HERP
NEW 290/2009
ISLAND
PACKETT (Bluffton, S Carolina) 17 October 09 Treat
gators with respect due a deadly predator
A recent alligator attack
on Fripp Island underscores the potential for danger any time humans tread near
the reptiles' domain.
James Wiencek, 77, was playing
the 11th hole of Fripp's Ocean Creek Course on Oct. 8 when he bent down to pick
up a golf ball at the edge of a lagoon. Wiencek apparently did not notice an
alligator that lurked on the bank, and as he crouched to retrieve the ball, the
gator locked its jaws around his arm, dragged him into the water and engaged
him in a "death roll," a maneuver alligators use to drown and tear
apart prey they cannot swallow whole.
The other members of
Wiencek's golf group were able to free him from the gator's grasp, but not
before his arm was torn off below the elbow.
Wiencek was taken to the
Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Doctors there are not
releasing details of his condition or saying whether they were able to
surgically reattach his arm. Several attempts to contact Wiencek's family have
been unsuccessful.
We hope Wiencek recovers
from this gruesome ordeal. We also hope those who hear of it take heed and
incorporate common-sense precautions whenever and wherever alligators might be
close by. This doesn't mean needless panic at the sight of an alligator. There
have been only 10 confirmed alligator attacks in the past 25 years in South
Carolina, according to state's Department of Natural Resources.
First, don't feed
alligators. Experts say gators fed by humans lose their natural fear of people
and learn to associate them with a feeding opportunity. This can trigger
aggressive behavior and create a danger for anyone who encounters the animal.
Also, bodies of fresh
water, including golf course ponds, should be approached slowly and with eyes
peeled for danger. If you spot an alligator on or near the bank, back off --
neither your health nor your golf ball are worth the risk of an attack.
And don't size up the
alligator to decide whether retreat is appropriate.
Wiencek was attacked by a
10-foot, 400-pound animal. Larger animals certainly live here in the
Lowcountry, and even smaller ones can kill. For example, 83-year-old Gwen
Williams perished in a 2007 attack by an 8-footer on Skidaway Island near
Savannah, according to an Associated Press report.
Besides her attack,
Williams, a Canadian woman who was on Skidaway house-sitting for her daughter,
had something in common with Wiencek -- neither are from areas of the country
where alligators live. Wiencek is from Ohio and reportedly was visiting his
son, who owns a home on Fripp.
Thus, we are reminded it
is appropriate for those of us who live here to inform our visitors of the
dangers alligators can pose.
For that matter, we should
remember them ourselves.
The creatures are so
ubiquitous and attacks so rare here that even natives can be lulled into a
false sense of security. You can see them just about every time you play golf
or paddle a kayak in fresh water.
You also see them
frequently on the pages of this newspaper -- a photo of a gator that appeared
to be ringing the doorbell of a Sun City Hilton Head home and another more
recent shot of an alligator in the surf of Hilton Head Island generated lots of
interest and traffic to our Web site.
Alligators are not
domesticated pets or mere accouterments of Lowcountry scenery placed here for
our picture-taking pleasure.
As Wiencek's unfortunate
ordeal reminds us, alligators are efficient predators worthy of our respect and
caution.
http://www.islandpacket.com/opinion/story/1002907.html
ISLAND
PACKETT (Bluffton, S Carolina) 17 October 09 Saving
gator victim's severed limb unlikely (Patrick Donohue)
Surgeons say it is
unlikely doctors at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston
successfully reattached the arm of a 77-year-old Ohio man attacked by an
alligator last week while playing golf on Fripp Island.
The patient's age and the
extent of his injury suggest he would not be able to regain function in the
limb.
"The problem with
animal bites is that you have a lot of soft-tissue loss," said Hilton Head
Island surgeon Dr. Joseph Tobin. "Sticking someone's arm back on, in this day
and age, is not that big of a deal, but you're worried about infection, you're
worried about how it's going to heal and you're worried about nerve
regeneration."
Savannah television
station WTOC last week identified the golfer as James Wiencek, father of a
Fripp Island property owner. Fripp Island officials confirmed Wiencek was taken
to MUSC, but the hospital said it will not release any information on his
condition at the family's request.
Several attempts to reach
Wiencek's son were unsuccessful.
Witnesses say the elder
Wiencek was playing Oct. 8 on Fripp's Ocean Creek Golf Course and knelt down to
pick up his ball near a pond on the 11th hole when a 10-foot, 400-pound
alligator attacked him. Wiencek was dragged into the pond and lost his arm below
the elbow in the struggle. The arm was recovered from the alligator's stomach
about an hour and a half after the attack.
Although details of
Wiencek's injuries have not been disclosed, four orthopedic and transplant
surgeons contacted this week said that based upon the facts available, doctors
likely faced several obstacles if they attempted to reattach the limb.
First, doctors would have
made sure Wiencek was stable before even considering reattachment, said Dr.
Linda Cendales, an assistant professor of surgery at Emory University in
Atlanta.
"It's life over
limb," Cendales said. "You want to make sure the patient is OK and
that the patient is stabilized. Then, you have to look at the condition of what
remains of the arm and the condition of the amputated arm itself."
If they decided to
operate, doctors would have about four to six hours to restore blood flow to
the lower arm, said Dr. Gary McGillivary, an orthopedic surgeon at Emory.
"The problem with an
injury like this is that you have a lot of muscle in that part of your arm, and
if you don't have blood flow to those muscles, they start to die very
quickly," McGillivary said.
If the arm was reattached,
the surgeons all said that infection from the alligator's mouth and digestive
system would be a serious concern.
"There are certainly
a whole host of bacterial contaminants that could cause very severe
infections," said Dr. Jeffrey Fried, the chairman of orthopedic surgery at
the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, Ga. "The clock is ticking
as soon as the arm is severed."
Given Wiencek's age, Tobin
said the man might not have benefited from getting his arm back.
"The question you
have to ask yourself is what will you have when you're done," Tobin said.
"If you give someone back a stiff, painful limb, you haven't done them a
whole lot of favors. In the long run, he's probably going to be functionally
better off with a well-fitting prosthesis."
"It's never normal
again," McGillivary said of the reattached arm. "You have a much better
chance of reattaching a hand. As you get closer to the shoulder, your chance of
success gets lower."
Cendales said it is likely
doctors opted not to reattach the limb, but instead cleaned the wound for
several days, put Wiencek on a regiment of strong antibiotics to prevent
infection and ultimately closed the wound.
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/1002954.html
WWAY (Wilmington, N
Carolina) 16 October 09 Tracking rehabilitated sea turtles online
Sennet was released a
month ago after spending more than a year recovering at the Karen Beasley
Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Topsail Beach. He was found covered in
barnacles and very anemic.
Now, the 15-year-old
loggerhead is healthier then ever and he's having quite the adventure. Volunteers
have been able to watch his journey back at sea online thanks to a satellite
tracking device that was mounted on his back.
"It gives us some
management tools. If we know where they are, we can better determine what can
be done to stabilize those populations," said sea turtle hospital director
Jean Beasley.
Sennet has not ventured
too far from home. "He went just south of the Cape Fear River. We do know
a lot of juvenile and adult turtles hang out there, we now know the sub-adults
do too."
Every time Sennet
surfaces, a switch on the transmitter turns on. If a satellite is close enough
to pick up his location, a dot is automatically plotted on a map on
www.seaturtle.org. The Cape Fear Shoals seems to be his favorite hangout.
In case you're wondering,
Sennet's contact with humans does not seem to be holding him back in the wild.
Beasley said, "What we're learning is that they forget about us pretty
quickly, and they are back to being a wild animal and following the same things
that the wild population does."
Sennet's transmitter is
run on batteries, so once the batteries run out, we'll no longer be able to
track him.
Jean Beasley predicts
Sennet will venture to the edge of the Gulf Stream during the cold months, like
some of his buddies.
http://www.wwaytv3.com/tracking_rehabilitated_sea_turtles_online/10/2009
DAILY
It's not often that you'd
describe the angler, rather than the fish, as the one that got away.
But that was certainly the
case for Tim Smith, who lived to tell the tale after tussling with a crocodile
over this monster 6ft Nile perch.
The art teacher, 39, had
already been engaged in a titanic battle to reel in the 249lb fish for 45
minutes in his tiny motor boat on the Victoria Nile in Uganda when he realised
he had a fiercer rival.
Fortunately, however, it
was the 39-year-old art teacher who turned out to be the one that got away,
managing to tether his catch to the boat before firing the motor into life,
leaving his opponent empty-mouthed in his wake.
And he was able to pose by
his giant prize - which may be a record - for this spectacular photograph.
Back from his Ugandan trip
and home to mercifully crocodile-free Northern Ireland, he told yesterday of
his transformation from being the hunter to the hunted.
He had been grappling with
the fish while in a small boat on the Victoria Nile in Uganda, about a mile
downstream from the stunning Murchison Falls, for about 45 minutes when he
realised he had competition.
'Suddenly the boat lurched
and I nearly fell out,' he said. 'I didn't really know what had happened.
'The next thing is, the
crocodile launches itself at me, mouth wide open.'
Fortunately it had
misjudged its jump and fell short, hitting the side of the boat.
'If it had launched itself
another foot I'm sure it would have got hold of me,' he added.
'It obviously hit the
front of the boat to try and knock me out and then went to the other side.
'When you realise
something that size is trying to eat you, it's really quite daunting. I just
fell back into the centre of the boat, still holding the rod.'
By then the fish had
almost given up the fight, lying flat on the water close to the boat, giving
the reptile its final chance.
'I just saw the crocodile
swim up and grab the fish's tail and spin it around in a death roll, but
because of the size of the fish it couldn't get a proper grip,' said Mr Smith.
THE
CHRONICLE (Toowoomba, Australia) 16 October 09 Snake
bites girl, 6 (Lacey Burley)
At just six years old,
Lillian Jessen can boast she has survived bites from both a western brown snake
and redback spider.
Grandfather Peter Ross
said Lillian and her friends were catching lizards at the Oakey Community
Pre-School and Kindergarten on Tuesday when she looked inside a hollow log.
“She saw what she thought
was a worm, picked it up and draped it over her finger,” he said.
“But it was a western
brown and it reared up and bit her on the finger.”
Lillian threw the snake
and a teacher caught it before it slithered away.
Her mum took her to the
Oakey Hospital and paramedics transported the pair, and the snake, to the
Toowoomba Hospital.
Mr Ross said Lillian was
administered anti-venom and kept in overnight. She was released yesterday
morning.
The snake was about 30
centimetres long, but it was still as deadly as the adult snakes.
“By the time they jump out
of the egg they can kill you,” Mr Ross said.
“She's already been bitten
by a redback spider too, so she'd have a bit of anti-venom running through her
veins.”
Mr Ross said Lillian was
very brave and only initially complained about the pain.
“She has two puncture
marks on her middle finger,” he said.
Mr Ross was surprised the
snake was released in the garden at the hospital.
It was a very
light-coloured brown and the teacher only realised it was a snake by the way it
moved across the ground.
http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2009/10/15/snake-bites-girl-6-after-lizard-hunt-goes-wrong/#
WJXT (Jacksonville,
Florida) 16 October 09 Mandarin Residents
Still Have Snakes - City Says It's Not Responsible For Snake Problem
Jacksonville, Fla.: Neighbors in the Junction community in
Mandarin said they're still dealing with snakes three weeks after Channel 4
reported on the problem.
Residents said dozens of
water moccasins and cottonmouths moved into the neighborhood a few weeks ago,
and many residents said the safety of their children and pets were at risk.
"They're coming onto
your back porch, into your yard, just around the community, period," one
resident said.
"It's not safe at
all," another resident said. "I still walk my dogs out front at night
because I don't know what's out here."
Residents had been looking
for someone to help with their snake problem, but the question was whose
responsibility it was.
Neighbors contended that
the change came about when the city widened the offramp from Interstate 295,
forcing the snakes out of their habitat and into the neighborhood.
The neighbors said the
city should take care of it. But the Municipal Code Compliance Division
disagreed.
About a week after Channel
4 went to the neighborhood, every neighbor along the back stretch in the
neighborhood received a notice from the city saying they had 15 days to clean
up their back yards or there would be a lien put on their property.
Officials in the Public
Works Department maintained that the land up to the retention pond belonged to
the homeowners, and they cited a hold-harmless agreement where the city is not
responsible for vegetation or an animal presence resulting from the pond.
Kim Scott, of the Municipal Code Compliance Division, said as
long as the property is deemed to be private, the city does not provide
cleaning for the private property and reaffirmed that the onus is on each
owner.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/21307348/detail.html
WFTV (Orlando,
Florida) 15 October 09 8-Foot Boa Found Threatening Cat
Casselberry, Fla.: Florida's problem with abandoning exotic pet
snakes is getting more attention in Seminole County. Wednesday afternoon,
Casselberry workers called Animal Control about an 8-foot boa constrictor they
found eyeing someone's cat off Winter Park Drive.
Animal Control says the
snake didn't have any scars or scratches, so someone likely had been taking
care of it.
City workers were cleaning
out the drainage system close to a neighborhood off Winter Park Drive when they
heard a cat hissing. They soon discovered what was driving that cat crazy.
“I was like, whoa,”
Casselberry resident Brian Hahn said.
Brian Hahn says he walked
out of his home on Gee Creek Lane in Casselberry (see map) and found police
handling an 8-foot long boa constrictor. He was even more surprised to find a
city worker spotted the reptile moments away from making his cat, Bebe, snake
food.
“I go to check my mail and
a snake’s trying to get my cat. You don't think of that kind of stuff,” Hahn
said.
Casselberry police said
one of its officers, who handles snakes, realized it wasn't poisonous, grabbed
it behind its head and put the boa constrictor in a bag. Animal Control says it
will scan the reptile to see if it has a microchip to find the owner, but
Florida Fish and Wildlife says boa constrictors do not require permits or
microchips.
Fish and Wildlife says it
is still against the law to release boa constrictors. Seminole County Animal
Control says, after five days, if the owner hasn't come forward it will find an
appropriate home for the reptile, like the zoo.
http://www.wftv.com/news/21298311/detail.html
WHTM (Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania) 15 October 09 Abandoned Pythons on Road to Recovery
Annville Township, Pa.: Two Burmese pythons that were rescued after
their previous owner set them free in Lebanon County over the summer are on the
road to recovery.
Forgotten Friends Reptile
Sanctuary, which has been caring for the 8- and 10-foot pythons, said the
severely malnourished snakes are starting to show some improvement after plenty
of food and water.
"It was sad to see.
When you see a snake that comes in that should be about five or six inches
around and he's only two inches around, you know that he's endured not just
months, but years of neglect," Jesse Rothacker of Forgotten Friends said.
Police say 41-year-old
James Debock released the snakes in Annville Township over the summer. Debock
was charged with two counts of cruelty to animals.
Rothacker says keeping the
pythons well fed is one of the biggest tasks. "For a snake this size, he
would be eating lots of jumbo rats and we feed frozen rats. We thaw them out in
hot water," he said.
Rothracker said there's
never a reason for owners let their pets out into the wild. He suggests calling
a vet or a shelter for help. He says a few months of neglect can lead to years
of damage.
http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/1009/668995.html#
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION (Atlanta,
Georgia) 15 October 09 Wild gator in
Coweta County (Kristi E. Swartz)
When the call first came
in from Coweta County emergency officials last Saturday, Jason Clark asked
dispatchers to make sure it wasn't a log lying alongside I-85.
But by the time the
Georgia State Patrol and the state Department of Natural Resources called,
Clark knew that "log" had to be an alligator instead. A 6-foot,
9-inch one to be exact, he said.
Clark and his wife were on
their way to talk about reptiles with a group in Covington, so he sent his dad,
Mike, out to capture the animal. Mike Clark met the DNR alongside the highway
and followed the alligator into an embankment where he bound up the animal and
took it to Clark's Southeastern Reptile Rescue operation in Griffin.
"This is what I do
for a living," Clark said.
Clark, his wife and his
dad are all licensed to do so-called "nuisance" wildlife control.
They help officials capture and often take in snakes, alligators and other
reptiles. Clark said it's often someone thinks such an animal would make a good
pet but then finds out differently. Other times, the reptile is illegal, and
Clark will house it until a judge decides where it should go.
For that reason, Clark
said nobody knows where his operation is, other than in Griffin.
"We have a lot of
exotic, deadly snakes here as well as other things people have had illegally in
Georgia," he said.
He also adopts the animals
out, but says, for example, "just because you want a snake, doesn't mean
you get one."
Wannabe owners first have
to go to www.snakesareus.com and tell Clark what specific type of snake they
want and explain in detail how they are going to care for it. Clark said he
will get back to a potential owner but only after several weeks.
"We figure most
people, this is done on impulse," he said. For serious owners who have
done some research, "If they want it today, they will want it a month from
now."
Alligators are common in
south Georgia, but finding one this far north is rare. Clark thinks the recent
floods helped this one travel along.
The Flint River is
"alligator territory," Clark said. The alligator likely made his home
there or the connecting White Oak Creek. It then probably followed a flooded
area north and ended up along I-85.
Because of its size, Clark
said he knew it was wild.
"This one, he's
nobody's pet, he crawled up here," Clark said.
Others, ones that are two
or three feet long, likely are or were owned by someone.
"They catch it and
bring it home because they think it's cool, and then they turn it loose because
(someone else in the house) gets mad," he said.
On Wednesday, Clark
transported the alliagtor to his new home: a Pike County resident who has
"several 100 acres of land," as well as a private lake that backs up
to a swamp and eventually goes to the Flint River.
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/wild-gator-in-coweta-163649.html
BORDER
Rhys Gloury has caught
snakes all over the North East. Now he is adding Indigo Shire to his beat.
Mr Gloury, 20, who lives
at Laceby near Wangaratta, will now be available 24-seven in the shire as well
as in the Alpine, Wangaratta, Wodonga and Strathbogie local government areas.
The former Wangaratta High
School student, who is now studying to be a nurse, first developed a love of
reptiles after a visit to the Ballarat Wildlife and Reptile Park when aged
four.
He has since compiled a
live collection of about 20 venomous snakes as well as a four-year-old
freshwater crocodile, Charlie.
Mr Gloury, who became
licensed as soon as he turned 18, uses only a hook and bag when catching
snakes.
He grabs the snake by the
tail, and does not use gloves or tongs because it makes the snake too difficult
to handle.
He said the predominant
types of snake on the Border were tiger, red belly blacks and browns.
“You have to assertive,”
he said.
“There’s no second
chances, you have to be decisive about it but calm.
“Every wild snake is
different, they’re very unpredictable.
“I guess catching is
similar to being a nurse, you have to be adaptable and improvise a lot.”
Some of Mr Gloury’s
dramatic catches have included a tiger snake on a mantle piece and a brown
snake in the main street of Wangaratta.
This season he will be on
the lookout for the rumoured carpet pythons in the Warby Ranges, which he
believes exist, but not the rumoured freshwater crocs in Benalla Lake, which he
doubts.
Mr Gloury is available on
0434 413 181, with most removals costing about $50.
CRANBOURNE
NEWS
(Australia) 15 October 09 Snakes alive there’s two (Bridget Brady)
Nigel Williamson had his
work cut out for him when he arrived at Devon Meadows property to catch a snake
recently, only to find a second one staring straight at him.
The animal rescuer had
been called to a home in Craig Road where a resident had found a copper head
snake.
“I was kneeling on the
ground and then I realised 18 inches away from me there is a second one on my
left looking at me and ready to go,” Mr Williamson said.
He asked the resident to
grab his snake pole and he slowly manoeuvred it into a bag while he held onto
the first snake in his other hand.
It all ended safely,
despite the second snake being within striking distance, Mr Williamson said.
“In 25 years of chasing
snakes about three times I have come across more than one.
“It made my heart skip a
beat until I realised how I was going to deal with it, and we did it
successfully. I had all of the protective gear on and in reality it wasn’t what
I would call a high risk situation.”
Mr Williamson said the
rescue was his first for this season and reminded Casey resid-ents snakes can
appear now any day the sun was out.
“Now that people are
getting into their gardens and cleaning up they have to have in the back of
their minds that the City of Casey is a big snake area.”
Mr Williamson said they
would remove about 40 snakes a year from the municipality.
He said it was important
to have long pants, loose clothing and strong boots on when in the garden and
ensure grass was not too long.
If bitten on the leg,
people should bandage from the toe to the groin, Mr Williamson said.
“Then sit down and relax
and ring an ambulance so they can anticipate your arrival.
“Do not clean the wound,
leave the venom on the outside so it can be tested.”
http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/81228
WVTM (Birmingham, Alabama)
14 October 09 Veterinarians report
increase in snake bites on pets (Chris Pollone)
Bessemer, Ala: Local veterinarians report treating many dogs
lately that have been bitten by poisonous snakes.
At Hope Animal Clinic in
Bessemer, they’ve been treating four to six dogs a week for the past month.
Reptile experts say the
warm, wet fall is forcing snakes from their holes and hollows and allowing them
to roam around during the daytime.
The most common poisonous
snake in Central Alabama is the Copperhead.
“These are not normally
aggressive snakes, they’re not going to go after that pet, but it’s usually
from the dog being in the wrong place and being curious and that’s why they’re
usually bitten,” said Stephen Glasgow of the Alabama Reptile Rescue Sanctuary.
If your pet is bitten by a
snake, the spot will swell and you might be able to see two fang marks.
Get the pet to a
veterinarian as soon as possible.
Snake appearances should
decline as the weather gets a bit colder.
AUGUSTA
CHRONICLE (Georgia) 14 October 09
Alligator killer fined and
sentenced (Rob Pavey)
One of two men charged
with killing an alligator in Richmond County and leaving its butchered carcass
in a pond behind Brown Feed & Seed in Evans will pay $1,350 in fines and
serve 160 hours of community service.
On Aug. 23 , workers at Brown
Feed & Seed found the remains of a large alligator in a pond behind the
store off Washington Road, where a 9-foot gator has been living for several
years. It was presumed to be the pond’s resident gator. Wildlife authorities
later determined the resident gator was still alive — and a similarly large
gator killed illegally in Richmond County had been dumped there after its head,
claws and tail were removed.
Bobby Charles Jones, 51,
of Columbia County, was charged with two misdemeanors— hunting out of season
and possession of illegally taken wildlife.
According to the Richmond
County State Court Solicitor’s Office, Mr. Jones received 12 months probation
on both counts, fines and surcharges totaling $1,350 and was ordered to perform
160 hours of community service at an animal shelter facility. Mr. Jones was
also ordered to stay away from the private property where the alligator was
killed.
A second suspect,
65-year-old Luther Godowns, also of Columbia County, is believed to have
assisted in butchering the gator and dumping its remains, according to law
enforcement officers with Georgia’s Wildlife Resources Division. He was charged
in Columbia County with two misdemeanors: possession of illegally taken
wildlife and “dumping of egregious litter.”
His case is scheduled for
Oct. 28 in Columbia County Probate Court.
Georgia’s alligator
population is estimated at about 200,000. The state Natural Resources Board
created a hunting season for alligators five years ago, with a limited number
of permits offered through a highly competitive lottery. More than 5,000
applications were received last year for the 550 available tags.
This year, the number of
permits was increased to 700, and they were awarded for the 2009 season, which
ran from Sept. 5 to Oct. 4.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/latest/lat_702507.shtml
PEOPLE’S
DAILY
(Beijing, China) 14 October 09 China cuts alligator natural reserve area to
half for intensive protection
China has cut the area of
its largest Chinese alligator natural reserve in east China's Anhui Province to
half for intensive protection, a local official said Wednesday.
The 43,300 hectares of
Xuancheng Chinese Alligators National Natural Reserve is too large and some
parts of the area is no longer suitable for the alligators to live, said Zhu
Jialong, head of the natural reserve administration bureau.
The natural reserve is
expected to be reduced to 18,600 hectares. But the core protection area will
grow to 5,188 hectares from the former 41 hectares. Human activities, industrial
and tourism developments are banned in the core protection areas, he said.
The natural reserve will
focus on the rehabilitation of the habitat for the alligators and improve their
natural breeding capabilities.
The natural reserve
expanded extensively when it was upgraded to a national-level natural reserve
in 1986. It has covered vast farmland and populous villages, which were not the
habitats for the alligators, he said.
Reducing the unnecessary
protection areas can concentrate the limited capital and resources to protect
the Chinese alligators, also known as the Yangtze alligator, which have existed
for 200 million years, he said.
The Chinese alligator is
now safe from extinction, according to Zhu, but remains listed as one of the
most endangered creatures in the world.
To protect Chinese
alligators, which are under state first-grade protection, from extinction, the
Chinese government set up the Chinese Alligators Breeding Research Center in
Xuancheng in 1979.
The number of Chinese
alligators at the center has risen from about 200 to more than 15,000. The
center said it could hatch 1,500 such reptiles a year.
According to a research
survey in 2005, less than 150 Chinese alligators were believed to be living in
the wild, in pockets in east China's Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6783695.html
ST
PETERSBURG TIMES (Florida) 14 October 09 Annual
Rattlesnake Festival returns to San Antonio with cheap thrills (Helen Anne Travis)
San Antonio: Every year, organizers have to dispel a few
myths about the annual Rattlesnake Festival.
"The most common
thing is people swearing, 'I was here last year and I had snake meat,'"
said Amy Greif, festival organizer and daughter of one of the festival's
founders.
"There's no snake
meat. There's no gopher product. Period."
The 43rd Annual
Rattlesnake Festival kicks off this weekend. With the ongoing recession hurting
pocketbooks everywhere, organizers are positioning the two-day event as an
affordable family excursion.
Admission and parking are
free. Entry to the daily snake and reptile shows is still $5 for adults, $2 for
children. It costs a mere dollar to enter the gopher races. And the
"saddle" for the plastic tortoise is free.
"We're all really concerned
about the down economy," Greif said. "But this is an event where you
can go if you are on a budget."
The festival is a
community fundraiser, benefiting local churches and, in the past, groups like
the local Boy and Girl Scouts.
It costs about $50,000 to
put on the event each year. Funding comes from ticket sales to the snake and
reptile shows and food sales.
Of course, sponsors also
help cover the bill, though they were harder to come by this year.
"I've been associated
with (the Rattlesnake Festival) now for about 10 years," said organizer
Robert Beck. "This is the hardest year I have worked to get funding."
Beck said some local car
dealers pulled out and many other sponsors scaled back their donations. But
with the help of new sponsors, including Pepsi, and private donors, the show
will go on.
DAILY
A mother-of-one chose a
crocodile over her husband after he gave her an ultimatum in a desperate
attempt to save their marriage.
Vicki Lowing, 52, has
hand-raised the crocodile, called Johnie, for 13 years.
It roams freely around her
home, sits on her lap when she watches TV, and sleeps in her son's bed at night
when she is not there.
She claims the reptile is
like another child. So when her husband Greg forced her to choose between
Johnie and him, the choice - to her - seemed obvious.
Ms Lowing, who has looked
after ill and abandoned animals for decades, found Johnie left on her doorstep
in 1996 by an anonymous person.
The one-and-a-half metre
long female was underweight and badly neglected.
She has looked after the
animal ever since. Johnie has become so domesticated she now crawls out of its
large water tank in the living room to watch TV on the family's laps.
But her husband Greg was
less than impressed with her humane efforts.
Finally he ordered her to
choose between him and the crocodile. In 2005 the couple divorced after a
lengthy separation.
'Husbands can look after
themselves but my crocodile can't make his meals,' she reasoned.
Ms Lowing, a trained
nurse, continued: 'Men like to be the centre of attention in a relationship,
but Johnie was like another child to me and all my children will always be
equal to any partner I have.
'As soon as I started
looking after Johnie, Greg and I started having problems. We did nothing but
fight. There was a lot of tension in the house.
'He said I spent too much
time on Johnie. It got really bad.'
Greg, she confessed,
worked '12 hours a day, seven days a week'. It was not surprising then that
when he got home he was frustrated to find his wife's attentions devoted to a
reptile instead of him.
Ms Lowing said: 'I think
he became jealous of the amount of time I spent with Johnie. He said I devoted
all my time on the crocodile instead of him.'
When he finally snapped
and said it was the crocodile or him, Vicki didn't think for a second.
She said: 'I felt like
Greg was asking me to put him ahead of one of my children.
'I had pets when I met
Greg, so in my eyes, he knew what he was getting into - just like any other man
who gets with a woman with children.
'I had given up a lot of
other things in the relationship, but I won't give up what I already had before
I met him and what he knew I came with.'
She added: 'Greg tried to
get involved in my passion in the first few years of marriage.
'I was a volunteer with an
animal charity and he would come out on rescues and try and help.
'But he always felt like
he was second best. He thought the animals meant more to me than him, but that
wasn¹t the case, they were just equal.
'In the end he couldn't
handle his emotions and I wouldn¹t give up my animals.
'I chose my crocodile over
my husband. We sold our place and went our separate ways. It's a real shame,
but it happened.'
Ms Lowing, from Rockbank,
Victoria, Australia, now lets Johnie run freely through her home with son
Andrew.
And she noticed as her
son, 18-months older than the pet, started to grow and develop - so did the
crocodile.
She said: 'She soon became
familiar with the new house and her surroundings. It was like having two
children to look after.
'They were like siblings,
following each other around. And as Andrew learnt and grew his curious side, so
did Johnie.
'I would find Johnie
emptying the cupboards, just as Andrew had done a few weeks earlier.
'They were developing and
learning their key skills together. Johnie was no different to any toddler.'
She added: 'They also had
their sibling rivalry. I once heard Andrew screaming "mummy, mummy".
'I ran in to discover
Andrew crying, saying Johnie had taken his toy. Sure enough, there was Johnie
in his water tank, with the toy in his mouth.
'I told him off and he
sulked for two days. And if I gave either of them too much attention, boy did
the other let me know about it.'
Then, after five years,
Johnie crawled on to her lap as she watched TV.
She said: 'I never handled
her. But one day, she came to where I was sitting and laid across my lap. She
just sat there, watching TV.
'That was when I knew she
had bonded with me. I had won its trust.
'After that, he would come
and find me around the house. If I was working on the computer he would come
and lay across my feet.
'She was just like any dog
or cat, or any other pet, wanting attention.'
It was only after all
these years that Ms Lowing discovered Johnie was, in fact, a girl.
Crocodiles have no external
organs, so its sex is determined by size and weight after many years.
Johnie, now 13 years old,
is one and a half metres long and weighs 12 kilos - but if he was a male, he
would be much bigger and heavier.
Vicki said: 'I had to tell
Andrew his brother was actually his sister. We've stuck with the name Johnie
though, because its what we, and she, is used to.
'And I was secretly
thrilled - I've always wanted a daughter.'
Johnie now stares at the
fridge when she is hungry and even pushes Ms Lowing and Andrew off the sofa if
she wants to watch another channel.
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC (Washington, DC) 14 October 09 Alien
Giant Snakes Threaten to Invade Up to 1/3 of U.S. (Ker Than)
Nine species of giant
snakes—none of them native to North America and all popular pets among reptile
lovers—could wreak havoc on U.S. ecosystems if the snakes become established in
the wild, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
(pictures of giant snakes mentioned in the study).
Two of the giant snakes
are already at home in Florida. One of them, the Burmese python, has the
potential to infiltrate the entire lower third of the U.S., the study says.
Mature individuals of the
largest of the nine giant snake species—the Burmese, reticulated, and northern
and southern African pythons—have been known to attack and kill people. But
attacks on humans are rare, and scientists think the snakes pose minimal risks
to humans.
Some of the snakes can
grow longer than 20 feet (6 meters) and weigh more than 200 pounds (90
kilograms).
All nine giant snakes are
considered invasive or potentially invasive, meaning they could live and
reproduce in parts of the U.S. The snakes mature rapidly, produce large numbers
of offspring, are not picky eaters, and can survive in a variety of
environments.
The report names five
giant snake species as high risk, saying they "put larger portions of the
U.S. mainland at risk, constitute a greater ecological threat, or are more
common in trade and commerce": the Burmese python, northern and southern
African pythons, boa constrictor, and yellow anaconda.
The other four species—the
reticulated python, Deschauensee's anaconda, the green anaconda, and the Beni
anaconda—are considered medium risk.
The giant snakes are
native to a variety of countries in Africa, South America, and Asia.
For the study, USGS
scientists examined the potential for each of the nine species to thrive in
regions of the U.S. that match the reptiles' native habitats.
Two of the species—the
Burmese python and the boa constrictor—have been confirmed to be breeding in
parts of Florida. The other seven species are not as established but are
considered potential threats.
While the possible ranges
for some of the giant snakes are limited to parts of Florida and Texas, other
species could spread more widely. The Burmese python, for example, could spread
across the lower third of the country, the study concludes.
Scientists estimate that
there could be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of these giant
snakes already living wild in the United States. However, due to the snakes'
camouflage, humans rarely notice them.
"For every snake that
you see," said study co-author and USGS biologist Bob Reed, "there
could be a thousand snakes that you didn't see."
Most of the giant snakes
found in the wild were once pets that either escaped or were released by humans
after they had proved too difficult to care for, the report says.
While humans may think
they are doing their pets a favor by releasing them, freedom for the snakes
could be a death sentence for many North American ecosystems.
"If you want to be
good to Mother Nature, do not under any circumstances let [your snake]
go," said study co-author and USGS zoologist Gordon Rodda. "You'd be
better off euthanizing it than releasing it."
And though some of the
species occasionally attack humans, Rodda added, "the main damage that we
see from these snakes is ecological."
For example, the
post-World War II invasion of brown tree snakes on the U.S. territory of Guam
has decimated the South Pacific island's native wildlife populations.
Many of the mammals,
birds, and lizards that the tree snake—a native of Australia, Papua New Guinea,
and the Solomon Islands—preys on pollinate the island's trees and flowers, so
Guam's native plants are also on the decline.
A similar loss of species
diversity is possible in parts of North America, where many small animals are
unaccustomed to the hunting styles of huge predatory snakes, the scientists
warn.
"Our native animals
don't have an evolutionary history with giant sit-and-wait snakes," Reed
said.
The authors of the new
study "didn't leave anything unturned," said Ken Krysko, a senior
herpetologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, who was
not involved in the study.
"No one can dispute
anything they wrote down in there."
The new study will be
reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service.
The findings will be taken into consideration when determining options for
controlling the snakes' spread, said FWS spokesperson Ken Warren.
One possible action,
Warren said, is to declare the snakes as injurious to humans and the
environment. This would prohibit importing the snakes into the United States
and transporting them across state lines.
However, such an action
would not make it illegal to own or sell the snakes.
It will also be important
to educate the public on the ecological dangers posed by freeing giant snakes,
said USGS's Rodda.
"It has to be
understood as an antisocial act," Rodda said. "Just as friends don't
let their friends drive drunk, friends don't let their friends release giant
snakes."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091014-giant-snakes-invasion-us.html
PALM BEACH POST (Florida) 13 October 09 Snake
invasion: Riviera Beach police, residents on the lookout for 'python-like'
reptile (Andrew Marra)
Riviera Beach: Why did the snake cross the road? To incite
panic, of course.
The sighting
of a "python-like" snake slithering across a road in a Riviera Beach
neighborhood Monday prompted residents to call the police and led to cops
distributing snake safety flyers around the neighborhood.
The alleged
reptile was last spotted at large sometime Monday morning in the vicinity of
300 West 23rd Street, a city spokeswoman said.
With invasive
pythons increasingly on the minds of rattled South Florida residents, police
made sure to get out the word.
"We sent
police officers out into the neighborhood distributing flyers to make residents
aware," city spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown said.
Pythons are
not poisonous but have been known to put the squeeze on their prey. Brown
advised people to be vigilant and call authorities if approached by the snake,
which was said to be unarmed.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/local_news/epaper/2009/10/13/1013rbpython.html
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION (Atlanta,
Georgia) 13 October 09 Boy couldn't save snakebit grandpa
(Christian Boone)
Patriarch Dick Rupert, 68,
loved these hunting trips with his son Russell and grandson Chad, though they'd
spend much of the day apart, perched in their tree stands amid the familiar
solitude.
Rupert, who lived in
Winder with his wife of 50 years,
escorted grandson Chad to the boy's tree stand around 7:30 a.m. With the
12-year-old safely situated, Rupert headed for his own quiet place in the
woods. A sharp, shooting pain in his calf stopped him cold.
"I think I just got
bit by a snake," he told his grandson. Chad heard the rattle.
He would later tell
Oglethorpe County deputy corner Howard Sanders that he was scared to come down
from the stand.
But with Chad's father out
of earshot and cellular phone service unavailable, the 12-year-old knew that he
was the only one who could help his grandfather, who was already drifting into
and out of consciousness.
"The grandfather was
a large man, and this is a 12-year-old boy,” Sanders said. Chad persevered.
They managed to make it to
their four-wheeler, but Dick Rupert was fading fast, falling off the vehicle
twice. Chad's father, Russell Rupert, heard them from his tree stand and helped
his son drive to a nearby house, where they called 911.
The nearest ambulance was
20 miles away, Sanders said. Dick Rupert's son and grandson administered CPR,
but he was non-responsive. Rupert was pronounced dead at Wills Memorial
Hospital in Washington, less than an hour after he was bitten.
He is the second person to
die from a snake bite in Georgia this year. On average, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, snakes kill only 10 Americans a
year. Oglethorpe County Coroner James Mathews said it’s possible Rupert suffered
a heart attack after he was bitten.
Rupert's family could not
be reached for comment Tuesday. They were attending his funeral in Winder.
"It was really sad
seeing that grandson beat himself up," Sanders said. "He kept saying
‘I was trying to help granddaddy. I was trying to help granddaddy.' "
"I told him, and it's
true, that he did all he could've done," Sanders said.
http://www.ajc.com/news/boy-couldn-t-save-161981.html
PALM BEACH POST (Florida) 13 October 09 Want to
warn of real terror? Try snake alerts (Frank Cerabino)
It turns out
that the color-coded terror warning system we've been using for the past eight
years is pretty useless.
At least that
was the conclusion of a special task force advising Homeland Security Secretary
Janet Napolitano. Some members advocated scrapping the color system, while
others said it needs to be changed in a way that restores public confidence.
I mention this
because if the color-alert system is abandoned by Homeland Security, we should
adopt it here in South Florida.
For snakes.
Let me explain.
On Monday, a
Riviera Beach man called police to report a snake on his porch. The snake was
last seen crossing the 300 block of West 23rd Street. This prompted the city to
send public safety volunteers to the neighborhood to hand out fliers
door-to-door.
"STEPS TO
TAKE IF A PYTHON OR OTHER LARGE SNAKE IS SEEN IN THIS AREA," it
practically shouted.
The flier
advised against attempted capture, asking the snake spotter to "move
inside to a safe place," call 911 and, for good measure, also call the
python hot line, which is actually the phone of Skip Snow, a wildlife biologist
in Everglades National Park.
This was a
hefty dose of calamity for what was described as a 3- to 5-foot snake that
might or might not be a python.
It also led to
an unnecessary torrent of politician jokes and diminished the marketing
potential of Palm Beach County's only commercially viable mythological
creature: the Muck Monster of the Lake Worth Lagoon.
We can't
afford to turn every snake spotting into a door-to-door campaign.
Which is why I
thought of the human terror alert system. If color codes are not going to be
used to focus on potential Al-Qaeda threats, we should consider adapting them
to notify local residents of the status of snake sightings.
Each city
could have its own SLITHER: Snake Logistical Index of Terrified Homeowners
Eschewing Reptiles. And the SLITHER could be color-coded as follows:
Condition
Green
Scenario: Just
iguanas.
Course of
action: Don't ask, don't tell.
Condition Blue
Scenario:
Active report of possible small snake; possible garden hose that might be
snake; possible snake that might be missing belt.
Course of
action: Don't watch the movie Snakes on a Plane.
Condition
Yellow
Scenario:
Active report of big snake spotted in yard. Might be python. Too scared to go
out and check.
Course of
action: One gin and tonic. Two, if snake is longer than 6 feet.
Condition
Orange
Scenario:
Report of big snake spotted in yard, Chihuahua missing.
Course of
action: Wait for police, cancel kennel reservation.
Condition Red
Scenario:
Active report of big snake inside house. Lots of hissing on the phone line.
Course of
action: Call Discovery Channel.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/10/13/a1b_bino_1014.html
THE BUGLE (Camp Verde, Arizona) 13 October
09 Snake
gets stuck
It was all in
a day's work for Clarkdale Fire crews Monday morning when they were called to
handle a rattlesnake at a home, usually a routine call handled with a
"snake stick" and a burlap bag.
But, in this
case, the snake had become immovably stuck in chicken-wire fencing and became
angry and threatening.
It was a
delicate maneuver for Clarkdale Fire crews to remove the snake without being
bitten in the act.
The rattler
was successfully removed from the property and relocated.
http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=24584
POCONO RECORD (Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) 13
October 09 Snake forces scared grandma to scale back on car use
Dear Tom and
Ray:
I really need
an answer soon! There is a possibility that I have a 5- to 6-foot,
2-inch-diameter snake living in my engine compartment.
It was
slithering under my car, which was parked on the street in Muenster, Texas.
Some men from the local electric company tried to shoo it away. But it never
came out from underneath the car. I had two screaming grandchildren with me,
plus a less-than-happy spouse, so after a thorough search of the cabin, I drove
40 miles home. I called the Honda dealer it's a 2008 Honda Fit), and they said
it was possible for the snake to enter the passenger compartment through the
air-conditioning ducts. My car is parked outside in the Texas heat right now.
What are the chances the snake is in the car, and how do I get it out? Am I
being paranoid? This happened yesterday. Help!
Mary
TOM: Are you
being paranoid? You're being delusional to go near this car. If it were my car,
I'd set it on fire and stay 50 feet away until there was nothing left but fine
ash.
RAY: Of
course, we Northerners aren't accustomed to seeing snakes very often, Mary.
Unless they're working at car-repair facilities.
TOM: So we
spoke to Dr. Fred Zaidan, a herpetologist at the University of Texas, Pan
American. He says that your little pet there is probably either gone by now, or
dead.
RAY: He says
that engine temperatures, which typically are several hundred degrees, are too
hot for snakes, especially in the summer. If it were early spring or late fall,
they might try to get warm by crawling up in the engine bay. But when it's
already 100 degrees outside, the only reason they'd go up there is to get away
from someone trying to swat them with a broom.
TOM: So if the
snake could get out of there, it's probably gone by now. If not, it'll likely
die in there. And you'll know if that happens by the horrific smell that
announces itself in the next couple of days. Or by the obituary you read in
next month's Good Snakekeeping magazine.
RAY: While
there are some ways it could get into the ventilation system, and from there
get into the passenger compartment, it's not easy. And Dr. Zaidan says, in his
experience, that rarely happens. The snake wants out, not in.
TOM: Of
course, would I take Dr. Zaidan's word for it, just because he's spent his
whole life studying snake behavior? Hell no! If it were me, I'd lure a local
snake expert out to have a definitive look.
RAY: Right.
Your nearby university may have a herpetologist, or you may try a local nature
center, or go online and find a bulletin board for snake hobbyists. A person
familiar with handling snakes probably would be willing to poke around, and if
the little guy is still in there, grab him and remove him from the premises.
TOM: Without
seeing it, or knowing its coloring, Dr. Zaidan says it's impossible to know
whether it was a venomous snake. But he says reassuringly, again) that any
venomous snake 5 to 6 feet long would be more than 2 inches thick.
RAY: Of
course, people often get the dimensions of snakes wrong. My brother saw a
foot-long garden snake in his tulips, and called the zoo and told them there
was an 8-foot anaconda loose.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091013/FEATURES/910130311/-1/NEWSMAP
OTTAWA CITIZEN (Ontario) 12 October 09 Croaking
Kermit was
right -- it isn't easy being green, and it's getting harder all the time.
Frogs and
other amphibians are dying at alarming rates around the world. The situation is
so grim that scientists and conservationists have created an organization
called Amphibian Ark to try to save as many threatened species as possible by
setting up captive breeding programs. As many as one-third of all amphibian
species are facing extinction.
There is a
movement to draw the world's attention to this crisis, which is being called
the most significant mass extinction since the dinosaurs. But don't expect to
see a heartstring-tugging campaign along the lines of Save the Whales, iconic
T-shirts or awareness-raising rock concerts.
Frogs are
green and slimy, they don't have cute furry faces or big eyes. That makes them
a hard sell. It's a struggle to draw attention to their desperate plight, and
that makes the situation all the more tragic.
A killer
fungus has made the lives of frogs and amphibians around the world particularly
fragile. But the other factor in their extinction is the loss of wetlands.
Cities and suburbs around the world are built on former wetlands. When humans
move in, amphibians are pushed out.
Most urban-
and suburban-dwelling Canadians seldom see amphibians. When the majority of a
population has never heard peepers in the spring or frog tunes in the summer,
they are not going to notice when the frogs go silent.
Last week,
Ontario's Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller drew attention to the
declining amphibian population in the province, calling them "canaries in
the global coal mine." He also criticized provincial land-use policies
which are contributing to the loss of wetlands in places like Goulbourn.
There is a
frightening message in the decline of amphibians. But it is one too few humans
are able to hear.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Croaking/2093148/story.html
NORTHERN STAR (Lismore, Australia) 12
October 09 Snake terror for pensioner (Dominic Feain)
Goonellabah
man Frank Howell didn't know what hit him when he awoke in his lounge chair at
3am last Wednesday.
“I thought
someone had belted me on the back of the hand with a broom handle,” the shaken
pensioner said.
Mr Howell was
bitten by an unidentified snake in the lounge room of his Mountain View Drive
home, but did not fully comprehend what had happened until much later that day.
Groggy and
tired he went to bed, only to wake at 7am with a 'violent headache'. He
continued with his plans for the day, which included driving to Coolangatta to
be with his wife, who recently suffered a stroke.
“Basically I
did everything wrong and the doctors said I am a very lucky man, so I wanted to
warn others. I've been so incoherent and am only coming out of the stupor now,”
he said.
Mr Howell was
admitted to Tweed Hospital on Wednesday afternoon. The hospital confirmed his
case was serious, that he was treated for an unidentified snake bite and had
sustained local tissue damage.
After nine
hours, Mr Howell was discharged and returned home only to realise with a chill
on Saturday there was no way a snake could enter or exit his heavily screened
home except through an open door.
Having not
left a door open since the attack, he knew whatever had bitten him was probably
still there.
He has moved
into a motel until he can locate the reptile and has had a builder confirm
there are no other possible entry or exit points.
Local reptile
handler, George 'the Snake Man' Ellis, is familiar with such scenarios and said
he has pulled a lot of deadly eastern brown snakes from Mr Howell's area
recently. He offered to assist Mr Howell find the snake, or snakes - as he put
it ominously.
“It's been a
crazy snake season this year and there's much worse to come,” he said.
“Unless you're
an expert the only way to respond to them is do nothing. Just wait. Whether
it's five minutes or five hours, do not move. You don't see snakes biting
trees, do you? I suggest to everyone to put my number on speed-dial and just
wait for me to get there.
“I had a woman
from St Helena call me to say she'd woken with two large red-bellied black
snakes in her bed. Luckily she froze, though in terror. She reached for the
phone beside her bed and called me and I made her promise not to move an inch
until I got there.”
Mr Ellis
described another time where a man had an eastern brown wrapped around his leg
and someone tried to beat it off with a rake. He was saved by his thick work
trousers.
“That's just
stupid. It's like running into a bikies club and calling them all pansies,” he
said.
http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2009/10/12/snake-terror-for-pensioner/#
THE RECORD (St. Augustine, Florida) 11 October
09 Recent
snake kill called 'abusive' (Greg Lepera is a St. Augustine resident, a
local herpetologist with 23 years experience in zoos, and a photographer
specializing in natural history and conservation.)
It is with
dismay that I respond to The Record's recent articles regarding the
killing of a large rattlesnake. I've spoken to many friends upset by the
front-page coverage of this event.
The snake in
the article was gigged through the neck, then hoisted off the ground while
still alive for photos. Its mouth was open and its tail was contorted in pain.
This was a living, breathing, beautiful animal, an animal whose last moments
were spent in agony. Such abusive behavior in a civilized society is shameful.
In the last 25
years, I have seen rattlesnakes in St. Johns County decline dramatically both
in numbers and in average size. Some would argue that is a good thing, I
strongly disagree. Rattlesnakes are top predators that maintain ecological
balance. They deserve a place in our county and our state.
Each year in
the United States, there are an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 bites from venomous
snakes, 5-12 bites a year are fatal. Many bites occur while the victim is trying
to capture or kill the snake, and many bites involve the use of alcohol by the
victim. I fully understand and appreciate the dangers involved with venomous
snakes.
I would like
to compare the relative danger of snake bites with that of dog bites to create
some perspective: There are 4.7 million dog bites in the U.S. each year,
meaning that nearly two percent of the U.S. population is bitten each year. One
out of six bites requires medical care. Dog bites are the fifth most common
reason for children to visit the emergency room. Dog bites fatalities have
almost doubled, from an average of 17 in the 1980s-1990s, to 33 fatalities in
2007, the last year for which statistics were available. The vast majority of
biting dogs (77 percent) belong to the victim's family or a friend. Three dog
breeds and their mixes, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Presa Canarios, accounted
for 74 percent of attacks in one study.
What would
happen if a homeowner recognized a threat to his family when a neighbor's Pit
Bull or German Shepherd wandered into his yard?
What if he
were to stab it through the neck with a flounder gig, then hoist it aloft,
still alive, kicking and whining, while the police observed? Would he be
arrested for animal cruelty? Would he be vilified and face jail time like
Michael Vick? Or would the local newspaper canonize him and give his business a
boost with not one but two front page stories of his heroism?
It is time to
abandon the outdated idea of human dominance over the environment. Living
safely with snakes (or alligators, or cars, or horses, or lightning) takes only
some common sense and a bit of knowledge. There are many options available to
deal with a snake on your property, it is unfortunate that the wrong one was
chosen in this case.
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/101109/opinions_101109_056.shtml
HERALD TRIBUNE (Sarasota, Florida) 09 October
09 Snakes,
our scary neighbors (Laura Sperling)
City sidewalks
are not what I consider prime snake habitat. But a recent run-in with one of
the creatures -- tiny, with a Napoleon complex and a big mouth, stretched wide
open as if to say, "Take one more step and I'll shoot!" -- is causing
me to rethink.
My dog and I met the snake a couple of
weeks ago while ambling around an old Sarasota neighborhood. I couldn't tell
what species it was. We were several feet away, minding our own business, when
the reptile suddenly reared up, scaring us into a fast retreat.
That's my
usual strategy -- panic first, think later -- when a snake comes around.
Fear of serpents
may bubble up from an ancient part of the brain that's always in survival mode.
But the emotion could just as well stem from that time when a boy tried to put
a garter snake down my little sister's dress. Or, perhaps it was that
particular family vacation in Fort Walton Beach (back before it became the
"Emerald Coast") when a fellow tourist killed a rattler and left its
carcass -- in two pieces, both still writhing -- at the bottom of a garbage
can. Or maybe it was a colleague's description of the searing pain he felt when
bitten, in his teens, by a water moccasin.
According to
one estimate, tens of thousands of snakebites happen each year in the U.S.,
though most aren't venomous and fewer than a dozen are fatal. Still, the
numbers help to explain why I have a tendency to chant, "Snakes be
gone!" before stepping into strange places in the dark.
As a city
dweller, I'm clearly obsessing too much over snake risks. But just when I was
beginning to calm down, current events scared me back into my padded cell.
First came the
media frenzy over exotic pythons, which are spreading through Florida and
threatening ecosystems, children and pets.
Then, an
escaped green mamba -- a lethal species that is supposed to be in Africa, not
here -- bit a cable guy near Miami. The man was saved, thanks to antivenin, but
the snake is still on the lam.
In September
came news that rattlers were threatening two separate families in suburban
Manatee County. According to the Herald-Tribune story, local government
doesn't provide snake control services (even though a 2-year-old boy was
fatally bitten nine years ago in Lakewood Ranch). So, the homeowners had to
either hire a trapper or take care of the problem themselves. The latter option
can be quite dangerous. In one Putnam County case, an Eastern Diamondback
killed a man after he shot the snake repeatedly.
I fear snakes, to be sure, but I also feel
sorry for many of the species. All too often, their sole interaction with
humans consists of being run over by a car or bulldozer, captured for sale, or
killed because they look more dangerous than they are.
Even the
venomous species can be victimized by man. Last month, a new study came out
assailing "rattlesnake roundups" -- those strange spectacles in which
people try to catch and kill as many of the vipers as possible.
The study, by
Dr. Bruce Means, suggested that the excesses of the roundups are hastening
declines in Eastern Diamondback populations. Furthermore, participants often
have resorted to objectionable practices, such as pouring gasoline into gopher
tortoise burrows to drive out snakes. In the process other species, as well as
important habitat, are destroyed.
Maybe the
thought of dead rattlesnakes doesn't tug at your heartstrings. I can understand
that sentiment, and I surely get why homeowners want a viper-free space for
front porches and backyard swing sets. But snakes are living creatures who've
earned their place in the wild. Even if our two species can't trust each other,
we've got to find a way to co-exist.
I choose
avoidance -- augmented by the "back away while silently screaming"
strategy, when necessary. But Bill Turner, a herpetologist with the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, offered these additional
suggestions:
Don't allow
woody debris and other potential snake "refuges" to build up near
entryways. Keep the grass cut. Fine-mesh fencing, such as hardware cloth, can
be useful in discouraging snakes from climbing into yards.
There would be
fewer snake-vs.-human conflicts if development stopped its relentless march
into once-rural areas.
But another
way we can help control the snake situation is this: Stop the importation and
domestic breeding of exotic reptiles. The native species are scary enough.
WHIG-STANDARD (Kingston, Ontario) 08 October
09 When
in doubt, you can't turtle, man says
It seems the
fall harvest isn't the only thing pushed back by the cold, wet summer Mother
Nature sent our way in 2009.
The nesting
season for turtles, too, has been delayed this year by the weather.
The surprise
situation prompted local resident and biology enthusiast Tom Tousant to gather
eight painted turtle hatchlings from the back of his parents' property near
Maynard recently and move them into an aquarium for safety.
In July,
Tousant noticed a mother turtle preparing a nest and felt it was a little late
in the year to lay eggs.
He kept an eye
on the nest during the summer after the mother left to see when the hatchlings
would emerge. When the weather turned colder last weekend and they were still
buried, he decided to act. He uncovered the shallow nest and took eight
hatchlings in for protection.
"Sometimes
you need to stick your neck out like a turtle and get things done," said
Tousant.
Normally, by
the end of September, turtle hatchlings have left the nest and travelled to the
nearest creek where they burrow into the ground under the water and make a home
for the winter.
Tousant
worried time was running out on the nest he'd been watching this summer.
He has since
talked with a technician at South Nation Conservation and is confident the
turtles can survive the elements, if not the other wildlife, and should be left
to their own devices. Tousant said he'll return them to the creek later this
fall.
South Nation
Conservation technician Bill Greaves, a biologist currently studying turtles on
the watershed, said the reptiles were generally two to three weeks behind
schedule laying their eggs this year.
He said it's
uncommon most years for turtles to hatch in late September, but he's not
surprised to hear that's the case in 2009.
Greaves said
there's no increased threat to their survival and there's plenty of time to get
comfortably dug in for the winter.
http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2090063
TIMES OF INDIA (New Delhi, India) 03 October
09 Couple
risk lives to save, rehabilitate snakes (Vikram Jit Singh)
Chandigarh: Imagine lowering your husband into a deep well
on a pitch-dark night. Waiting in the recesses below could be a six-foot Indian
spectacled cobra or a common krait, whose venom is estimated to be 15 times the
cobra’s potency. In the well also lurk naked electricity wires, fragile steps
and the lethal carbon monoxide. The task: respond to a farmer’s distress call,
rescue the serpent and rehabilitate it safely in the wilderness.
Sonika Mann,
23, studies sculpture at the Government College of Arts, Sector 10, and her
hubby, painter Nikhil Sanger (30), has till now pulled out, at grave risk to
his life, 40 venomous snakes from wells. The couple’s Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) rehabilitated a total of 1,200 snakes in the last three years
from Chandigarh and villages of Nawanshahr, Punjab.
”I recently
rescued four kraits from my college’s girls’ hostel and rehabilitated them in
Kaimbawala forests and Leisure Valley, Sector 10. However, this is easy
compared to well operations where the space to operate is very limited. I stand
outside, lower ropes/equipment and shine a torch to guide Nikhil, who goes into
the well,’’ Mann told TOI.
Snakes fall
into wells usually at night when roaming for prey, such as rodents. They are
discovered when farmers go down to fix a tubewell motor, repair walls or deepen
the wells. Most snakes survive the deep fall and can stay alive for weeks. The
WCS advises farmers to build parapets around wells to prevent them from
becoming snake traps. Twenty of these snakes were released this week into
forests by the WCS and Nawanshahr Wildlife guard Ram Sharan.
‘‘At Hyala
village, I nearly fell on two kraits and a monitor lizard in a 37-foot well
after I got a nasty shock from an earth wire hanging from the wall. The rescue
rope around my waist saved me after I lost my foothold due to shock,’’ said
Sanger, a survivor of 40 well-rescue operations.
The couple is,
on occasion, doled out a paltry Rs 300 per rescue/rehabilitation, but that’s
hardly an incentive the couple looks for. It’s love and respect for environment
and all its constituents that keeps them going, from one well to other.
The intrepid
couple was honoured by the Punjab Wildlife Preservation department in 2007 and
are due for honours again during the State Wildlife Week (October 2-8).