Daily Reptile News

Reptile store to open in Village

Brian Pataska and his wife, Stephanie, will open Family Values Reptiles, LLC on Saturday in the former Precision Photo location at 1533 S. Losey Blvd. in the Village Shopping Center.

The new business will sell reptiles such as snakes, lizards and bearded dragons, Brian said. It also will sell mice, rats, crickets, superworms and a variety of reptile supplies.

“We decided to turn our hobby and love for animals into a business,” Pataska said. “We’ve got numerous snakes and lizards at our house. We want to share it with other people.”

Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday and closed Monday.

The grand opening will be Saturday and Sunday. The store’s telephone number is (608) 796-WORM (9676).

Snakes a concern for Forests workers

THEY can be a deadly hazard for forestry workers in summer and the race is on to prepare staff for the worst.

Snake awareness will be the focus for Forests NSW crews from across the region at their safety day next week.

“There would be few workers more likely to come face to face with a venomous snake than Forests NSW staff so this is an appropriate time for them to brush up on how to recognise the various snakes in the areas they work in and how to treat any bites,” said Forests NSW North East Region manager Craig Busby.

“More than 90 staff will be at the safety day at the Grafton Racecourse on December 9. We hold two all-staff safety days a year as it is a prime focus of Forests NSW.”

Mr Busby said Forests NSW had introduced a new safety feature this year with the Take Two initiative.

“This involves any staff starting a new task for the day to take two minutes to assess any potential hazards in performing the work.

“Those two minutes might make the difference between them going home safely at the end of the day or suffering potential long-term injury.

“Another safety issue that has been identified is the number of vehicle accidents that have occurred on gravel roads in state forests.

“There is always the potential for staff or forest visitors to meet log trucks on forest roads or simply find road conditions are different from what they expected.

“After a careful review, Forests NSW has imposed a 60 km/h speed limit on all vehicles travelling on gravel roads within state forests unless they are otherwise signposted.

“In some cases there will also be 40 km/h limits for log trucks.”

Mr Busby said it was incumbent on all vehicle users in state forests to follow the road rules.

“State forest roads are treated by the law the same as a public street so if you are unlicensed or your vehicle is unregistered, you are breaking the law and will be subject to police action.”

2010’s Most Amazing Medical and Scientific Discoveries

A New Glamosaur
Paleontologists at the University of Utah have unearthed two flamboyant new dinosaur species that seem to have been the Lady Gagas of their day. The elephant-sized Utahceratops gettyi had a huge head studded with five horns. The Kosmoceratops richardsoni boasted a frill-adorned noggin with a whopping 15 horns on its skull, nose, and cheeks, leading one scientist to call it “one of the most amazing animals known.”

Two Dozen Pets Rescued From Smoky House

Firefighters rescued more than two dozen pets from a smoky house fire Tuesday.

No people were injured in the fire at 356 O’Connell Drive, although some animals suffered from smoke inhalation, said Assistant Fire Chief William Perez. Two women lived in the house.

In all, 12 dogs and 14 cats were rescued, he said. A lizard also was found.

“He said every time he turned around, he pulled out another couple of cats,” Perez said of a firefighter.

The ranch-style house was severely damaged and is not habitable.

The fire was reported at 9:55 a.m., Perez said. The fire was mostly out a short time later, but smoke was still coming from the eaves at 10:30 a.m. Firefighters continued to remove animals until about 11:15 a.m.

The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen, Perez said.

Ed Ruiz, an animal control officer, took the animals to a local veterinarian. He ran out of room in his van and had to use Perez’s vehicle, Perez said.

A town ordinance limits the number of cats and dogs that may live in a house in town to 10, and that’s only if the owners have a kennel license, Ruiz said.

It wasn’t clear if the two women were going to be cited.

Fishermen kill crocodile in Meghna river

Hundreds of fishermen have stopped fishing in the Meghna in view of the menace of crocodiles in the river.
On Sunday, fishermen killed a crocodile caught in a net near Hajir Hat in southern coastal Barisal district.
Fishermen yesterday said four other crocodiles were able to flee by cutting the fishing nets.
Mehendiganj sub-district executive officer said that the fishermen killed the crocodile out of fear and ignorance.
Local fish wholesalers said after the incident the fishermen were scared of going to the river. They fear that crocodiles might attack them during fishing.
Fishermen said they have stopped fishing in the Meghna at night due to panic.
An expert said the crocodiles might have lost their way after they came from the creek of the Sundarbans mangrove forest.

Frog Listener Volunteers Answer Call To Help Survey Frogs Across Georgia

Sarah Barlow had a small problem. She had a deep knowledge and interest in frogs and toads, including two wildlife degrees focused on herps and a thesis exploring frogs’ use of restored wetlands.

But the former city of Savannah environmental planner had no place to apply that experience.

“I had all these strong (frog) identification skills that I wasn’t able to use,” Barlow said.

The answer: NAAMP. Developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program is an international study investigating the distribution and relative abundance of amphibians across the continent. NAAMP depends on frog-savvy volunteers who monitor local listening routes three times a year.

Barlow signed up last year. She contacted Georgia NAAMP coordinator John Jensen of the state Department of Natural Resources, practiced her frog-ID skills and passed the required online quiz. She even drove her rural, 10-mile route near Glennville beforehand, checking out the habitat at the set listening sites.

Barlow then squeezed the two hours-plus it took per survey into her already hectic schedule. The result is what she described as “a very relaxing way to spend the evening.”

Considering the fieldwork she did in Louisiana for her thesis, “This was a lot tamer than being in the middle of a bayou on a four-wheeler,” Barlow said laughing. “This was country club frogging!”

Enjoyable and vital. Frogs can serve as sentinels of environmental change. Many frogs and other amphibians are high-priority species in Georgia’s Wildlife Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy that guides DNR efforts to conserve biological diversity. NAAMP monitoring data is analyzed for patterns of amphibian decline, stability or increase on local and wider levels.

Jensen, a senior wildlife biologist with the DNR’s Nongame Conservation Section, said more surveys are needed to pinpoint trends in Georgia. 2011 marks only the fourth year of the state’s involvement. But the immediate payback has included volunteers identifying lesser-known frogs in areas the species had not been documented before, Jensen said.

He’s hoping for more volunteers for 2011. Forty-five of the state’s 73 routes were covered this year. Most of the unassigned routes are in south Georgia.

Jensen suggested would-be volunteers assess their frog identification abilities, then contact him by e-mail, john.jensen@dnr.state.ga.us, or phone at the Nongame Conservation Section office in Forsyth, (478) 994-1438. The first listening window next year opens Jan. 15.

Barlow is now a naturalist at Sandy Creek Nature Center in Athens. She plans to look for a 2011 route closer to home. But she will be putting her frog skills back into play, calling the citizen-powered NAAMP surveys “important work to be done.”

Georgians can help conserve amphibians and other nongame wildlife, native plants and natural habitats through buying a wildlife license plate featuring a bald eagle or a ruby-throated hummingbird. They can also donate to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund through the state income tax checkoff, online at www.georgiawildlife.com (click “Donate the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund”) and in other ways.

Contributions are vital to the Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section. The section receives no state general funds for its mission to help conserve wildlife not legally hunted, fished for or trapped, as well as rare plants and natural habitats in Georgia.

For more information, go to www.georgiawildlife.com/node/338, or call Nongame Conservation Section offices in Social Circle (770-761-3035), Forsyth (478-994-1438) or Brunswick (912-264-7218). State income tax forms are available online at https://etax.dor.ga.gov/.

LEND AN EAR
Hone your skills at one of the following websites, or buy a copy of the CD “Calls of the Wild – Vocalizations of Georgia’s Frogs” from DNR, (478) 994-1438. (The $15.36 cost per CD goes to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund.) ** jcmaerz.myweb.uga.edu/lab/GANAAMP/index.htm ** wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/GAFrog.Toad.html ** www.ugapress.org/index.php (search for “Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia”)

NAAMP NEWCOMERS
Gauge your frog identification skills before volunteering. (Deciphering species when multiple frogs are calling is where it gets a little tricky, Jensen said.) If unsure, first try the public quiz at NAAMP. ** Don’t be daunted. While Georgia has more than 30 frog and toad species, all are not heard on one route. Barlow said she heard, on average, about eight kinds. She advises practicing, plus previewing your route. ** Expect a reward. One, the work helps monitor impacts of habitat change, such as the loss of temporary wetlands. Two, as Barlow said, learning to identify wildlife by sound builds “a greater appreciation of being in the woods.”

The Hattiesburg Zoo mourns an alligator

A longtime resident of the Hattiesburg Zoo has passed away. Gator the alligator died on November eighteenth.

The male alligator weighed eight hundred pounds and lived at the Zoo for more than thirty years. Zoo Administrator, Lori Banchero said Gator came to the Hattiesburg Zoo as a fully grown adult.

She said he had a good, long life because alligators typically live between thirty to fifty years.

“And the zoo staff and myself are all saddened whenever we have a loss of one of our animals here,” said Banchero.

Gator leaves behind his exhibit mate named Little Girl. She is a female alligator. There is no word yet on whether the Zoo plans to find her a new friend.

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