HERP NEWS 349/2009
VAUGHAN TODAY (Ontario) 15
December 09 Reptile zoo helps with
rescued snakes - Gardener found eggs in yard (Alex Keshen)
Susan Beharriell was
overseeing garden work in June when she saw a brown and white snake slither
away from a pile of mulch.
With another heave of a
shovel, the gardeners unveiled a nest of eight Eastern Milk Snake eggs, likely
belonging to the adult she had seen slithering away.
The retired
lieutenant-colonel immediately stopped the workers and called Reptilia, a
reptile zoo and education centre.
“I was worried that they
would get sopping wet and not develop,” she said.
While Vaughan-based
Reptilia is not an animal refuge centre, facility manager Lee Parker offered to
incubate the eggs until they hatched three months later as he knew the snakes
were not going to be sold or kept as pets.
Beharriell called in early
September to check the status of her eight eggs, which, to her surprise, had
hatched just the day before.
She was a “very proud
mom,” Parker said.
“I grew up in the country
and played and walked around in the woods,” she said. “So I got to know all
kinds of frogs and snakes. It was just second nature.
“This was the responsible
and logical thing for me to do.”
But not everyone is as
caring for nature’s creatures of the slithery variety as Beharriell.
Parker said he will often
arrive at work in the morning to find a pet snake or lizard sitting in a bag on
Reptilia’s doorstep.
Recently, Parker said,
someone had left a snake that got caught in a sticky mousetrap at the reception
desk.
Without knowing where the
snake came from, Reptilia kept the snake for the winter so they can release it
back into the wild come spring.
“The best thing to do
would be to get in touch with a rehabilitation centre in the area,” Parker
said.
He said Reptilia is
applying for a permit to become a rehabilitation centre so that people who find
injured creatures or reptiles on their property can bring them to the centre to
get better.
The day after Beharriell’s
eggs hatched, she picked them up and released them into the hibernaculum, a pit
filled she filled with gravel, old logs, brush and rubble, that she built in
the yard of her home in King Township, so the Eastern Milks had a chance at
surviving the winter.
Although they’re likely
hibernating for the winter, she said she hopes to see them again in the spring.
http://www.vaughantoday.ca/story.php?id=2134
THE AGE (Melbourne,
Australia) 15 December 09 Cane toad
hitchhikes to Melbourne (Michelle Draper)
AAP: A Melbourne teenager with a fondness for
frogs got a slimy surprise when a creature he plucked from a palm tree at Kmart
turned out to be a dreaded cane toad, sparking a biosecurity alert across the
state.
Frog lover Paul O'Neill,
14, was in a hurry to catch his bus when he spotted the mud-covered creature
perched on the pot plant, so he simply bundled it up and headed to his home in
Hampton, in Melbourne's south.
But as he was washing the
"frog" in the sink, he was squirted with venom.
The reptile and amphibian
enthusiast, who has about 20 frogs and a carpet python called Mr Dudley, knew
immediately he'd found a cane toad.
The destructive toads are
rampant across Queensland and have encroached into parts of NSW and the
Northern Territory but have so far not settled in Victoria.
Victoria's Department of
Primary Industries on Tuesday said it believed this toad had hitched a ride to
the Cheltenham store on one of about 7,000 assorted palms delivered to Kmart
stores from a Queensland wholesaler.
"I could tell it was
a cane toad because it squirted venom on me when I got it home," Paul told
AAP on Tuesday.
Paul quickly contacted a
ranger when he realised it was a cane toad but said he wasn't disappointed he
couldn't keep the latest addition to his frog family.
"I didn't really want
to keep it because it was poisonous," he said.
The hitchhiking toad,
measuring between five and eight centimetres, was expected to be euthanased
later this week.
Paul's discovery sparked a
biosecurity alert in Victoria but searches by Kmart staff and Victoria's
Department of Primary Industries (DPI) found no trace of other cane toads.
However, about 2,500 palms
have been sold by Kmart and Victorians who may have bought any were urged to
check for cane toads.
DPI manager of landscape
protection Brendan Roughead said there was still a low chance cane toads could
establish in Victoria.
"Biologically
speaking, Victoria is not a cane toad friendly environment because the climate
is too cold," Mr Roughead said in a statement.
"Many species of
native frogs are often wrongly identified as cane toads so we are urging people
who suspect they have found a cane toad not to hurt it."
People who suspect they
have found a cane toad are asked to photograph it and report it to the DPI.
Mr Roughead said people
should not handle frogs or toads as they were susceptible to disease after
being touched.
The DPI can be contacted
on 136 186 and photographs can be emailed to
highrisk.invasiveanimals@dpi.vic.gov.au.
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING
CORPORATION 15 December 09 Fuel
reward offered for outback snake spotters
Spot an endangered woma
python and a fuel voucher may be on offer
A $100 fuel voucher is on
offer to anyone who helps the Arid Lands Board keep track of a snake that is
thought to be in decline in the north-east of South Australia.
The woma python inhabits
outback areas around the Strezlecki and Birdsville Tracks.
The Board is offering
vouchers to people who can provide photo evidence and GPS coordinates of any
woma python they find.
Reece Pedler from the
Board says evidence of the non-venomous python's decline has been only
anecdotal at this stage.
"The smaller snakes
are being knocked off by things like cats and foxes and the decline in the
population won't be seen for a long time because the adults live for
potentially years or decades," he said.
"They've previously
declined in Western Australia, although we know that they are still reasonably
common in places like the Birdsville Track and Strezlecki Track in the
north-east.
"So really we're
trying to build up a better picture of where the woma pythons are, how many are
out there and whether they're still breeding and how well they're doing
basically."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/15/2771804.htm
AFRICA NEWS (Amsterdam,
Netherlands) 15 December 09 Crocodile
attacks Dutch national (Madalitso Kateta)
Blantyre, Malawi: A Dutch national Martin Mulder, 26, has been
terribly attacked by crocodiles in the Southern region lake district of
Mangochi in Malawi.
According to police
records, Mulder went swimming with his dog when the crocodiles attacked him and
drugged him to a distance of about 3 kilometers.
Mangochi police spokes
person, Rodrick Maida said the victim was rescued by his care taker who hit the
crocodile by an iron rod. He said Mulder sustained deep wounds in the buttocks,
thighs and fingers.
In a related development a
woman Sunday Nguluwe was also attacked and killed by crocodiles in the southern
region district of Chikwawa.
The Chikwawa police
spokesperson said she was attacked as she went to fetch water in the shire
river. “People that were at the incident of the scene tried to assist her to no
avail. She was only found the following morning dead,” the police said.
http://www.africanews.com/site/Malawi_Crocodile_attacks_Dutch_national/list_messages/28572
STERN (Hamburg,
Germany) 15 December 09 Die
Schlangenfänger von Hong Kong (Markus Leiste)
Als wir, gleich nach
unserer Ankunft in Hongkong vor drei Monaten, in Discovery Bay auf der Insel
Lantau Quartier bezogen, hatten wir eigentlich nicht den Eindruck, mitten in
eine Schlangengrube geraten zu sein.
Zwar gibt es hier eine für
Hongkonger Verhältnisse fast schon üppig zu nennende Fauna, und nur sehr wenig
erinnert an den asphaltierten Großstadt-Dschungel, wie man ihn aus Hongkonger
Action-Filmen oder den Hochglanz-Werbebroschüren von Reiseveranstaltern kennt
-- eher an eine vom Club-Med betriebene Spaßanlage in den Tropen. Doch dass DB
nicht auf einer einsamen Ferieninsel irgendwo im Pazifik liegt, sondern Teil
einer Millionen-Metropole ist, wird einem spätestens dann in Erinnerung
gerufen, wenn man Richtung Osten schaut und in der Ferne die imposanten
Skylines der Bezirke Central und Tsim Sha Tsui erkennt, die in nur 20
Schiffsminuten zu erreichen sind. Den Schlangen jedoch scheint diese Nähe zur
Zivilisation nichts auszumachen. Sie fühlen sich in DB so wohl als wären sie im
undurchdringlichen Urwald von Papua Neuginea. Vor allem Cobras und Pythons
sieht man häufiger, aber es gibt auch noch einige andere Schlangenarten,
darunter ein oder zwei hochgiftige. Die Schlangenfänger der Hongkonger Polizei
jedenfalls können über Mangel an Arbeit nicht klagen. Hier eine Auflistung von
Zwischenfällen, die es in letzter Zeit gegeben hat:
Eine Freundin fand beim
Jogging eine tote Cobra im Seitengraben. Sie war von einem Bus angefahren
worden, hatte sich wahrscheinlich noch in den Graben geschleppt und ist dort
verendet.
Eine Cobra direkt vor
unserem Haus wurde von zwei Arbeitern mit Bambusstangen gejagt. Ob sie entkam
oder erlegt wurde, ist mir nicht bekannt.
Wie eine Zeitschrift
berichtete, ist einem Wanderer auf Lantau Schlangengift ins Auge gespritzt
worden ist. Der Mann mußte zur Behandlung in ein Krankenhaus gebracht werden.
Eine Treppe nahe unserer
Wohnung war einige Tage lang gesperrt – weil Schlangen im Gebüsch gesichtet
worden seien. Wem das noch nicht reicht, für den habe ich hier noch zwei Videos
zum Thema „Schlangen in Discovery Bay“. Viel Vergnügen!
http://www.stern.de/blog/96_neulich_in_kowloon/archive/3194_die_schlangenfanger_von_hong_kong.html
WAWA-NEWS (Ontario) 14
December 09 $8,000 Fine For Illegal
Possession Of Protected Wildlife (Written by Ministry of Natural Resources)
A Welland reptile zoo
operator has been fined $8,000 and ordered to forfeit wildlife to the Crown.
Karel Fortyn, the operator
of the Seaway Serpentarium Reptile Zoo, was convicted of four charges related
to illegally possessing specially protected and game wildlife under the Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Act.
The court heard that on
June 9, 2006, conservation officers executed a search warrant at the residence
of Fortyn and the Seaway Serpentarium Reptile Zoo in Welland. Eastern
Massasauga rattlesnakes, a milksnake, a Midland painted turtle, and a snapping
turtle were found to be in his possession. Fortyn had no authorization for
these animals.
Justice of the Peace Mary
Shelley gave her decision in the Ontario Court of Justice, Welland, on December
7, 2009.
The Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Act prohibits keeping specially protected wildlife in captivity
except under the authority of a licence. As of June 2007, species at risk,
including the Massasauga rattlesnake, milksnake and snapping turtle, have
additional protection under the Endangered Species Act.
To report a natural
resource violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time or
contact your local ministry office during regular business hours. You can also
call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
http://www.wawa-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4727&Itemid=99999999
TIMES OF INDIA (New Delhi) 14
December 09 South Gujarat becoming
smuggling den for endangered Red Sand Boa
(Melvyn Thomas)
Surat: Blind faith about
medicinal and aphrodisiacal properties of an endangered non-poisonous snake Red
Sand Boa (RSB) is endangering the species found in south Gujarat further. After
southern India, smugglers have shifted focus to south Gujarat, reports suggest.
'
Two days ago, four persons
were caught by police in Silvassa while they were smuggling the snake in an
autorickshaw. The smugglers residents of Mumbai and Dahanu told cops that they
had purchased the snake from Morkhel village in Silvassa for Rs 20,000.
Police sources said one of
the smugglers Paras Sharma, a resident of Kurla in Mumbai, revealed that the
snake would fetch them Rs 60,000 in Mumbai. The double-headed snake is smuggled
to South-East Asia via Chennai and Bangalore.
"The Indian breed of
RSB is known as Eryx johnii and is used as a pet as it's non-poisonous.
The smuggling of this endangered species is rampant in south India. The snake
extract is also used as an aphrodisiac," said a senior forest officer
asking anonymity.
Forest officials said the
smuggling of RSB to Chennai, Bangalore and Kerala is rampant. These snakes
fetch a very high amount ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Animal conservationists
said districts like Surat, Tapi, Valsad, Vapi and union territories of Daman
and Dadra Nagar Haveli are home to thousands of RSB.
"The incidents of
smuggling of this non venomous snake is on the rise due to the blind faith and
its alleged medicinal properties. Only few days ago, three persons were
arrested for smuggling it near Bardoli in Surat district," said an animal
conservationist Darshan Desai.
According to Desai, like a
campaign run to Save the Owls' used for black magic purpose in the district,
they are planning to run a campaign for rescuing RSB from being smuggled out of
south Gujarat.
Sharing a similar view,
deputy conservator of forest (DCF) Franklin Khobung said, "RSB is one of
the most innocent of snakes. They do not have any medicinal value. But, all of
a sudden myths are doing rounds endangering the reptile that comes under
Schedule IV of Wildlife Act. Its poaching draws a fine amounting to Rs 25,000
and an imprisonment of up to three years."
THE TELEGRAPH (London, UK)
14 December 09 Snakes on a plane -
Australia has a somewhat undeserved reputation for shark attacks. Why, wonders
our expat writer, are sharks so unfairly singled out, when the slithery
critters will get you first? (Alison Ripley)
I live in Melbourne’s
west, on the coast, in an area that features in the snake-spotters handbook as
a tiger snake habitat. For snakes and humans, it’s something akin to paradise.
It’s close to water, where black swans, pelicans and ibis nest.
Tiger snakes are active in
spring and summer, when they emerge from hibernation, hungry and with a full
tank of venom on board. They try to avoid humans wherever possible, are most
active after dusk and are at their most lethargic on a hot afternoon after a meal
of eggs and the odd rodent... And there’s nowhere better to stretch out for
your afternoon siesta than the cycle track.
On a bike ride on a warm
evening, I scanned the long tawny grasses beside the path but, when I passed
the site of last year’s encounter with a dive-bombing, supersized magpie, I
confess I was scanning the skyline rather than the ground.
By then I had crossed over
to a wetland area which, because of some unseasonal rain, was wetter than
usual. It was then that I saw a stick across the path up ahead. There were
trees on one side, water on the other, and if I was careful I could just make
it through the narrow gap and avoid it.
Just then, the dark brown
"stick" reared up. It was far too late for me to brake and in the
split second I had to swerve and avoid it, my only option was to speed up. It
was, after all no more than a couple of feet long and was as skinny as a size
zero. As I sailed past it, it turned its head and opened its mouth, more
frightened of me than the other way around.
Up ahead, power-walking
her way towards me was a young woman lost in headphone heaven. As the words
"tiger" and "snake" were drowned out by either Pink or
Beyoncé, she looked at me with that pained look which the under 25s reserve for
anyone that is, like, totally, so old, like their mum. And in the broadest
Glaswegian, she told me she didn’t know why I’d be talking about a snake. I
muttered feebly that, really it was nothing, but to watch where she stepped.
When I got home that
evening I went online to see how real Australians, who live in the bush, deal
with snakes and here are some of the gems I unearthed:
If you have a brown snake
problem, a red-bellied black snake will sort it out. The red-bellied blacks
have fangs that are too short to do too much damage to humans, and they eat the
browns.
You can’t choose to
entertain just the cute and cuddly Australian fauna at your place. After all,
as one wise sage says, you’re in the Australian bush, “not a ------ petting
zoo!”
Chickens are snake magnets.
When someone talks about
having a giant carpet loitering outside his house, he doesn’t mean shag-pile.
If you ask a
"bushie" whether the earth moved for him, that you’re not getting
saucy but merely making an enquiry as to whether he’s tried the latest
vibrating snake scarer.
Thinking that a snake
catcher will help you with your reptile problem when you live 200km from the
nearest town is akin to believing in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.
Snakes are partial to a
drop of milk and one was seen slurping from a cat’s bowl. No mention was made
of what happened to the cat.
Brown snakes, when they
are cornered, take on the personalities of teenagers, as they are not just
truculent but passive-aggressive.
Out of 100 snake bites
recorded recently, only two contained venom. From this I can only deduce that
98 per cent of snakes are all mouth and no trousers. Unless, of course the
unlucky tourist who got caught short and went for a comfort stop beside the
road, near Laura, 300km north west of Cairns, is reading this. Just at the
crucial, vulnerable moment, a brown snake slithered between his legs and bit
him on the end of his manhood. The man survived but his dignity was in tatters.
The most venomous snake on
land in Australia is the inland taipan, or fierce snake, and of the five people
who have been bitten, all survived.
Here are some of the
observations of my own from the five years I’ve lived in Australia:
The olive snake is the
only one of 14 venomous species of sea snake that likes to make the
acquaintance of divers and snorkelers.
Of the seven snakes I have
seen in the wild, two were in the same private pool in Sydney that I was
swimming in at the time.
That a walking holiday in
New Zealand or Ireland - both snake-free zones - is sounding more attractive by
the minute.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/6788703/Snakes-on-a-plane.html
ISLAND PACKET (Hilton Head
Island, S Carolina) 14 December 09 Alligator
captured in Walmart parking lot on Hilton Head; no one hurt (Laura Nahmias)
A 7-foot-long alligator
was caught in the parking lot of the Walmart on Hilton Head Island late Sunday
after surprising some shoppers and employees.
Walmart customer service
representative Margaret Horton called Joe Maffo, president of Critter
Management Inc., after noticing the reptile's head near a bike rack at the
front entrance at about 10:30 p.m.
Customers gathered around
the adolescent male reptile, which hissed and retreated across the parking lot
to a grassy median. Three sheriff's deputies kept people away from the gator
while Maffo captured it.
The alligator has to be
killed according to state law because it was considered a nuisance, Maffo said.
An alligator coming out of
its lagoon this time of year is "a very unusual scenario," said
Maffo.
He blamed unusually warm
temperatures Sunday for the animal's appearance.
Alligators like to sun
themselves, he said, but once night fell, this one was "caught between a
rock and a hard place."
Maffo believes it might
have lived in a lagoon behind the store, but the cold temperatures, which slow
an alligator's metabolism and its ability to move, prevented its return to the
water.
It's a shame it has to be
killed, Maffo said. "If we would have left him, he would have been back in
the lagoon by the morning."
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/1069807.html
WISBECH STANDARD (UK) 14
December 09 Only snake of its kind in
Britain for sale in Wisbech - and could be worth thousands (Tom Jackson)
A snake believed to be the
only one of its kind in the country is now on sale at a Wisbech pet shop - but
there's one small problem.
The short snouted grass
snake was given to DK Reptiles as part of large collection by someone who could
not look after it any more.
It is so rare that the
Natural History Museum took nearly two months identifying it - and as a result
staff are unsure how much to sell it for.
Stefan McNally, deputy
floor manager of the Union Street shop, said: "We are intending to sell it
but we have no idea how much the snake is worth. We could be sitting on a gold
mine - it could be worth thousands of pounds.
"We were given it
with some common snakes and some corn snakes, but the owner didn't know what it
was. We got in touch with Colchester Zoo, London Zoo and the Natural History
Museum to find out.
"The Natural History
Museum came back to us and said this is only the second one they have seen in
40 years, and they believe it is the only one currently alive in the
country."
The short snouted grass
snake - psammophis brevirostris brevirostris - was originally found in
Africa. Importation stopped 28 years ago.
It is about 4ft long, is
rear-fanged and venomous but will not kill so does not need to be licensed. Its
venom is neurotoxic, meaning it attacks the nervous system.
Mr McNally said:
"Most of the information we got back was from the Natural History Museum
but it took them about six to eight weeks to get back because even they
struggled to find out what it is.
"It has been quite a
task to find out, but every day we are finding out more about it."
He added: "Its venom
potency is low - I have been bitten by it several times.
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE (Frankfurt am
Main, Germany) 14 December 09 Tote
Schlangen beißen
Kann ein Flugzeug
rückwärts fliegen? Beißen tote Schlangen? Und ist ein Mensch eigentlich dazu fähig,
10.000 Bücher auswendig zu lernen? FAZ.NET gibt die Antworten - und stellt
einige verblüffende und kuriose Fakten vor.
Dass es unter den
Schlangen giftige und harmlose gibt, weiß jedes Kind. Doch auch tote Exemplare
sind keinesfalls ungefährlich – zumindest nicht, wenn es sich um
Klapperschlangen handelt. Tatsächlich sind für rund 15 Prozent aller ärztlich
behandelten Klapperschlangenbisse tote Tiere verantwortlich. Zwei
Wissenschaftler aus Phoenix, Arizona untersuchten das bizarre Phänomen genauer und
überprüften alle Fälle von Klapperschlangenbissen über den Zeitraum eines
Jahres. Das waren genau 34, und von deren Opfern behaupteten fünf Männer von
einem bereits toten Tier angefallen worden zu sein. Daraufhin stellten Forscher
mit frisch erlegten Klapperschlangen Versuche an. Es zeigte sich, dass der Kopf
etlicher Tiere noch bis zu einer Stunde nach dem Tod nach allem schnappte, was
ihm „vor die Nase kam“. Der Auslöser ist das sogenannte „Grubenorgan“ zwischen
Nasenlöchern und Augen, das mit Infrarot-Sensoren ausgestattet ist, die auf
Körperwärme reagieren und der lebenden Schlange das Aufspüren von Beutetieren
ermöglichen. Offenbar funktionieren die empfindlichen Sensoren noch eine ganze
Weile über den Tod des Tieres hinaus.
CORREO (Lima, Perú)
14 December 09 Los cocodrilos se multiplicand
P. Pizarrro. Si usted ha tenido la oportunidad de visitar
las hermosas playas e islas de Puerto Pizarro, sin duda no ha dejado de darse
un viajecito también por el impresionante zoocriadero de cocodrilos, únicos en
el Perú y por el cual estamos en la obligación de conservar su especie, dado
que se encuentra en peligro de extinción.
De estos Cocodrilos
Acutus, como se les conoce científicamente, actualmente existen 282 ejemplares,
los cuales se encuentran en cautiverio en diez pozas, clasificados por edades y
en donde es infaltable un ejemplar hembra para el respectivo apareamiento.
Afortunadamente, desde que fueron llevados los primeros ejemplares al criadero,
las experiencias fueron exitosas en cuanto al apareamiento, donde cada año el
número va en crecimiento, pues el nacimiento se desarrolla sin problemas, de
casi todos los huevos de las nidadas.
Hábitat Natural. Los
trabajadores del criadero, dan cuenta que en la actualidad existe un aproximado
de cincuenta cocodrilos en su medio natural, lugar donde se sumarán los
ejemplares del criadero, cuando estos cumplan con las condiciones necesarias de
sobrevivencia en este medio.
También puede ocurrir lo
contrario, cuando en el medio natural se encuentran estas especies y se estima
que pueden ser exterminados por los cazadores furtivos, el personal del centro
de acuicultura se encarga de cazarlos para ponerlos a buen recaudo en el
zoocriadero.
Atractivo Turístico. Los
turistas nacionales e internacionales, cada vez que acudan a visitar las
hermosas Islas del Pájaro, del Amor, manglares y esteros les recomiendo que no
pierdan la oportunidad de darse una vuelta por este hermoso hábitat de una de
las especies únicas en el norte del Perú, como es el Cocodrylus acutus o
conocido como el Cocodrilo de Tumbes.
Centro de acuicultura En
1979 debido al deterioro de todas sus poblaciones naturales motivó el establecimiento
de zoocriaderos para revertir su situación. A partir del 1996 el Fondo Nacional
de Desarrollo Pesquero (FONDEPES) estableció en el Centro de Acuicultura, La
Tuna Carranza, localizado en Puerto Pizarro un criadero experimental de
Cocodrylus Acutus con fines de reintroducción y repoblación en la cuenca del
río Tumbes y posiblemente otras cuencas donde es conocida la existencia de esta
especie.
COLUMBUS DISPATCH (Ohio) 13
December 09 Nothing says Christmas
like a lizard from Santa (Tracy Turner)
For the past 10 years, MT
Schwartz has spent Christmas Eve delivering gifts to her customers' homes in
time for the surprised recipients to open the next morning.
Each package typically
contains the same thing: a gift box stuffed with paper towels, a heat plate and
a note that warns: "Do not shake."
"That's so the
recipient won't hurt the bearded dragon that's waiting inside the box,"
said Schwartz, owner of Saffire Dragons in Powell, a reptile business that
mainly sells lizards.
"People will buy them
in advance and have me deliver them Christmas Eve so the kids will think it's
from Santa. Lizards make great Christmas presents, especially for kids who have
allergies, because the lizards have no fur."
That sentiment was
repeated several times by participants and animal sellers at the All-Ohio
Reptile Show yesterday at the UAW Hall on the West Side.
The show featured
alligators, ferrets, spiders, roaches, mealworms, crickets, rabbits, hedgehogs,
turtles, rats, snakes and lizards. It attracted several hundred consumers
looking to start a reptile collection or add to established collections.
Tom and Jody Schwartz of
Pickerington were looking to add a beaded dragon to their collection of pairs
of tree frogs, toads and leopard geckos. The beaded dragon was a holiday gift
for their boys, Marcus, 5 and Jaron, 2.
"Marcus wants a
beaded dragon that'll grow large enough that he can walk it down the street on
a leash," Jody Schwartz said as she held Jaron up to see collections of
baby pythons and other snakes. "Dogs take too much effort to own. With a
reptile, you don't have to do nearly as much in order to care for them."
About 11 million people
kept reptiles as pets in 2005, a 22 percent increase from 2003, according to
the most recent data from the Humane Society of the United States.
And many reptile sellers
say the scaly critters make great holiday gifts because public perception of
reptiles has become increasingly positive in recent years.
Snakes, for example,
aren't aggressive and typically lash out only as a defense mechanism, said
Columbus resident Peter Rushton, who has owned P.T. Reptiles for 11 years.
"Even my wife bought
me a boa for Christmas one year," he said with a laugh. "I've sold
many snakes as gifts."
Eddie Hefner of the East
Side spent $75 on two Kenyan sand boas from Rushton as an early holiday gift
for himself.
The East Side resident
already owns 45 snakes, including a 9-foot red tail boa.
"It was a gift,
too," he said with a smile.
EXPRESS INDIA (New Delhi) 13
December 09 Crocodiles at the
receiving end of low water level in Vishwamitri
Vadodara: While it may take months or even years to
stop the drainage water being released into the Vishwamitri river, the
resectioning of the river having a large number of crocodiles has resulted into
shifting of the reptile from shallow waters.
Importantly, Vishwamitri
is not one of the perennial rivers and it is only the sewerage water which
keeps the crocodiles alive. The resectioning was done by the Vadodara Municipal
Corporation as part of the Vishwamitri Clean-up Project to enhance the water
bearing capacity.
Many animal activists feel
that the resectioning has affected the natural habitat of these reptiles. They
said if proper water level is not maintained, it would force the crocs to
migrate to other places, which would result into territorial wars and even
attack on humans.
The VMC has initiated the
process to stop the sewerage water getting into the river. Mayor Balkrishna
Shukla, who recently visited Cardiff in the UK, had said that efforts were made
to stop the sewerage water getting dumped into the river. As per the plan,
water would be released from the treatment plants.
“We have widened the river
from both the sides and it would obviously lead to more water holding capacity.
For the same reason, when there was heavy rain in Vadodara, waters receded
quickly as the river had become wider. As far as the intake of the freshwater
is concerned, we have made concrete plans and it would be evident in phases,”
said Shukla.
The question, however,
remains whether the movement of crocodiles have been considered or not. “When
the VMC started dredging the river, they were actually dumping a lot of soil
into it, which resulted into decrease in the depth. The situation worsened
after the banks were scrapped. As per our own observations, the water has
receded since last three months and that has no doubt affected the natural
movement of crocodiles,” said Snehal Bhavsar, an animal activist.
LE DROIT (Ottawa,
Ontario) 13 December 09 N'embrassez-pas
les grenouilles!
L'Association des
vétérinaires américains a exhorté vendredi le public américain à «ne pas
embrasser les grenouilles», alors que sort sur les écrans la dernière
production de Disney La princesse et la grenouille et que les batraciens sont
réputés être porteurs de salmonelles.
«Les grenouilles comme
tous les amphibiens et les reptiles peuvent être une source d'infection aux
salmonelles chez les humains», avertit l'American Veterinary Medical
Association (AVMA) dans un communiqué.
«Nous rappelons au public
qu'une manipulation inappropriée d'un amphibien, notamment un baiser, peut
donner une grave maladie, plutôt qu'un prince», ajoute l'association.
Les Centres de contrôle
des maladies (CDC) ont récemment rapporté que les grenouilles avaient été en
2009 la source de 48 cas d'infections aux salmonelles dans 25 Etats américains.
Les salmonelles sont des
bactéries provoquant des infections intestinales graves chez l'homme, appelées
salmonelloses, et sont en général transmises par la consommation d'aliments
contaminés par des matières fécales d'animaux.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/insolite/200912/13/01-930700-nembrassez-pas-les-grenouilles.php
BOSTON GLOBE
(Massachusetts) 12 December 09 Bourne
marine hospital seeks bucks amid turtle trouble
Boston (AP): It’s the season when cold-stunned turtles
wash up on Cape Cod beaches, but a new marine hospital in Bourne isn’t ready to
help.
The Cape Cod Times
reports that a funding shortfall has nearly halted work on the National Marine
Life Center.
The hospital’s outer shell
is complete, but $200,000 is needed to complete the turtle ward. The project
has been stalled by higher than expected costs to remove contaminated soil at
the site.
The cold-blooded turtles
beach when cooler waters "stun" them. In the last week and a half,
nearly 50 Kemp’s ridley turtles were sent from the Cape to Boston’s New England
Aquarium, where their temperatures can be raised in incubators.
Without the Bourne
hospital, the turtles must be sent to facilities from Maine to Florida for
rehabilitation.
THE HINDU (Chennai,
India) 12 December 09 ‘Rs. 1,000
given for turtle conservation’
Bhubaneswar: Greenpeace India, an environmental pressure
group, here on Friday alleged that the State government made budgetary
allocation of paltry Rs. 1,000 for protection and conservation of endangered
Olive Ridley turtles this year.
This budget head was
created in 2008 in response to long pending demands from the State Wildlife
Department and NGOs, it said.
“This is an indictment of
the level of importance the State government attaches to its endangered sea
turtles”, said Sanjiv Gopal, Oceans Campaign Manager, Greenpeace India in a
statement on Friday.
He questioned, “What is
the point in creating a special budget head if adequate resources are not
provided to the Forest Department to fulfil its responsibilities?” According to
a Greenpeace financial estimate in 2007, a sum of Rs. 70 lakh is required every
year for effective sea turtle conservation activities by the Forest Department.
Quoting independent
estimates, Greenpeace said 7,162 turtles were recorded dead along the Orissa
coast from Chilika to Paradip in the 2008-09 season. “Mortality for the entire
State is again likely to be in the region of 14,000-15,000, significantly
higher than the official Forest Department figures,” the group apprehended.
In addition to providing
resources to the Forest Department, it was also essential that the fast patrol
boats deployed were well utilised to enforce the provisions of Orissa Marine
Fisheries Regulation Act (OMFRA), particularly to prevent trawlers from fishing
within 5 km. of the coast, Greenpeace said.
It demanded that
Department of Forests (Wildlife) should ensure inclusion of local NGOs in the
monitoring of turtle mortalities, to ensure transparency and accuracy and
commit to progressively reducing the annual turtle mortality over the next five
seasons.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/14/stories/2009121450860200.htm
THE HINDU (Chennai,
India) 12 December 09 Call to adopt
preventive steps for snake-bites
Dindigul: Immediate and appropriate first aid and
treatment, referring complicated cases to higher centre and effective campaign
on preventive measures are essential to treat and save people from snake-bites,
said T. Jayabal, Joint Director of Health Services.
He was releasing a
handbook on treatment guidelines for snake-bite and scorpion sting at a
training programme held here recently.
“Community must be
motivated to understand and adopt preventive measures. Primary Health Centres
and headquarter hospitals should maintain a registry for snake-bite or scorpion
sting and initiate research activities in a trans-disciplinary manner,” he
said.Such measures would certainly bring down morbidity and mortality rate.
Hospitals should undertake
research activities on various aspects of snake-bite and scorpion sting, and
share the knowledge and experience with others to enhance health care
delivery,.
According to available
data, every 10 seconds there was a snake-bite and one in every six snake-bite
victims happened to be from villages. Pointing out that awareness on preventive
measures was a must as 90 per cent snakes were not poisonous, he said,
meticulous monitoring every hour or two was imperative for ensuring recovery of
snake-bite victims.
All hospitals had
sufficient stock of medicines for snake-bites, Mr. Jayabal said. The hand book
stated that community should receive health education on preventive and
curative aspects of snake-bite and scorpion sting.
Snake-bite was common
during monsoon and post monsoon seasons and the most affected were stated to be
agricultural workers. Destruction of forests for creating agricultural land had
increased the prey base for snakes.
Number of snakes per acre
in a rice field is abnormally high when compared to the natural population in
forests.
Four species - Indian
cobra, Common Krait, Russell’s viper and saw scaled viper were responsible for
Indian snake-bite mortality, according to the handbook. “It was to be
remembered that systemic action of venom and the extent varies from one snake
to another. Complications and outcome due to snake-bite might also vary from
each other and could never be predicted. Pain, oozing, development of an
enlarged tender lymphnode, discoloration of the bitten spot and swelling should
be diagnosed.”
The 20 Minutes Whole Blood
Clotting Test (20WBCT) was considered as the most reliable test for
coagulation, it guided.
Walking with a heavy step
at night with sturdy footwear and a torch, carrying a stick while cutting grass
or picking fruits or vegetables, checking ground ahead when cutting crops and
paying close attention to leaves and sticks on the ground during wood
collection and keeping plants away from doors and windows to prevent climbing
of snakes would all serve to be better precautions against snake-bite.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/12/stories/2009121260350600.htm
ECONOMIC TIMES (New Delhi,
India) 12 December 09 96 turtles
seized, one arrested
Bhubaneswar: Wildlife officials have seized 96 live fresh
water turtles from a town in Orissa and arrested one person on charges of
smuggling them,
police said Saturday.
Acting on a tip off, a
police team caught the man with the reptiles at Pipili town, some 20 km away,
here Friday evening, inspector in charge of the Pipili police station Amulya
Kumar Champatiray said.
"They were live
turtles of different shapes and sizes. They were kept in three bags," he
said. "We caught the man when he was waiting for a bus."
The arrested man,
Durgasankar Mana, is a resident of Midnapore area of West Bengal and wanted to
take the turtles to his state, Champatiray said.
LE FIGARO (Paris,
France) 12 December 09 Un Crocodile
Au Secours Des Crocos (Véronique Grousset)
Michel Lacoste est le
premier chef d'entreprise français à avoir investi pour sauver l'animal
illustrant son logo. En commen çant par le gavial du Gange, menacé
d'extinction.
Rigoureusement immobile en
bordure de bassin, le crocodile est si énorme et effrayant qu'on le prend à
première vue pour une sculpture de pierre, installée là par le centre de
protection des reptiles de Kasara pour témoigner de la splendeur disparue du
gavial du Gange. Ce saurien préhistorique au long museau étroit, festonné de
dizaines de dents aussi coupantes que des rasoirs, aux pattes arrière courtes
et palmées, est un excellent nageur et un très mauvais marcheur, qui ne se
nourrit (fort heureusement pour l'homme) que de poissons. Un animal fascinant,
ne serait-ce que parce qu'il est en voie d'extinction ; en voir en liberté est
exceptionnel, et nous mesurons notre chance d'en avoir rencontré 5 spécimens -
sur les 81 recensés l'an dernier dans cette région du Népal - au cours des deux
heures de navigation en pirogue qui nous ont amenés à travers la jungle jusqu'à
ce centre d'élevage.
Mais les cinq gavials
observés à l'aube, sur les berges ou dans l'eau de la rivière Rapti, étaient
tous nettement plus petits que le mâle dominant que nous contemplons ici, à
moins de 10 mètres de sa gueule débordante de crocs. Et quand il ouvre enfin un
œil en grognant avant de fouetter violemment l'air de sa gigantesque queue,
nous n'en menons pas large. Rien à craindre pourtant, le monstre - paraît-il,
«très timide» - n'a bougé que pour se propulser sous l'eau, à l'abri de nos
regards et, malheureusement, de nos objectifs.
Né au centre l'année de sa
création, il y a trente-deux ans, ce mâle reproducteur - dont le sexe et la
suprématie sont proclamés par l'énorme boule en corne qui surmonte l'extrémité
de son museau - est probablement l'un des plus vieux et des plus gros individus
vivants de son espèce, la moins nombreuse et la plus menacée parmi les 23 que
comptent les crocodiles. Une menace signalée dès le milieu des années 70 par
les scientifiques amoureux du Gavialis gangeticus : autrefois très courant en
Inde, au Pakistan, au Népal et en Birmanie, le gavial ne subsistait déjà plus à
l'époque qu'autour du Gange et du Brahmapoutre, et les naturalistes n'en
avaient alors décompté que... 300 ! D'où la création en extrême urgence de ce
centre d'élevage qui a permis, à lui seul, d'en relâcher plus de 700 dans la
nature depuis vingt-cinq ans. Dont 14 l'an dernier, mais 14 seulement, ce qui
demeure très insuffisant par rapport à la multitude de dangers qui les guettent
: pollution, braconnage, filets dérivants en Nylon, raréfaction du poisson,
crues de plus en plus violentes ou hors saison qui dévastent leur habitat
naturel et les envoient - avec leurs œufs - se faire écrabouiller dans les
turbines des barrages.
La seule chose que l'on
puisse faire pour les aider consiste donc à favoriser leur naissance en
captivité et à ne les relâcher, vers l'âge de 10 ans, que lorsqu'ils sont en
excellente santé et suffisamment musclés pour nicher loin des berges, fuir les
prédateurs et lutter contre les courants. Mais cela suppose de les nourrir
correctement, si possible de poissons vivants, et de les élever dans de grands
bassins alimentés en eau courante, ni trop croupie ni trop pure... ce qui n'est
pas du tout dans les moyens de ce vieux centre de protection népalais,
désespérément en quête de sponsors intéressés par le sort des gavials.
C'est là qu'intervient
Michel Lacoste, l'homme au polo, actuel président de la société du même nom
fondée en 1933 par son père, le champion de tennis René Lacoste.
Le plus célèbre et le plus
fortuné des crocodiles volant au secours du plus menacé d'entre eux ? La
solution paraît évidente. Sauf que ce genre de mécénat d'entreprise était
inconcevable avant que Jean-Louis Borloo et Eric Woerth ne décident de soutenir
l'opération « Save your logo » (voir encadré). Car chacun son métier : Michel
Lacoste a beau avouer «une réelle affection, depuis toujours et par tradition
familiale, pour cet animal au demeurant très sympathique», cela ne suffit pas à
transformer ce grand patron du vêtement sportif en expert ès crocodiles. Sans
conseils avisés (quel projet soutenir ? dans quelle région du monde ? avec
quelles équipes ?) et sans incitation fiscale (indispensable pour convaincre
son conseil d'administration), il n'aurait jamais imaginé partir un jour à dos
d'éléphant à travers un parc naturel népalais truffé d'animaux sauvages, afin
d'y recevoir un cours accéléré sur les mœurs, les malheurs et les besoins du
gavial du Gange. Tandis qu'avec ce nouveau dispositif d'aide aux espèces
menacées, aucune hésitation : la société Lacoste n'a mis qu'une semaine, après
l'accord du ministre du Budget, pour décider de devenir la première grande
marque internationale à investir 1,5 million d'euros dans la sauvegarde de
l'animal qui symbolise sa marque, et il n'a pas fallu quinze jours de plus à
son président pour préparer ce voyage et boucler sa valise. Par passion pour
les crocodiles ? «Bien entendu, mais pas uniquement, répond-il. Nous agissons
aussi par raison. Je crois profondément en la nécessité de préserver toutes les
espèces, quelle que soit leur apparente utilité pour l'homme. Ne pas s'en
préoccuper serait irresponsable ; cela équivaudrait à jouer aux apprentis
sorciers en courant le risque de briser l'équilibre déjà très fragile de notre
planète.»
Le gavial : « une espèce
en voie de protection »
Guidé par les rangers du
parc et par les dirigeants locaux du WWF (Fonds mondial pour la vie sauvage),
Michel Lacoste n'a par conséquent rien négligé au cours de cette expédition
pour aider le gavial du Gange à devenir «une espèce en voie de protection». En
allant même jusqu'à poser, pour le symbole, avec l'un d'entre eux dans les
bras. Un jeune, d'accord. Mais suffisamment vigoureux pour qu'il ait fallu trois
soigneurs pour le maî triser. A 66 ans, c'était «le tout premier membre de la
famille des crocodiles» qu'il touchait. Non sans émotion. Et non sans se
demander si, grâce au bassin en eau courante qui sera bientôt construit sur
l'un des bras de la Rapti et grâce à son réempoissonnement, deux des actions
financées par la donation de sa société, ce jeune gavial pourra survivre aussi
longtemps que le mâle dominant du centre de Kasara. Avec un indéniable avantage
sur lui: le faire en liberté.
BOSTON GLOBE
(Massachusetts) 11 December 09 US
seeks to ban imports of certain snake species
Washington: Burmese pythons, anacondas, and boa constrictors
would be banned as imports under a measure backed yesterday by US lawmakers,
who said escaped or abandoned snakes are overrunning Everglades National Park
in Florida.
“As stewards of our
country’s vast public lands and natural resources we have to deal with the
threats posed by invasive species,’’ Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat
and the measure’s sponsor, said in a statement.
The bill, passed by voice
vote yesterday by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, now heads
to the full Senate.
It would ban from import
and interstate commerce nine specific species of snakes, classifying them as
injurious species. The list includes the Burmese python, northern and southern
African python, boa constrictor, and yellow anaconda.
The Obama administration
supports the legislation and is trying to deal with Burmese pythons that are
threatening endangered species and harming the ecosystem in the Everglades,
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar wrote in a letter to Nelson on Dec. 7.
The Burmese pythons, which
have escaped from pet shops or private owners, are reproducing by the thousands
in southern Florida, making it a high risk to destabilize the local ecosystems,
the US Geological Survey said on Oct. 13.
The pythons’ ability to
produce large numbers of offspring, travel long distances, and eat a variety of
prey makes them especially dangerous, the government agency said.
Representatives for
reptile owners and retailers say the measure would destroy a $3 billion trade
in the snakes.
Feral cats, hogs, and ants
pose more of a danger to the environment than snakes, said Andrew Wyatt,
president of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers, a Grandy,
N.C.-based group with 12,000 members.
“None of this will change
anything on the ground in the Everglades,’’ Wyatt said in an interview.
The snakes, many of which
are exported from the United States after being raised in captivity, have
become “an agricultural product,’’ he said.
ST PETERSBURG TIMES (Florida) 11
December 09 10-foot alligator makes
itself at home in Palm Harbor (Rita Farlow)
Palm Harbor: A wildlife trapper captured a 10-foot long
alligator that was roaming a Palm Harbor neighborhood Wednesday, authorities
said.
A resident of the 3200
block of Marion Drive called the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office about 5 p.m.
to report the gator.
"A neighbor saw the
alligator moving along across the street," said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman
Cecilia Barreda. "By the time the deputy got there, the alligator was
already on this patio area."
Deputies notified the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which sent trapper Charles
Carpenter.
Carpenter was able to
corral the reptile and load him into a trailer within about five minutes, he
said. No one was injured.
The alligator weighed
"a couple hundred pounds" and likely came from nearby Lake Tarpon.
The house is
"probably less than a block away from a canal," Carpenter said.
Carpenter said he wasn't
sure of the alligator's gender.
"I asked it how much
it weighed and it wouldn't tell me, so it was probably a girl," he said.
Nuisance gators are
"processed for their meat and hide," said commission spokesman Gary
Morse.
Or, as Carpenter put it:
"It's headed to the
restaurant prep area."
WFTV (Orlando,
Florida) 11 December 09 13 Venomous
Snakes Found During Man's Arrest
Deltona, Fla.: Volusia County deputies found more than they
bargained for while arresting a wanted Deltona man. Inside his house, they
found 13 venomous snakes and he had no permit for them.
“Why did you have so many
poisonous snakes?” WFTV reporter Emily Turner asked David Sneddon.
“I didn't have sh**. You
understand?” Sneddon said.
Despite his denials,
Florida Fish and Wildlife says Sneddon is the illegal owner of more than a
dozen poisonous snakes, most of them rattlers. He was charged with a similar
crime two years ago in Orange County and Eyewitness News found he has a violent
criminal history, including three battery charges.
“You stay the f*** off my
property or we're going to have some problems,” he told Turner.
Volusia County sheriff's
deputies stumbled on the snakes when they arrested him for a probation
violation on an injunction for repeat violence. Now he faces pending charges
for keeping 13 snakes without a permit.
“As long as they stay in
that house down there, he can do with them whatever he wants. That's his
business,” a neighbor said.
Fish and Wildlife
confiscated the reptiles. Officials have no idea why he had them. One neighbor
told Eyewitness News he sold the venom, but Sneddon denied it.
http://www.wftv.com/news/21935575/detail.html
TAMPA TRIBUNE (Florida) 11
December 09 Have an unpermitted
reptile? He'll take your snake (Chip Osowski)
A Seminole man with a
passion for exotic animals says bring your reptiles of concern to him.
He'll take them.
Vernon Yates runs the
Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rescue Center on 82nd Avenue in Seminole. His
compound houses everything from Burmese pythons, to tigers and even a baboon.
Yesterday, the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued an executive order that will
allow owners of exotic reptiles who do not have permits to turn their pets over
to a permit holder with no questions asked. The amnesty program will run
indefinitely.
Yates said he feels like
the program will help.
"If it stops one from
being set free or set loose, it's a good thing," Yates said.
Even though he believes
that statistics about the number of Burmese pythons on the loose is
exaggerated, Yates said that it's irresponsible for owners of these pets to
just let them go free when they become too much to handle.
"One of them loose in
our environment is one too many," he said. "However, I don't believe
it's up in the 100,000 range."
In many cases, pet owners
who let their reptiles go free feel like they have no other choice, Yates said.
Have a 12-foot python you
want to get rid of and think no one can help?
Yates has a simple answer:
"We'll hold it,"
he said. "We're not going to euthanize it. We're truly a no kill
shelter." Yates said. "I don't care if I end up with 500 pythons in
here. We're not going to kill them. We'll try to find someplace else for them
to go."
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/dec/11/have-unpermitted-reptile-hell-take-your-snake/news-breaking/
LA OPINIÓN A CORUÑA (Spain) 11
December 09 Reptiles en paquete
postal - La Guardia Civil decomisa en el aeropuerto de Lavacolla 34 reptiles
enviados desde Argentina
Redacción. A Coruña La Guardia Civil se incautó de 34 reptiles en
el aeropuerto de Lavacolla, enviados en un paquete postal desde Argentina. Los
hechos ocurrieron el día 3, cuando en el marco de las inspecciones rutinarias a
todos los envíos postales procedentes del extranjero, detectaron que uno de los
paquetes contenía 23 alevines de culebra y 11 de lagarto repartidos en 18
envases de plástico. Tras comprobar que el destinatario del envío era un vecino
de Pontevedra, la Guardia Civil hizo la entrega controlada del envío. El hombre
admitió guardar en un cobertizo cercano a su domicilio 12 ejemplares de
diferentes especies.
http://www.laopinioncoruna.es/galicia/2009/12/11/reptiles-paquete-postal/342489.html
DAILY PRESS (Newport News,
Virginia) 10 December 09 Man
sentenced for W.Va. turtle trafficking
Martinsburg, W.Va.
(AP): A Florida reptile dealer has been
sentenced to one year of home confinement over a plot to smuggle more than 100
turtles out of West Virginia for sale elsewhere.
Michael Ellard of Estero,
Fla., was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Martinsburg.
Along with two others,
Ellard pleaded guilty to violations of the Lacey Act, which prohibits trade in
wildlife that have been illegally obtained.
The three were arrested
traveling to Florida from West Virginia with 108 wood turtles, four Eastern box
turtles and six snapping turtles.
One of the others
involved, Kelly Stoops II, was sentenced in August to five months in federal
prison. The third man, Eric Diana, is awaiting sentencing.
Along with home
confinement, Ellard will pay $12,000 in restitution.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/virginia/dp-wv--turtlebandit1210dec10,0,3457561.story
IRISH TIMES (Dublin,
Ireland) 10 December 09 Turtle in a
coma found washed up on sands of Co Clare beach (Gordon Deegana)
A marooned loggerhead
turtle was yesterday being rehabilitated after being washed up on Doughmore
beach in Co Clare.
Christened “Imirceach” or
“Little Migrant”, the juvenile loggerhead turtle was discovered on the beach
facing Doonbeg golf club – in a comatose state and suffering from hypothermia.
Cathy Blake was one of
three employees of the golf club carrying out coastal erosion works at the
beach when they discovered the turtle: “We touched it around the neck and its
head did move.”
The three immediately
alerted Dr Simon Berrow, project manager of the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife
Foundation.
Dr Berrow said yesterday
that in his 20 years working in marine, it was “the first live loggerhead or
hardshelled turtle find that I have personally come across in Ireland”. He
noted, however, that a live loggerhead was found on Inch Strand in Co Kerry in
2008.
Dr Berrow transferred the
Doughmore turtle to Lahinch Seaworld, 15 miles away. There, it was placed in
quarantine. “It perked up almost straight away and was moving its flippers.
This is very exciting. It is unfortunate for the turtle, but it has recovered
very quickly,” he said.
The loggerhead is an
endangered species and its natural habitat is warmer waters. Below 10 degrees,
it goes into a comatose state. Dr Berrow estimated it will take months for
Imirceach to get back to full health.
He said he believed the
turtle was a juvenile male, while its shell is 50cm in diameter. Turtles can
live to be over 50 years old. He speculated the turtle got lost from its
feeding routes around Cape Verde off the western coast of Africa, and drifted
up to the colder waters off Ireland.
Manager of Lahinch
Seaworld Tim Forde said: “We will take the best care of the turtle and . . .
all going well, fly it back to its natural habitat to the Azores.”
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1210/1224260421136.html
WPTZ (Plattsburgh,
New York) 10 December 09 Snake
Breeders Battle National Bill - Bill In Senate Has Some Breeders Worried
Barre, Vt.: Morgan Weiss runs an unusual business:
breeding snakes out of her home in Barre.
Weiss is worried about the
future of her hobby and livelihood. She said a bill currently in the U.S.
Senate could ban the sale of all pythons -- including the ball pythons she
breeds.
The bill, introduced by
Florida Democrat Bill Nelson, aims to make the import or sale of nine
"giant constrictor snakes" illegal. Nelson drafted the bill to
protect the Florida Everglades, an area he said is in danger.
But according to Weiss and
others, the bill could also end up banning all of the python species, including
45 smaller species of the snakes, like ball pythons.
Weiss said ball pythons
are not dangerous, and the ones in her home have never posed a problem.
"Not one has escaped,
not one has hurt a person, nothing like that. And I know I'm a responsible pet
owner and breeder just like millions of other people," Weiss said.
The bill was passed by a
Senate committee Thursday, with an amendment that would limit the ban to just
the nine big snake varieties, including Burmese pythons and Boa Constrictors.
Next up is the Senate floor, where Weiss and others said they'll be watching
carefully.
http://www.wptz.com/news/21924711/detail.html
STAR-LEDGER (Newark, New
Jersey) 10 December 09 Pine snake
gets a pass as state extends its protection
An advisory committee has
recommended the state maintain "threatened status" for the pine
snake, a reptile that has caused problems for South Jersey builders who want to
end protections for the creature.
The state's Endangered and
Non-game Species Advisory Committee voted unanimously last week to maintain the
protected status for the pine snake based on data state biologists are
compiling for a report being prepared for Mark Mauriello, commissioner of the
state Department of Environmental Protection. Mauriello has sole authority to
decide whether the snake gets continued protection.
"The commissioner has
not made a decision yet. We expect to have the decision by Dec. 19," DEP
spokesman Larry Hanja said.
New Jersey is believed to
have the largest single population of northern pine snakes -- a secretive and
migratory species that grows up to 6 feet long, eats rodents and spends most of
its time underground in the sandy soils of South Jersey.
The New Jersey Builders
Association filed a petition in September contending there is no scientific
reason the reptile, which they claim is abundant, should be listed among the
state's endangered and threatened species.
The petition to delist the
snake is the first formal attack on the protected status of any wildlife
species in New Jersey since the state passed legislation classifying endangered
species more than 35 years ago.
Emile DeVito, a member of
the advisory committee, said the snake, which was first listed as threatened in
1979, faces many obstacles, including increased populations of predators, such
as coyotes and raptors.
Despite the creation of
the Pinelands National Reserve in 1978, which protected 1.1 million acres of
pine snake habitat in South Jersey, increased traffic on the roadways
crisscrossing the region are taking a heavy toll on pine snakes that slither
out into the open to sun themselves, DeVito said.
"There is no evidence
the pine snake is doing better. If anything, it's doing worse," he said.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-15/12604083119280.xml&coll=1
НЕЗАВИСИМАЯ
ГАЗЕТА / NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA (Moscow,
Russia) 10 December 09 Полтергейст
как семейная
реликвия -
Если вы
экзистенциалист,
черепаха –
ваше животное
(Дарья
Николаевна
Данилова)
Лев
Николаевич
Толстой,
который за
долгую жизнь
успел
написать
почти обо
всем, не
оставил своим
вниманием и
сухопутных
черепах. У него
есть
миниатюрный
познавательный
рассказ о
том, как его
охотничья
собака
Мильтон нашла
черепаху,
несла ее в
зубах, а
потом закопала
в землю.
Насколько я
помню,
писатель ее
не откопал,
прошел мимо.
В наше время
общественность
осудила бы
его за
жестокое
обращение с
животными, и
люди в
костюмах
черепашек-ниндзя,
вероятно,
устроили бы
пикет в Ясной
Поляне. Но во
времена Льва
Николаевича
пострадавшая
черепаха, не
надеясь на группу
поддержки,
наверняка
откопала
себя сама,
ведь они это
неплохо
умеют делать,
и мудрый
Толстой,
конечно, об
этом знал.
В
детстве я
мечтала
завести
лошадь на
балконе, а
дома большую
черную
собаку
породы ньюфаундленд.
В моем
воображении
эти звери,
невидимые
родителям,
давно жили в
моей
квартире и то
и дело
спасали меня
от напастей.
Лошадь уносила
прочь от
дворовых
хулиганов,
ньюфаундленд
подставлял
мне, тонущей
в озере, свою
добрую
мокрую спину.
Однако в
жизни выходит
так, что ты
много лет
мечтаешь о
лошади, а
покупаешь
почему-то
черепаху. С
годами душа
твердеет, как
черепаший
панцирь, который
Лев Толстой
именовал в
своем
рассказе «скорлупой»,
и ты
выбираешь
уже не друга,
а часть
интерьера,
некий, можно
сказать, сувенир…
Меня
привлекало
долгожительство
этой
рептилии и ее
прочность во
всех смыслах.
По задумке
она должна
была, как
семейная
реликвия,
переходить к
моим детям и
внукам.
Продавец
черепах
скрывался в
самом темном
уголке
Птичьего
рынка.
Бородатый
неприятный
мужчина,
воровато
оглянувшись
по сторонам,
откинул
крышку ящика,
и я увидела
гору панцирей,
обмотанных
скотчем так,
что лапки
оставались
внутри, и
одни только
морщинистые
шеи
вытягивались
в молчаливой
мольбе. Нужно
сказать, есть
огромная
разница между
черепахой,
живущей в
нашем
представлении,
черепахой из
передач о
животных –
неспешной, гордой,
увеличенной
на экране
телевизора до
величины
динозавра, и
этой жалкой
кучкой в
коробке
браконьера. В
большой и
беспорядочной
толпе даже
люди теряют
свое обаяние,
что же
говорить о
черепахах,
которые,
казалось, в
этом ящике
перешли из
разряда
живой природы
в разряд
неживой. Я
подняла
укоризненный
взгляд на
продавца и
мысленно
произнесла
такую речь:
«Мужчина!
Твой
далекий-далекий
предок верил,
что наша
огромная
земля стоит
на черепахе и
медленно
движется в морской
пучине. И как
ты поступил с
этой чудесной
сказкой?
Обмотал ее
скотчем,
швырнул в коробку!
Безотрадное
зрелище!» Все
это я высказала
молча, и
подобно
любимой
народом Анджелине
Джоули,
решила
подарить
обеспеченную
жизнь даже не
одному, а
нескольким
живым
существам.
Вынула из
ящика двух
самых молоденьких
на вид
черепашат,
расплатилась
с
безразличным
бородачом и
поспешила
домой, грея
склеенные
скотчем,
завернутые в
платок камни
за пазухой.
Дома
я их
освободила,
помыла под
краном и
расположила
обеих (или обоих,
я так и не
разобралась
с их полом)
друг против
друга, ожидая
увидеть их
радость и веселую
беготню. Но
мои питомцы
меланхолично
расползлись
в разные
стороны, не
обратив друг
на друга,
равно как и
на меня, никакого
внимания. Вот
уже два года
они делают
вид, что не
знакомы ни со
мной, ни друг
с другом. Я
объясняю их
необщительность
тем, что
черепахи –
животные
древние и
давно научились
не нуждаться
в чьем-либо
обществе. Возможно,
поэтому они
так долго
живут. Если
вы
экзистенциалист,
то черепаха –
ваше животное.
У
многих
народов
считается
также, что
черепахи
очень мудры.
В чем
проявляется
их мудрость,
я не знаю –
возможно, в
умении
многое видеть
и не
реагировать.
Они не
спорят, не
перебивают,
не
капризничают,
вообще –
почти не
высовываются.
Одну особенность
характера я,
правда,
заметила: они
вольнолюбивы.
Если
посадите в
аквариум –
будут биться
о стены
панцирем. Не
истерично,
как это
делают менее
благородные
хомячки или крысы,
а размеренно,
ритмично,
день и ночь,
день и ночь.
Как только
отпустите
гулять по
квартире –
они
успокоятся,
найдут самый
теплый угол и
уснут.
Черепахи,
как и все
живое, любят
весну. Весной
они тоже
готовы
влюбляться,
но им для этого
необходимо
слишком
много
условий: солнце,
песок, чтобы закапываться,
молодые
одуванчики
или другая
питательная
пища. Без
нужных
условий они
просто не
замечают
друг друга.
Душная московская
квартира не
приспособлена
для флирта
черепах. Тем
не менее,
когда из
открытой
форточки
тянет
весенним
воздухом, мои
питомцы
выползают из
своих углов,
приподнимают
свои панцири,
потягиваются,
и, если это
можно так
назвать,
ускоряют шаг.
Однажды
весной я была
свидетелем
редкого и
страшного
явления: одна
из черепах
широко
раскрыла
пасть и
что-то
несколько
раз
выкрикнула
древним утробным
голосом. Это
был вопль
самого времени,
глас
вопиющего в
пустыне,
отчаянный вопрос
природы
человеку: мой
милый, что
тебе я
сделала? Как
будто камень
заговорил.
Главный
минус
черепахи как
домашнего
питомца в
том, что она
твердая. За
ушком ее не
почешешь, не
потискаешь,
как котенка.
Звать
черепаху по
имени
бесполезно.
Они не реагируют
на человечий
язык. В этом
тоже проявляется
их протест
против
поработителей.
Сначала я
назвала их
Васко да
Гама. Потом
попробовала
вариант
более
домашний: Мамин
и Сибиряк.
Без толку.
Так что
привязанности
от черепахи
можно не
ждать. Но она
научит вас
другому –
терпению.
Всякий раз,
желая ее
покормить, вы
будете
терпеливо
ползать на
коленях по
квартире и
всматриваться
в темноту под
диванами и
столами. Едят
они столько, сколько
дадите.
Ничего не
дадите –
пойдут спать.
Но
не делайте
поспешных
выводов,
будто от черепах
нет
решительно
никакой
пользы. Это не
так. Однажды
Мамин и
Сибиряк
спасли меня от
докучливой
дальней
знакомой,
которая регулярно
раза
три-четыре в
год останавливалась
у меня в
гостях, чтобы
посмотреть
Москву, но
осматривала
только
магазин «Икею»,
где
проводила
все дни, а
ночами, вместе
со знакомой
ночевали у
меня ее
покупки – матрацы,
люстры,
утюги. Не
знаю, сколько
еще лет
продолжался
бы ее
туристический
шопинг, если
бы однажды
эта знакомая
не провела
страшную
бессонную
ночь, во
время которой
ей казалось,
что некий
барабашка,
размножившись,
скребется по
углам и
цокает по полу
под ее
кроватью. То
были Васко да
Гама, которых
я как раз
тогда завела,
но забыла ей
о них
сказать. Они
проснулись
ночью и пытались
убежать от
сквозняков,
которые
любила
устраивать
моя
энергичная
знакомая. Наутро
я сказала ей
серьезно, что
у меня действительно
обитает
полтергейст,
возможно, это
барабашки, я
кормлю их
капустой, и
они ужасно не
любят гостей.
Знакомая
посоветовала
мне пить
антидепрессанты
и перестала у
меня бывать.
Правда,
иногда она
звонит и
любопытствует,
как там мои
барабашки. Я
отвечаю, что
иногда вижу
их. Они
круглые, как
летающие
тарелки, и я
учусь гадать
по их панцирю.
http://www.ng.ru/style/2009-12-10/8_poltergeist.html
KSDK (St Louis,
Missouri) 09 December 09 University
of Arkansas students try to sell alligator, rattle snake out of dorm room
It's a real-life
"Animal House".
Two students at the
University of Arkansas were caught with more than ten reptiles in their dorm
room, including an alligator and a rattle snake.
University of Arkansas
police found the scaly critters in a dorm room Thursday night.
"The students were
collecting them and trying to sell them on Craigslist," Lt. Gary Craine
explained.
The room belonging to
Jacob Miller and Michael Robbins, both freshman at UA, had become the home to
several reptiles including a gopher snake, six pythons, three chameleons, one
American alligator, and a diamondback rattle snake - all of which were obtained
through Craigslist.
"We just went on
there and got them and were looking to make a little money off of them,"
Robbins said.
Robbins says the plan was
to keep the reptiles in the dorm for just a couple of weeks until Christmas
break, but their luck ran out.
On top of breaking the
University's housing policy, no pets in dorm rooms, Robbins and Miller were
cited by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for possession with intent to
sell the alligator and rattle snake without a license - a $1,240 fine.
"We know what we did
was wrong, and we're not looking for a lot of sympathy, but probation would be
a lot better than being kicked out," Robbins said.
Both Miller and Robbins
are facing the potential of getting kicked off campus when they go to their U
of A judicial hearing, which is scheduled for some time this week.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=191456&catid=28
LUSAKA TIMES (Zambia) 09
December 09 We’ve not failed to
address human-crocodile conflict – ZAWA
(ZANIS ) The Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) has
denied allegations from some sections of society that it has failed to address
the human-crocodile conflicts in some parts of the country.
ZAWA Public Relations
Officer Wilfred Moonga said it was wrong to accuse ZAWA of failing to address
the human-crocodile conflict.
Mr. Moonga told ZANIS in
an interview in Lusaka today that ZAWA should not be blamed for crocodile
attacks because the authority has been warning people against drawing water
from crocodile infested rivers and lakes.
He said some members of
the public have been ignoring the warning hence continued incidents of people
being attacked by crocodiles.
He said people need to
understand that once they heed to ZAWA’s sensitization messages against drawing
water from crocodile infested rivers and lakes, the human-crocodile conflicts
will reduce.
http://www.lusakatimes.com/?p=21914
JAPAN TIMES (Tokyo) 09
December 09 U.S. zoo takes Japanese
salamanders
Photo: Latest acquisition: An official of
the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington holds a box containing a
Japanese giant salamander in Hiroshima on Thursday before the amphibian was
shipped to the U.S. (Kyodo)
Hiroshima (Kyodo): Six rare and highly protected Japanese giant
salamanders bred and raised at the Asa Zoological Park in the city of Hiroshima
were sent last week to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington,
according to officials of the two zoos.
The two 19-year-old
females and four 11-year-olds — two males and two females — were all born at
Asa, the only zoo in the world where the species has been successfully bred on
a regular basis.
It marks the first time
that Japan has sent any of the river-dwelling creatures, regarded here as a
national treasure, to overseas zoos in more than a decade. A detailed contract
was concluded between the two zoos in 2006 for the six salamanders.
"We're very excited
about it," said Edward Bronikowski, the U.S. zoo's senior curator in
animal programs, who visited Asa on Thursday with a Smithsonian veterinarian
and observed the slimy animals as they underwent predeparture health checks.
The biggest is a
19-year-old female that is 93 cm long and weighs 5.8 kg. Japanese giant
salamanders can grow to up to 150 cm in length and weigh more than 40 kg.
"We have a lovely
exhibit set up for them right across from the giant pandas," Bronikowski
said, referring to the zoo's centerpiece attraction.
Two of the six giant
salamanders will be on public display in a large aquarium, set into rocks,
which forms part of Asia Trail, a series of naturalistic exhibits that is also
home to red pandas, sloth bears and clouded leopards.
The other four will be
housed elsewhere in the zoo and utilized in a captive breeding program for
Japanese giant salamanders, one of the first in the United States.
Bronikowski said the
breeding facilities set up in the zoo's Reptile Discovery Center will be
modeled on those at Asa, which in 1979 became the first Japanese zoo to breed
the species in captivity.
Asa has bred them almost
every year since then, using artificial facilities that imitate the natural
habitat of the salamanders, with streams and nesting burrows hidden in the
riverbank.
But the Smithsonian
curator said one important distinction will be that the U.S. zoo will attempt
to breed them indoors in a closed system. Asa's breeding aquariums are outdoors
and utilize water supplied from a natural stream.
At the Washington zoo, the
water in the enclosures will be kept below 15 degrees year-round and will mimic
seasonal variations in river water temperature in Japan.
Bronikowski admitted this
posed some "engineering challenges" for the zoo, especially when it
came to keeping such a large volume of water as cool as a Japanese river in
wintertime, but he said those challenges have been overcome.
"We are optimistic
about breeding them," he said, noting that the zoo has already had
considerable success in breeding other rare amphibians like the critically
endangered Panamanian golden frog.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091209f3.html
BOSTON HERALD
(Massachusetts) 09 December 09 PETA
croaks over retailer’s frog sales (Dave Wedge)
A national animal rights
group is targeting pet dwarf frogs sold by mall retailer Brookstone, saying the
tiny amphibians are housed in cramped, dirty tanks in South Carolina, cruelly
mishandled and have been killed while being transported - all claims dismissed
as “baseless” by the breeders.
The People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals said frogs bred at Wild Creations in Myrtle Beach, S.C.,
had fungal infections, leg deformities and were subjected to “rampant neglect.”
PETA said an undercover
investigation done in November found that workers sometimes mistook live frogs
for dead ones and discarded them. Also, hundreds of frogs were lumped into
crowded bins and “roughly yanked” out to separate them from frogs with fungal
infections.
PETA also alleged that
“frogs were denied food for weeks” and that some were so hungry they “chewed at
each others’ legs, resulting in wounds and infections and causing the limbs to
rot off.” In one case, a batch of 200 frogs froze to death while being
transported to a retailer, PETA reported.
The animal rights group
also took issue with the premise of the animals being sold in tiny
“Frog-O-Sphere” cubes with just a few square inches of water.
But Wild Creations
president Rhett Power said PETA officials never met with company officials or
formally visited the facility, which has a veterinarian and scientists on staff.
The allegations are based on observations and video shot by an undercover
worker who worked in the South Carolina facility in November, PETA spokeswoman
Kristie Phelps said.
Power said the company has
never been cited for animal cruelty or health violations.
“We breed and work with
over 500,000 frogs a year. Some of them are going to have issues, just like
people,” Power said. “But these frogs that are sold in stores are healthy and
disease-free. We don’t keep them in cramped containers. We don’t mistreat these
animals. We treat these animals very humanely.”
Of PETA’s criticism of the
frogs being confined to tiny glass boxes for life, Power said: “We just
disagree. We think pet ownership is something most people get a lot of value
out of.”
Still, PETA is planning to
file animal cruelty charges in South Carolina against Wild Creations, officials
said. PETA is also calling on Brookstone to stop selling Frog-O-Spheres, which
the group called “unethical” and “unacceptable.”
Brookstone officials did
not immediately respond to a request for comment.
HET LAATSTE NIEUWS (Antwerp,
Belgium) 09 December 09 Slang verrast
rijdende chauffeur
Een chauffeur moest even
slikken toen er plots een slang uit het dashboard gekropen kwam. Het reptiel
gleed naar het stuur en de Zweed zette met klamme handjes zijn huurwagen aan de
kant in Duitsland.
De 33-jarige stond net
voor verkeerslichten in de Duitse havenstad Hamburg toen de slang kwam piepen.
De man zette meteen de deur open van de wagen en de slang zette haar weg
verder. Het beestje was in Zweden in de wagen gekropen en was al de ganse weg
meegereisd. Even later konden dierenvrienden van een opvang de slang recupereren.
Volgens de politie was de slang niet giftig.
THE LOCAL (Stockholm,
Sweden) 08 December 09 Terrified Swede in rental car snake escape
(AFP) A Swedish driver abandoned his German hire
car in terror on Monday as a snake slid out from behind the dashboard and onto
the steering wheel, police in Hamburg said on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old Swedish
man ran to safety late on Monday at traffic lights in Hamburg, and the snake,
who had lurked undetected all the way from Sweden, then darted out of the open
door into nearby trees.
The reptile was then
recovered by staff from a local animal rescue centre, and turned out to be a
non-venomous corn snake. Police said it was unclear how it had come to be in
the vehicle.
http://www.thelocal.se/23722/20091208/
METRO WEST DAILY NEWS (Framingham,
Massachusetts) 08 December 09 Sea
turtle rescuers brave Cape Cod storms to save endangered species. (Rich
Eldred)
Brewster: While most folks recuperated from
Thanksgiving dinner, it was a wild weekend on the storm-churned seas of Cape
Cod Bay. Those frigid waves tossed 35 sea turtles ashore between Thanksgiving
and Sunday night, and 11 more have come in through Dec. 8.
Fortunately, the turtles
aren’t alone on the sands. Nearly 40 volunteers, members of Mass Audubon’s
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary’s beach patrol, are out at every high tide
through dark of night or pelting rains. So far, 34 live turtles have been
picked up, out of 55 in all.
“Whenever the weather is
as bad as it can be, you can be sure we’ll be out on the beach,” said Don
Lewis, a longtime volunteer. “You’ve just got to be there when it comes in.
Once it’s on the beach, the wind drains the heat out of its body. The key is to
rescue them as soon as they come out of the water.”
Lewis now has a blog,
wwwturtlejournal.com.
“Kemp’s ridleys are one of
the most endangered sea turtles in the world,” he said. “When they’re two or
three years old they’ve gotten through the normal hoops of survival; just one
out of a thousand hatchlings survive. Their chance of survival is nearly 100
percent, then they’re trapped in Cape Cod Bay. So we can have a huge impact on
their survival. During the last 20 years we’ve rescued more than a thousand
from the breakers of the bay.”
He and his wife picked one
up Saturday night, near Chapin Beach in Dennis.
“It was high tide, nine
o’clock at night, floating in with the breakers from winds whistling 25 to 30
knots, flipped upside down,” Lewis said. “All you could see was the white
bottom. It could’ve been mistaken for briny foam in the dark of night. It’s
exactly like flotsam and jetsam.”
Michael Lach of Brewster
and his young son, Skyler, were on their first patrol.
“It was thrilling,” Lach
reported. “My son and I attended Audubon sea turtle class Saturday. We went up
to the desk and asked to volunteer and went out at 8 a.m. and walked left at
Linnell, walking into the wind. He spotted the first one and shouted, ‘Look, look,
there’s a sea turtle.’ I almost fell over.”
They carried it above high
tide, covered it with seaweed and called it in. Not long after that they found
a second one near a seawall.
“They responded a little
bit and lifted their heads,” Lach said. “We were lucky to have found live ones.
To have Skyler find the rarest sea turtle alive right there on a Brewster beach
was thrilling.”
Skyler was even
interviewed by a writer for Smithsonian magazine who is doing a story on the
phenomenon. The tropically inclined turtles, nearly all Kemp’s ridleys, get
caught in the relatively warm water of Cape Cod Bay and if they don’t slip
through the Cape Cod Canal or swim around Provincetown’s tip, the cold-blooded
reptiles are cold-stunned and wash helplessly ashore.
“It was a pretty wild
couple of days starting on the 25th,” noted Sanctuary director Bob Prescott.
“It got busier and busier.”
Three turtles were found
on Thanksgiving Day itself, then six the following day, and after the winds
blew in Friday night, 13 turtles stranded Saturday with 13 more on Sunday.
“It was pretty steady,
every time the wind picked up,” Prescott noted.
Four green turtles have
washed up; the rest are Kemp’s ridleys that nest only on Padre Island in Texas
and Rancho Neuvo in Mexico.
Prescott has been
collecting stranded turtles for close to 30 years.
“Green turtles initially
were about one a year; now we get about six,” Prescott said. “Ridleys averaged
around 15 to 20, now they average 68. With both species, that’s a sign they are
recovering. With ridleys, we know the population has increased dramatically.
More turtles are nesting in Rancho Neuvo and there were 22 nests on the Texas
coast.”
Not all turtles are
rebounding.
“The number of loggerheads
is going down,” said Lewis. “Loggerghead conservation is not doing well at all.
A lot are caught as bycatch in coastal fisheries like shrimp and there is a lot
of development where loggerhead nests are in the U.S.”
This year’s first
stranding was Oct. 12, during a cold snap, but as the weather stayed warm,
turtles were infrequent. Prescott said the season is about two weeks late,
which worries him. Generally, the biggest turtles wash up last. It takes longer
to cool their bigger body. So far, the turtles have all been relatively small.
There could be a lot of larger turtles still out there.
Most of the turtles have
been blown ashore between Dennis and Eastham but there were an inordinate
number found on Sandy Neck in Barnstable.
“There are two live ones
going to Boston at noon,” Prescott said. “We just keep them in a cool spot,
weigh and measure them and get them stabilized. At the aquarium they take
blood, do the electrolytes and heart monitoring. The first turtle had 12 to 14
beats per minute but last year, turtles were anywhere between five and one beat
per minute.”
Stranded turtle hot line:
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, 508-349-2615, ext. 104
Volunteers needed to spot
stranded turtles or to transport weakened turtles to New England Aquarium in
Boston.
3 NEWS (Auckland, New
Zealand) 08 December 09 Man's pant
lizards discovered after gecko found in sock (Juanita Copeland)
Details have emerged of
how Customs got on to the German tourist charged with smuggling rare reptiles
in his underpants.
Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, tried
to leave the country on Sunday night. An x-ray of his bags showed a head lamp,
some string, a book and a single gecko, in a sock.
But Customs officials were
shocked when they got Kubus to drop his pants.
"There is money being
exchanged, there are reptiles being exchanged all over the world," says
Mark Day, Customs investigations manager.
Strip searched, he
revealed specially-made pouches in his underpants. They contained 24 geckos and
20 skinks, half of them pregnant.
"To have an intercept
of this nature really is just emphasis that we need to be vigilant at our
borders for exploitation of this type of commodity."
Tags on the pouches
indicate Kubus caught them in the South Island bush. It is thought they were
destined for the European black market and could have fetched more than
$80,000.
"People who collect
reptiles like to look for something that's quite rare," says Mr Day.
Many would have died on
the plane. Reptiles can't control their own body temperature.
"They'll sit in the
sun and warm up and move into the shade to cool down, but if they're put into
an environment like a pocket for example, on a person, that heat will come up
and it will stay at a high level and cause them heat stress, which can kill
them," says Jeremy Maguire, Willowbank Wildlife Reserve.
Kubus pleaded guilty to
five charges of trading in endangered species and two charges of hunting
protected wildlife.
The charges carry a term
of imprisonment of around six months, but potential fines in excess of
$500,000.
He will be sentenced in
January.
THE HINDU (Chennai,
India) 08 December 09 Man dies of
snake bite
Natrampalli: Kanagaraj
(30), a resident of Gandhi Nagar at Kottur coming under the Natrampalli
Panchayat Union at Kottur, died of snake bite on Monday.
According to police, a
snake inside a pumpset room at his farm bit him on Sunday night.
He was rushed to the
Government Hospital at Tirupattur, where he died on Monday.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/08/stories/2009120850430300.htm
ГТРК
КОСТРОМА / STRC KOSTROMA (Russia) 08
December 09 В
контактном
зоопарке
Костромы -
пополнение
Пополнение
в контактном
зоопарке
Костромы. Его
новые
обитатели -
парочка
китайских ящериц-сцинков
принесла
первый
приплод.
Прибавление
в семействе
солидное -
сразу семеро
малышей.
Правда, их
пол пока не
известен –
крошкам
всего 2 дня от
роду. Сейчас
весь выводок
держат в
отдельном
инкубаторе,
где создан
особый
климат.
Сцинковые гекконы
– ночные
ящерицы,
обитатели
горных ручьев
Китая - не
выносят
солнца и жары,
оптимальная
температура
для них - 18-20
градусов.
Кроме того,
эти ящерицы
необычайно
прожорливы и
довольно
избирательны
в еде. Новорожденных
кормят по 5
раз в сутки. В
детском
рационе -
только
деликатесы,
сверчки и дождевые
черви.
http://kostroma.rfn.ru/rnews.html?id=35837&cid=7