Scientists were searching for a lost frog that has not been observed in the wild for 25 years. There search did not turn up any of the elusive La Selle grass frogs but did turn up 6 species thought to be lost already. Scientists say it gives new hope for the biodiversity in Haiti as its forests have been ravaged by earthquakes and deforestation.
Well the Cyprus Grass Snake may be getting a second change. Snake George presented a petition to the minister calling for immediate government action to save the snake whose numbers have fallen at alarming rates. We have talked about this species before and while the local government always appeared to be on board they never really did anything to stop the hunting and development that were killing off the snakes. Now in front of a European court they are pledging 80,000 for the lake where Snake George says the snake use to be found but is no longer found there. Snake George has also asked for immediate assistance on starting a captive breeding program to ensure the species future. There is no word yet if they do plan to help with the program.
Well looky what we have hear, another orange Alligator. This one was found in Texas. This one in particular was using an old rusted culvert as a home which explains the orange coloration. It is suspected the one found last week also lives near a similar culvert but experts are for the most part still out.
There was mention last week that Orange is one of the UOF team colors and their mascot happens to be an Alligator but there have been several explanations come across the board, so far the jury is still out however this rusty culvert story is starting to sound good.
In the annals of smuggling, Los Angeles International Airport has seen it all — lizards in luggage, songbirds strapped to a passenger’s legs, boxes of tarantulas and two pygmy monkeys hidden in a traveler’s pants.
Now, officials said, they have recorded another milestone in the animal kingdom — smuggled turtles.
Authorities said two Japanese men were arrested with more than 50 live rare turtles, from Chinese big-headed turtles to Indian Star tortoises, packed neatly inside snack food boxes.
On Monday, Atsushi Yamagami, 39, and Norihide Ushirozako, 49, were charged in a two-count criminal complaint alleging that they illegally imported wildlife into the United States, a smuggling offense that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, and one count of violating the Endangered Species Act, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
Federal officials, who arrested the men Friday, said the suspects had 55 live turtles sealed inside snack boxes of cookies and crackers.
Authorities said their investigation began a year ago, when U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents learned of a smuggling operation that was illegally bringing turtles into the United States.
They said they infiltrated the ring over the summer in an investigation known as “Operation Flying Turtle,” which included the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement‘s Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
After U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents arrested one of Yamagami’s associates at Honolulu International Airport trying to smuggle more than 40 turtles in a package, the man told them that Yamagami had paid him about 100,000 yen or about $1,200 and travel expenses to smuggle the reptiles, authorities said.
“The plundering and smuggling of rare plants and animals to satisfy the desires of hobbyists is not only shameful, in some circumstances it can pose a threat to public safety and the environment,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles.
A Sedgwick County Zoo Amphibian & Reptile keeper was grazed by the strike of a venomous Kanburi pit viper during routine feeding today.
A zoo spokesperson said the snake was being fed with feeding tongs when it grazed the zookeeper’s finger.
The zookeeper was admitted to the hospital for observation. Antivenin went with the keeper as a precaution, but at the time of this report none has been used.
Kanburi pit viper snakes are native to Thailand. Although documented to cause swelling and pain, bites from this species are not known to be life threatening.
Sedgwick County Zoo Amphibian & Reptile keepers perform animal escape drills and venomous snake bite drills regularly.
http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/113235274.html
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) — Pet snake owners say the U.S. government’s proposal to ban the importation and interstate transportation of nine species of foreign snakes goes too far.
In seeking the ban, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the animals, if freed, posed a serious risk to native ecosystems across the southern United States, The New York Times reported Monday.
When the government moved to ban trade in the snakes, including boas, anacondas and pythons, it argued they met the legal criteria for being both injurious and invasive.
But it is the first time the government has tried to list animals so widely held as pets by an estimated 1 million Americans.
Trade in these species is big business, bringing in more than $100 million annually, and specimens with rare or unusual colors can fetch as much as $75,000.
“It is a joke,” Jeremy Stone of Linton, Utah, said of the science behind the government’s decision.
Stone, who makes his living breeding snakes with genetic mutations such as albinism that make them attractive to buyers, says his snakes, raised in captivity, pose no threat.
The government regulations, which do not prevent breeding and owning but would prevent transportation across state lines, would ruin his business and thousands like it, he said.
“The reptile industry would suffer a crushing blow, over something that does not make sense,” he said.
Thomas Strickland, assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks, said the government would push for approval of the regulations by next summer.
Like other invasive species, snakes are a real and growing problem, he said.
“You are not dealing with hamsters here,” he said. “I was down in the Everglades, and it took four people to hold a 19-foot Burmese python. These things wreak havoc.”
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