Daily Reptile News | Your number 1 source for reptile and Amphibian news

IT’S ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY

AND FAMILY

AND AWESOMENESS!!!

Visit DRN on Youtube

‹ ›

Two gators to be moved while SC pond is cleaned

HANAHAN, S.C. (AP) – Officials want to dig a pond deeper and clean around it to prevent flooding at the military’s weapons station in Hanahan.

There is the matter of moving an alligator named Charlie that has lived in the pond for decades. Also his girlfriend.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports officials at the Joint Base Charleston Weapons Station have a plan to move the alligators to a nearby pond.

Commercial trapper Ron Russell of Gator Getter Consultants plans to move the alligators in the next few weeks. Russell estimates Charlie is about 400 pounds and about 11 feet long.

Charlie has lived in the pond since at least the early 1970s and has been fed with scraps from the mess hall, roadkill and fast food tossed over the fence at the pond.

Brown Tree Snake May Have Been Cause of Islandwide Power Outage

Guam -It began with a bright burst of light, first blue, then red. Helped by the reflection of off low slung clouds, the light could be seen across much of northern Guam. It was the light before an islandwide power outage that plunged the Guam into darkness Wednesday night and a brown tree snake could have set off the chain of events that caused it.

It happened just after 7 pm.

Pacific LP Gas Store Manager Ray Sylvia was up north on the NCS Golf Course in Dededo he saw it.

“I was up at Starks Golf Course and I seen a big glow in the sky and it lit it up. I actually thought it was at the airport. And then the next thing I seen was no more power. I seen dark.”

Angie Mister from Saipan was inside the airport terminal looking out. “We had arrived just from Saipan and walked into the … up the stairs at Continental and had looked out towards the hotels and there was just a big plume of red, kinda of like a big flash.” Q: What did you think? “Well the power went out so we kinda just … it was island power problems again.”

The big burst of light emanated a power pole on Ypao Road in Tamuning just across from the Day’s Inn. A 34-thousand 500 volt power line melted right threw. The power line, cut in half, fell onto the power line below it causing the burst of light.

Burn marks can be seen on the concrete pole where it happened.

Simon Camacho, Assistant Manager of Transmission and Distribution holding up a portion of the burnt power line said “This started to burn … this is the metal conductor … right here, if you look at this part here, started to burn, and there is also evidence of burning over here … anywhere where there is corrosion, it burned. And so this part fell, hit the other line and then all the arcing caused this thing to burn, there’s a burn mark as you can see right here.”

Camacho suggested that the arcing occured between a buckle that was supposed to secure the power line, and the power line itself. It acted like a blow tourch melting the line.

Camacho: “We use clamps similar to this … we’re going to use a better, a higher quality one.”

Q: That could have been a factor?

Camacho: “Could have been a factor, could have been.”

Q: Why?

Camacho: “But, you know, on our periodic maintenance, none of this showed up. So I’m thinking that other events made this the weak link.”

Q: How, in what way?

Camacho: “A lot of current, you know, when you lose circuits, it has to go somewhere. But this is just the results, this is what can happen when things go bad.”

Camacho went onto to suggest that a surge in current might have set off that arcing between the buckle and power line.

“Its 34-thousand volts, its a transmission line. But the big issue there is the amount of current that’s passing through the line at that time. So, I’m not sure exactly what was the … at what part did this come in … but this is only one of the events that happened.”

So what was that other event that caused the sudden surge in current and created an arc between the buckle and the power line setting off the island wide power outage?

Officials don’t know what the exact cause of that surge in current was, but 12 power poles down towards the SDA Clinic was another power pole where the initial flash and line fault occurred last night. And beneath that pole GPA linemen found a dead and charred brown tree snake.

Camacho: “All I know is that we did find a dead snake and we found some burnt terminators, down at the end of the road, right before the housing.”

Q: That could have put extra stress on this?

Camacho: “Yes.”

Q: And subsequently triggered…?

Camacho: “Yea.”

Q: So this might be a brown tree snake event?

Camacho: “Humm, I’m not sure.”

Q: You can’t say so?

Camacho: “It could be coincidence. Yea. Coincidence.”

Guam Power Authority Spokesman Art Perez explained that the first line fault was detected by the 2 base load Cabras Units, 3 and 4, and that prompted them to shut down taking 15 of the island’s more than 40 circuits off line.

At that point, Perez says that protection relays at the Tamuning Substation should have kicked in to isolate the outage. But they did not.

“What didn’t happen, it failed to isolate,” said Perez on the K-57 Breakfast Show this morning, “and some of the protection relays did not work.”

About 7:15 pm, the second line fault along Ypao Road occurred, and because the protection relays didn’t work, the Tanguisson Power Plant detected the second line fault and took itself off line and an islandwide power outage was the result.

Perez said the second line fault occured at a time when the system was already under stress from the first fault.

GPA’s “defenses were pretty vulnerable at that time … taking off that much load at one time.” In addition, the 2 line faults occurred at a time when the system was under peak demand with so many residents home, cooking dinner, watching TV.

Power was eventually restored to Tumon, Barrigada, Dededo and Hagatna just before 9 am. Full power was restored by 2:30 am this morning.

The cause of the protection circuit failure remains under investigation, as well as what caused the initial fault.

However, GPA officials on the scene along Ypao Road this morning found a dead brown tree snake next to the power pole near the SDA Clinic which might have been triggered the first line fault, leading to the second line fault and triggering the blackout. But no final determination has been made.

Virgin snake gives birth to 22 babies

Even more unusual is that the genetic make-up of the babies is unlike any previously recorded among vertebrates, the group which includes almost all animals with a backbone.

All female, the little ones were also all born with a distinctive rare caramel colouration – a rare recessive genetic trait carried by the mother but not by any of the potential fathers.

The captive-born female boa constrictor gave birth at the same time as being housed with four male snakes but DNA tests showed none was the daddy, confirming the first instance of a known virgin birth among boa snakes.

‘The results may require scientists to take another look at reptile production,’ said Warren Booth, a geneticist at North State University. Asexual reproduction in snakes could be more common than thought, he added.

While invertebrates such as insects can produce offspring asexually, usually by cloning themselves, it remains a novelty among vertebrate animals.

In 2006, scientists discovered that two komodo dragon lizards had produced eggs that developed without being fertilised by sperm, while the following year saw another team find that captive female hammerhead sharks can also reproduce without having sex.

Rare reptiles spotted at reserves

Rare adders and common lizards have been spotted in record numbers at two nature reserves in Yorkshire this year, Natural England announced yesterday.

Sightings of the reptiles at Humberhead Peatlands, near Thorne in South Yorkshire, and Skipwith Common, a new nature reserve outside York, have increased fourfold.

Steve Hiner, a reptile expert from Natural England, said: “Adders and common lizards are really quite rare and shy so it’s always a joy and privilege to see them when they emerge to bask and glint in the sunshine. We’re pleased that they are responding to the work we’ve been doing to improve their habitat.”

He added: “There have been some good sightings of them this year – we’ve had some good days of sunshine and they’re reluctant to go into hibernation just yet.”

Natural England is also asking people not to get too close to any adders, if they were to see the reptiles.

Mr Hiner said: “Adders are Britain’s only venomous snake and could attack if they feel threatened. They can be admired from a safe distance.”

Crocodile bites NT swimmer’s finger

A photographer in the Northern Territory has captured the moment a saltwater crocodile bit one of his friend’s fingers while he was swimming.

The small crocodile latched onto the swimmer’s pinkie finger as he was bodysurfing at Cape Arnhem 900km east of Darwin last month, the NT News reported.

The man was among a group of friends camping near the beach and decided to jump into the water for a body surf.

“He was rushing through the waves and the croc tried to get out of his way,” the unnamed photographer was quoted as saying.

“He touched the tail by accident and it spun around and bit him on the pinkie.”

The swimmer suffered only scratches from the bite.

The 80cm crocodile was reportedly unharmed in the incident.

Anson Wong slapped with five-year jail term

SHAH ALAM: Convicted wildlife smuggler Anson Wong has been slapped with a five-year jail term, after a High Court here allowed an appeal filed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers for a heavier sentence against him.

The court also ordered for a fine of RM190,000, imposed on Wong in a previous judgement by a Sessions Court judge, to be returned to him.

Justice Mohtarudin Baki said in his judgement Thursday that the Sessions Court judge did not consider the large number of snakes in Wong’s possession in his ruling.

“From the charge, it was stated that there were 95 boa constrictors.

“The judge did not emphasise on the number,” he said.

Justice Mohtarudin said had the snakes escaped, the safety of the airport and flight would have been in jeapordy.

“It is apparent that the accused is greedy and only thought of himself. He did not care about other people.

“Let this punishment be a deterrent for the accused and would-be offenders out there,” he said.

Moving legendary gator a delicate operation

HANAHAN — Charlie is the stuff of legends — a huge, old, “tame” alligator with a belly like a whale and an appetite like an ogre. He has been fed for decades with mess hall scraps, roadkill, chicken wings, submarine sandwiches and anything else tossed over the retention pond fence behind the gate at the Joint Base Charleston Weapons Station.

Now, somebody has to move him.

Every time there’s a heavy rain, the field around the overgrown pond floods deep enough to float a canoe. The pond has to be cleared and cut deeper to keep the water off the weapons station roads, not to mention Remount Road nearby.

So Charlie and a girthy female companion have to be hauled to a nearby pond to wait out the renovation work.

Good luck with that.

“I’ll tell you, I want to see who jumps on him,” said base Patrolman Robert Clark with a tight grin as he watched the beady-eyed behemoth hunker down on the bank behind a 7-foot-high fence, waiting for his next handout.

Who, as it turns out, will be commercial trapper Ron Russell of Gator Getter Consultants. Russell has already had one go-round getting to know Charlie, who lunged at him when he got too close to the pond. “Tame” doesn’t describe an ambush-predator reptile who can sink out of sight then pop up its toothy snout right in front of a person on the bank.

But, the relocation is set to take place in the next few weeks. And, oh yeah, Russell is ready. He plans to use rope snares at both ends.

The animal has the head of a steer and a tail as thick as an off-road tire is wide. He’s reputed to be 900 pounds and as long as 14 feet — but that just makes Russell shake his head. The heftiest gator Russell has weighed came in at 700 pounds, and that one was bigger and thicker than Charlie.

Russell guesses Charlie at 400 pounds.

“He’s 11 feet. He might go 111/2,” the trapper said. “We’ll find out.”

Charlie’s size is just one of the tales told on him.

Nobody really knows how he got in the pond to begin with. It’s been said he was pulled from a commander’s pool. There’s supposedly a letter on file from two sailors admitting they caught him on the roadside in 1951 and placed him there. But a lot of sailors and soldiers have come forward to confess they put Charlie in the pond, said Terrence Larimer, the joint base natural resources manager.

What really happened “is sort of lost in the mists of the past,” Larimer said. As best as anyone can guess, the alligator showed up sometime in the early 1970s. Based on studies Russell has seen, he guesses Charlie to be about 40 years old, maybe 50.

It’s not unheard of for an alligator in captivity to live to be 60-80 years old. As for an animal in his own private love den with room service, “I might make it to 80 if I’m taken care of like that,” Russell said.

Maybe the best story told about Charlie is the grass cutter.

A hired hand on a riding mower was ordered to cut the lawn around the pond, and, evidently, was not told about Charlie. When the mower got too near the pond, the monster reptile lunged, knocked it over and sent the worker screaming down Remount Road. Word is, he never even came back for the check, Larimer said.

It shows just how legendary Charlie is that Russell too has heard this story, except that he heard the alligator grabbed the mower and dragged it into the pond.

“Once again,” he said, “when they drain that pond, we’ll find out.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY

AND FAMILY

AND AWESOMENESS!!!

Join the fun now!!