the sprayers at county transfer stations, where
community groups could get them when needed. And the sprayers, she noted, could
have other uses.
"Suppose
they had avian bird flu and they had to disinfect a large area. This [sprayer]
would be great for that," she noted.
Some ill-fated
coqui control efforts are continuing, for now. The county coqui spray crew is
still answering calls for its services, using residual funds from last year's
budget, and will continue to do so "until the money runs out,"
according to a spray crew member. To reach the county's spray crew, call
961-8065.
The county's
big 400-gallon unit works well for residential properties, said the spray crew
member.
Karen Shiroma,
who identifies herself as the "former manager" of the program, said volunteer
community groups around the island are using some of the county's smaller
sprayers to help fight coquis.
If the county
crew can't handle a call for coqui spray services, it will give the caller the
phone number of one of the community groups with the sprayers out on loan.
When the
current funding is gone, says Crawford, there will be no money even to
"continue a loaning program for the small sprayers."
That's because
there will be no money for maintenance costs and equipment. Plus, she added,
"You have to have someone who's tracking where these are."
Why not just
give the sprayers to the community groups?
Because it
wouldn't be legal, Crawford said. The county's rules don't allow it to give
equipment away, even when it acquired the equipment for free itself.
"When we
get rid of county equipment, we can't just give it away to selected
people." Crawford said. "We're required by law to make it available
to anyone."
Anyone with
the money to buy it, anyway.
Some community
groups have already purchased their own citric acid sprayers. Retired park
biologist Tim Tunnison, who leads a Volcano volunteer coqui patrol known
informally as the "Coquistadores," says his group, which receives
donations from community members, purchased a sprayer for about $7,000. So far
coquis haven't established themselves in Volcano, though the group gets
frequent calls to eliminate individual frogs.
http://www.bigislandweekly.com/articles/2009/10/07/read/news/news03.txt
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN (Lawrence,
Kansas) 07 October 09 Doctoral student discovers fanged frog (Ray Segebrecht)
For David
McLeod, fame came unexpectedly through an overnight excursion deep into the
Mekong Delta area of northeast Thailand.
McLeod,
Kitchener, Ontario doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology, had
hiked with local rangers to a remote stream in the jungle to conduct fieldwork
for his dissertation, but the excitement started when he found two specimens of
frogs.
One was
typical for the region and came from a small and well-documented species. The
other, however, was of the bird-eating, fanged variety, which more than doubled
the first in size and had never before been recorded. Its discovery has earned
McLeod recognition this fall by major news networks, such as CNN, after
the World Wildlife Fund released a major report two weeks ago.
“I think the
significance was that it was described from a location that has been a
well-studied area for the last 40 or more years,” McLeod said. “We’ve had
researchers at this site since the 1960s. There’s still indescribable diversity
right underneath our noses.”
The species,
called limnonectes megastomias or the
Khorat big mouthed frog, which measures 12 to 15 centimeters long, isn’t the
only fanged amphibian whose discovery has given a University affiliate newfound
notoriety this fall. Rafe Brown, assistant professor of ecology and
evolutionary biology, also released an article he co-authored on a separate
species he discovered in 1994. Brown said he found his “bullfrog-sized”
specimens on Mindanao Island in the Phillippines.
Both species,
Brown said, are “sit-and-wait” predators who lunge at their prey and eat it
whole.
“They’re big
voracious predators,” Brown said. “They pretty much eat anything that’s smaller
than them that comes around.”
Brown said the
“fangs” were not actually teeth, but instead “prostheses” that the frogs
develop as secondary sex characteristics.
Brown said
male fanged frogs developed more prominent prostheses than females. He
speculated they most likely used their fangs for fighting against one another
for mating rights.
“It’s all
guesswork at this point,” Brown said. “We know so little about their biology
that we don’t really know what they do with them at this point.”
Although Brown
said the species he discovered had not reached the same level of publicity
outside the scientific community because its location was lesser known, the
finding still had noteworthy significance.
“Imagine
finding an undiscovered species as big as a bullfrog in North America,” Brown
said. “That would be a very big deal. There’s these places in parts of Asia
that are so poorly known and so seldom visited by scientists that big large
bodied animals have gone unnoticed by science for the last hundred years.”
The Natural
History Museum has displayed video footage from the discovery McLeod made this
fall both on its Web site and in its fourth floor lobby, Exhibits Director
Bruce Scherting said.
Scherting said
he hoped that by spring, the museum would update its Web site to display
research by McLeod, Brown and other researchers on the biodiversity staff more
prominently. He said he had also discussed plans to redesign the sixth floor to
entirely dedicate it to showcasing their research.
“I think most
people actually don’t realize that there is a research component to the
museum,” Scherting said. “There’s kind of a mismatch between what’s on exhibit
and what actually goes on in the building.”Both McLeod and Brown said they
hoped to continue to contribute to the study of the limnoectes, or fanged, genus
of frogs. Brown said this time, he wanted to extend the research to include
genetic studies for frog species that visually could not be distinguished from
one another.
He said
regardless of what he found, he would always remember the excitement of recognizing
his first new species in the field.
“You sort of
say hallelujah, and you’re the person that gets to choose the scientific name,”
Brown said. “You have a moment of discovery.”
http://www.kansan.com/news/2009/oct/07/doctoral-student-discovers-fanged-frog/