On Monday Malaysian customs officials seized 1800 protected animals from a truck attempting to cross into Thailand. They believe the animals were in rout to markets to be turned into exotic dishes. Apparently found hidden in the truck were 475 Tortoises, 437 Turtles, 710 Monitors and 196 King Cobras. The animals estimated value was $7,669 and were all handed over to wildlife officials. Customs director Ishak Ahmad said it was the largest bust for wildlife smuggling in his career.
World’s biggest snake threatened by backpackers
The lure of seeing the anaconda in its natural habitat is bringing thousands of British backpackers to a small corner of the Amazon that has become one of the continent’s biggest eco-tourism destinations.
But for the anacondas that live in the swamps surrounding the Yacuma River in northern Bolivia, this invasion of gap year travellers and other hardy tourists is proving disastrous.
Biologists say the entire population of anacondas in one of the jewels of the Amazon basin will be wiped out within three years because of the deadly effect on the snakes of the insect repellant used by most backpackers to help protect against malaria.
The number of tourists going on tours of the pampas that snake there way through jungle and grasslands 250 miles north of La Paz has exploded from a few hundred to nearly 12,000 a year in the past decade.
Travellers are enticed by the promise of getting up close and personal with the world’s largest snake – sometimes picking them up and hlding them – as well as swimming with river dolphins, catching pirhanas, and spotting monkeys, sloths and an array of other flora and fauna.
But sightings of the snake are becoming increasingly elusive and as many as 30 of the awe-inspiring creatures, which can measure up to 30ft in length and are known to strangle and devour prey as diverse as caiman crocodiles and cows, are being found dead every year, according to local guides.
Original story
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/bolivia/8216528/Worlds-biggest-snake-threatened-by-backpackers.html
Huge 100 pound African tortoise found roaming Arizona desert
Tortoises native to the Arizona desert rarely grow in excess of about 15 pounds, so imagine the surprise of officials with the Arizona Game and Fish Department when they recently came across a huge 100 pound tortoise living comfortably in the Sonoran Desert.
Probably kept as an exotic pet and released into the Arizona wild by its careless handler, the behemoth reptile was an African spurred tortoise, according to Wildlife Extra News.
“Finding an exotic tortoise this size inhabiting the Sonoran Desert is a reminder of how important it is not to release any exotic species into the wild,” said Cristina Jones of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Because they are native to the southern edge of the Sahara desert, these giant tortoises are right at home in the similar environment of the Arizona desert. But like many invasive species, their introduction can pose a serious threat to native species.
“Due to their immense size, while defending its territory an African spurred tortoise could easily injure a native desert tortoise,” said Jones.
The African spurred tortoise can grow to a massive 150 pounds, which actually makes it the largest mainland tortoise species in the world. By comparison, Arizona’s principal native species only grows to about 15 pounds, so needless to say, the native species wouldn’t stand a chance in a battle over territory. Furthermore, the African tortoise can radically alter the landscape where it lives. This tortoise had already established itself long enough to build two burrows, including one that was 9 feet deep.
“When people purchase these tortoises they are about the size of a silver dollar, yet they can grow to more than 150 pounds,” Jones said. “These exotic tortoises are long lived and because of their propensity to dig long, deep burrows, they can be extremely difficult to contain.”
Finding just one African spurred tortoise in the Arizona wild might be strange enough, but this was actually the second one found this year. Officials urge that pet owners understand what they are getting themselves into when they purchase an exotic pet, and to always avoid releasing any exotic animal into a non-native habitat.
Original story
http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/pets-animals/stories/huge-100-pound-african-tortoise-found-roaming-arizona-desert
Fayetteville Man Bit By Venomous African Snake
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A Fayetteville man was sent to the hospital after an encounter with the lethal green mamba snake.
Fayetteville resident Jason Wiles was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center, but had to be flown all the way to St. Louis to receive treatment there. It was the nearest place to have a hospital with supplies of antivenin used to treat the rare bite of the green mamba.
“This person was transported to Washington Regional Medical Center and then was transported later to St. Louis, the closest place that would treat a green mamba snake bite,” Cpl. Rick Crisman of the Fayetteville Police Department said.
As it turns out, Wiles got very lucky.
“It was determined that it was a dry bite, where no venom was injected into the person,” Crisman said. “He wasn’t in any danger at that point.”
Green mambas can be extremely dangerous.
“From what I understand, it’s one of the top 10 most dangerous snakes which, there is really none worse than the other,” said Jonathan Lusk with the Ozark Reptile Museum. “If you’re in the top 10, it’s like getting shot with a .45 caliber gun. You’re going to get hurt real bad.”
Lusk said the venom from a mamba can kill a person within 24 hours and said Wiles probably didn’t realize how much danger he was in simply by keeping one on his property.
“A green mamba can get 10 to 12 feet long and they move at speeds of maybe 20, 30 miles per hour,” Lusk said. “If it gets loose, there’s no way you’re going to be able to catch it.”
Police said Wiles had several other snakes on his property, including several cobras and pit vipers. All of the snakes were removed by animal control and destroyed, and Wiles received multiple citations for keeping wild animals within Fayetteville city limits.
Original story
http://www.4029tv.com/news/26199745/detail.html
Cracker-eating crooks steal snake
LEE COUNTY: Two burglars are accused of stealing crackers and a snake from a home on 28th Street SW in Lehigh Acres, according to Lee County Sheriff’s Office reports.
On Sunday, Antwone Carl Tramaine Green saw the door to his neighbor Rico’s house standing open. He stuck his head inside and called out, but no one answered. He closed the door and called Rico in Miami, reports said.
While on the phone with Rico, the neighbor saw two people come out of the home with a box of crackers and a snake owned by the resident, Oscar, according to reports.
The neighbor said he detained both the suspects and called Oscar.
When deputies arrived, they found Antwone, Oscar and two juveniles standing outside the home on 28th Street SW, reports said.
The deputy who responded to the scene walked around the home and found a broken window in the back and a red handled pocketknife under the broken window, reports said.
The deputy spoke with the homeowner, Rico, on the phone about the incident. He told deputies on the phone he wanted to press charges for the break-in, reports said.
Oscar, who currently lives in the home, told deputies five of his snakes were missing and a missing box of crackers was in his driveway, reports said.
In addition, a large TV was moved from the garage to the dining room table, according to deputies.
The investigation is ongoing and no further details were available.
Original story
http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=13715456
Fisherman killed and eaten by 20ft crocodile in Borneo as villagers watch in horror
Villagers have described how they watched in horror as a crocodile killed and ate a fisherman before their eyes.
The 20ft beast could be seen clenching the victim between its jaws on the island of Borneo, his legs dangling from its jaws.
Sidi Samat, a grandfather, had gone to the Batang Samarahan river, 30 miles from the town of Kuching, to try to catch fish for the family’s supper.
He was standing waist deep in the water when the attack occurred.
Relatives and villages rushed to the river after the alarm was raised but when they saw Mr Samat’s legs dangling from the crocodile’s mouth they realised he was beyond help.
‘We saw a huge crocodile in the middle of the river,’ villager Mr Ismail Awang told Malaysia’s The Star newspaper yesterday.
‘I saw Sidi’s legs inside the mouth of the crocodile and it was obvious he was too far in for us to help him. We could not reach him.’
Mr Awang said he prayed and talked to the crocodile in the hope that it would return Mr Samat alive to the river bank.
‘It did come to the shore but before we could do anything, it immersed itself in the river, taking Sidi with it.’
Mr Samat’s distraught wife Dayang Sara, 60, wept by the river bank when she saw her husband’s fishing equipment lying there.
‘He had gone fishing at the river at about 6.30am,’ she said.
‘He normally returns home in less than an hour, but when he did not come back after 8am I called for help to look for him.’
Crocodiles are a common sight in the area but they have never ventured up the river banks.
Villagers know they lurk in the river and are always keeping a watch out for them.
A giant crocodile, known as the Easy-Going Bachelor because it moved very slowly and did not have a mate, killed up to eight people in the 1970s, avoiding all attempts to kill it until a team of specialist police managed to blow it up with grenades.
Battle with possum-eating python
A TOOGOOM family got an almighty shock recently when a giant carpet python fell out of their mango tree coiled around a large possum.
They then couldn’t believe their eyes as the snake dislocated its jaws and started to swallow the possum whole.
Their efforts to free the possum had no impact on the snake as he completely ignored a few heavy smacks with a spade to go on eating.
In the end they let mother nature taker her course and later had the snake relocated.