Daily Reptile News

Can New Government Rules Save The Frogs? Pet Industry Says No

ATLANTA — Take a good look at this frog. It is likely to be the first and last time most of us will ever see it.

There is one other of its species — just one more — at Zoo Atlanta and it is a male.

When they go, that species will be gone forever.

“We are looking at a mass extinction event,” said Dr. Dante Fenolio without melodrama.

Fenolio works at the Atlanta Botanical Garden doing research on amphibians.

In recent years, that research has taken on a desperate edge.

“There is a pathogenic fungus, that is a skin fungus, called chytrid fungus that is killing amphibian populations all over the world,” Fenolio said.

So, big deal. Eventually frogs disappear. We’ll still have Kermit.

But here’s the thing: frogs ooze secretions onto their skins which kill all potentially harmful bacteria except the chytrid fungus.

If scientists can find out how they do that, they will unlock the secret to fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

It’s a race between research and chytrid.

“I think the U.S. Fish and Wildlife is looking at getting involved in the trade or the commerce of amphibians and controlling much more stringently how amphibians can be moved from point A to point B,” Fenolio said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife rules would ostensibly control the spread of the deadly fungus here.

The pet industry believes those rules would effectively kill their pet amphibian business.

Whatever happens, it will be too late for this guy.

Giant croc ‘choked on rubbish’

The 3m saltie was found dead on the banks of the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton yesterday with blue packing tape looped tightly around its neck.

“There was no sign that the animal had been shot or deliberately killed in any other way,” Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service branch team leader Joe Adair said.

“It’s uncertain how the packing tape got around the crocodile’s neck but it’s likely that the loop went over its head and tightened around its neck.

“This just shows how important it is to dispose of waste responsibly, so it doesn’t end up in our waterways and kill native wildlife.”

Authorities were surprised by the dead reptile’s location, which they declared “not big croc country”.

The Fitzroy River is home to just 0.04 crocodiles per kilometre, a recent Department of Environment and Resource Management survey found.

Wildlife officials looking for rare salamander

Of the 66 species of salamanders found in North Carolina, the Green Salamander, or Aneides aeneus, is the only amphibian listed as endangered by the state.

“At night, they come out and look for bugs around the surface of the rocks,” Cameron said. “During the day, they hide in the cracks.”

“I knew Alan knew what he was doing when he told me how fast he had found it,” said camp owner Billy Haynes.

North Carolina has the highest salamander diversity in the world, and 50 of the 66 species are found in the North Carolina mountains.

Cameron has also found the salamander at Blue Star Camp on Crab Creek Road, in DuPont State Forest and off Lake Falls Road.

“These salamanders were living in these forest hundreds of thousands or millions of years before humans came on the scene,” Cameron said. “That gives them the right to live there without human interference.”

“We’re trying to create a link” between the populations and prove the salamander groups are related, Cameron explained. “I need more sites to prove there is a linking. I’m quite convinced we will be successful.”

Cameron, through his work with the commission, has been studying the salamanders for six years.His specialty has become Green Salamanders.

On the Camp Ton-A-Wandah property he found four adult salamanders and a nest containing about inch-long, newly hatched young.

“There’s a lot we don’t know about them,” Cameron said.

The salamander, which as an adult can measure 3 to 5 inches, can live 10 to 15 years. Unlike most kinds of salamanders, the Green Salamander will have nothing to do with water for its life.

They hibernate deep in the cracks of the rock crevices during the winter but spend the summer months in trees.

“Greens need crevices in rocks that are shaded by overhead foliage, like mountain laurel, rhododendron or other dense tree cover,” Cameron said.

In North Carolina, there are two separate populations. The Southern Blue Ridge population is found across Macon, Jackson, Transylvania counties and southwestern Henderson County.

The Hickory Nut Gorge population is in northeastern Henderson County and western Rutherford County.

“The Camp Ton-A-Wandah Green site is particularly significant because it is right in that gap where no Greens had ever been found,” Cameron explained.

The salamander is identified by its green color with spots, a flattened body, long legs and widened, square-tipped toes.

“They’re pretty calm and collected,” Cameron said “They’re not speed demons.”

Cameron added he hoped to bring an educational program to the camps to teach campers about the importance of conservation. Amphibians can serve as “bioindicators,” alerting people to negative changes in the environment.

The biggest hurdle Cameron has run into while studying the salamanders is getting landowners’ permission to walk on a specific property.

Cameron asked if any other camps or private landowners who have sizable acreage with shaded rocks would contact them and allow surveys of their property.

If Greens are found, the property owners benefit by knowing that they are helping to protect a rare and endangered species, and biologists would be able to create more accurate distribution maps.

For more information, contact Cameron at adcamer77@bellsouth.net or Lori Williams, NCWRC Wildlife Diversity Biologist at lori.williams@ncwildlife.org.

Delhi: Deadly snake kills man, buffalo in the Yamuna river bed

New Delhi: Two days after a pair of Cobras were recovered from the Commonwealth Games village and RK Khanna Stadium, another serpent surfaced in the Yamuna river bed on Tuesday, not far from the Games Village.

The snake, reportedly a cobra, killed a man and a buffalo in the Shakarpur area, about five kilometres away from the Commonwealth Games village. The highly-poisonous reptile bit and killed 28-year-old Vimlesh Mahto in the jhuggis along the Yamuna Bank. The hutments were raised by the people who moved there after the Yamuna rose during the recent floods.

“It was around 2 am on Tuesday morning when Mehto, a farmer, started screaming that a snake has bit him. He was in his jhuggi and when we reached there we found him lying on the ground. We rushed him to the LNJP hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival,” said Ravi, Mehto’s neighbour.

Mehto’s two daughters, Manisha and Lakshmi and one five-year-old son Raja were also present in the shanty when the snake bit him.

Mehto’s wife, Renu is ill and is undergoing treatment in a government hospital. The slithering creature also bit and killed a buffalo at a nearby shanty.

The bovine’s owner Sonpal told MiD DAY that the animal was not eating anything since Monday morning and it died early Tuesday morning. “She was also bitten by the snake. The MCD officials have taken her body,” he said.

The police said that they received a call about snake bite on Monday. “He had already been taken to the hospital when we reached the spot. We don’t know what happened after that,” said a police officer.

Texas dog saves toddler from snake

Not to downplay the warm-fuzzies that a foster family gets from taking in a homeless dog, but sometimes, that’s the best you get when you foster. A Texas foster family got the warm fuzzies, and so much more from their foster dog, Vandy, last Tuesday.

Vandy, a Boxer, had narrowly escaped being euthanized at an over-crowded DFW shelter. The lucky dog was given a last minute reprieve by the Austin Boxer Rescue, and happily, wound up with a loving foster family that lives in Pflugerville.

It didn’t take the lucky dog long to prove that hers was a life worth saving. On Tuesday evening, her foster family was outside in the yard. The dogs were playing with the family’s 1 yr-old toddler when Vandy’s foster dad noticed something moving in the grass. Intrigued by the motion, the dogs and toddler began moving towards the slithering creature.

Vandy’s foster dad quickly ordered everyone to stop, but the family dog was the only one to obey the command.  Foster dog Vandy reacted quite differently – she placed herself in between what was later discovered to be a rattlesnake, and the toddler.

Everyone was shuttled to safety inside of the home and the foster dad got rid of the rattlesnake. The initial thought was that disaster had been averted, but Vandy’s swelling face and lethargy indicated that wasn’t the case. The heroic dog had been bitten and the toxins were coursing through her body.

A rushed trip to the emergency vet, IV fluids and anti-venom saved Vandy’s life. Her vet bills are in excess of $1400, but she is well enough to be back at her foster family’s home.

Vandy is still up for adoption at the Auston Boxer Rescue. You can visit the website if you would like to learn more about this beautiful, heroic dog, or if you would like to make a donation towards the vet expenses that her heroic act incurred.

Jack Hanna to bring world of animals to El Pasoans

El Pasoans will get a chance to meet an alligator, a large lizard and other animals up close and personal during a visit by noted zookeeper, conservationist and television personality Jack Hanna.

Hanna will do a show tomorrow, Sept. 28, at the Plaza Theatre, 125 Pioneer Plaza, in Downtown. He’ll talk to people, show his favorite clips from his television show, “Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild,” and display some live animals.

Hanna said his El Paso appearance will not be a “highfalutin’ conservation show.”

“The world is a beautiful place. Yes, we have some problems,” Hanna said in a phone interview. “But we’re making great strides.”

People are tired of “gloom and doom,” he said.

His show will be a lively, fast-paced time that’s designed to be memorable and informative, he said.

A tentative list of animals that Hanna will show includes a 6-foot alligator, a python, an African civet (a catlike creature known for producing a musk scent), a red tegu (a large South American lizard) and other exotic species.

The animals will come from an organization called Animal Edutainment in Aubrey, Texas, instead of being transported from Columbus, Ohio.

Hanna is the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. He gained a national following from his frequent television appearances on shows such as “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Good Morning America,” “Larry King Live,” and others.

Besides his numerous guest TV appearances, Hanna has hosted two syndicated television shows of his own.

His latest, “Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild,” debuted in October 2007. Previously, he hosted “Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures” for more than 10 years.

Audience members should not be afraid of the live animals on display, said Renee Neuert, executive director of the El Paso Zoological Society. Her group is organizing the event as a fundraiser, and proceeds will benefit the El Paso Zoo’s programs.

“The animals are used to being in public,” Neuert said. “You can’t pet them; they’re wild animals. But they’re used to being transported, used to being in shows and used to being used for educational purposes.”

The show is suitable for families and especially children, Neuert said.

“Jack wants to inspire good stewards of our planet,” she said.

He’ll have video cameras and he’ll show close-ups of the animals. For instance, he’ll show how an alligator’s eye works, Neuert said.

“Even though it’s a school night, it’s educational,” Neuert said.

Hanna will also greet audience members in the lobby of the Plaza Theatre before the show. He’ll be there with a golden eagle named Takota from the El Paso Zoo.

Hanna sees his role as an educator and ambassador for the nation’s zoos.

About 142 million people went to the nation’s 220 accredited

zoos and aquariums in 2009, Hanna said.

“That’s better attendance than NASCAR, football, all that stuff,” Hanna said. “That shows how important zoos are for educating people about wildlife.”

Animal-rights groups like to criticize zoos, Hanna said, and say that animals should stay in the wild.

“But 95 percent of animals in zoos come from other zoos,” he said. “I bet you didn’t know that. If it wasn’t for zoos, a lot of animals wouldn’t be around in the future.”

The nation’s zoos also contributed $36 million to $40 million to animal conservation causes last year, he said.

Rick LoBello, the education curator at the El Paso Zoo, said Hanna has a passion for animals and anyone who attends his show will come away inspired.

“How often do we have someone of his stature visit El Paso?” LoBello asked. “People need to realize we don’t get this opportunity very often.”

Westsider Kandice Diaz plans to take her 3-year-old daughter, Sophia, to see Jack Hanna’s El Paso appearance.

“We’ve seen him on TV before,” Diaz said. “I like how hands-on he is with the animals. He also engages with the audience very well.”

Her daughter is “super crazy” about animals, so this is a can’t-miss show for them, Diaz said.

“I think it will be a lot of fun, especially for my daughter,” she said.

Machado Lake now home to water snakes

Thousands of water snakes have been abandoned in a Harbor City lake, evading wildlife biologists and adding to an ecological mess, it was reported today.

Machado Lake, once famously home to a discarded alligator named Reggie, has become the dumping ground for an estimated 3,000 or so water snakes, once
sold as $10 pets but now banned in California.

The Daily Breeze reports that all types of foreign animals have been dumped at the lake and surrounding Harbor Regional Park, an oasis of green that sits hard between an oil refinery and impoverished neighborhoods in Wilmington.

The water snakes, which can grow up to four feet long, are not poisonous. But they can bite, and are getting fat on carp and other tasty fare in the murky lake.

Snapping turtles, red-eared sliders, koi and possibly a monstrous python live at the park and lake, said Robert Reed, an environmental scientist quoted by the newspaper. The snake, 15 feet long, has been reported to live there, but officials have not seen it.

Rumors of a 12-foot alligator in Machado Lake were also unconfirmed for months, until newspaper photographers snapped shots of Reggie. He was grappled into submission and now resides at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Next year, Machado Lake will be dredged and cleansed as part of a $117 million flood control project that will also improve the Wilmington Drain, which links the lake to San Pedro Bay.

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