The North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol is looking for people to help walk the beach, looking for nest sites from May 1st until September 1st. For more information please contact Linda Mataya at nmbturtles@hotmail.com. There will be a meeting of interested parties in April to learn more about the sea turtle group. Volunteers can specify how many mornings they are available to work. The Windy Hill area is in need of the most beach walkers at this time.
Category Archives: Conservation
Amphibian awareness day in Louisville
Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife seeking volunteers to monitor frogs
Do to the staggering numbers of the declining amphibian populations, monitoring programs are springing up more than ever. The Delaware Amphibian Monitoring Project (DAMP) is seeking volunteers to monitor frog populations around the state. An orientation meeting will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 at the St. Jones Reserve in Dover, with a training CD and other information to be provided. Potential volunteers need to have a car, access to the internet and be willing to conduct surveys along a roadside at night. For more information you can contact Vickie Henderson or Lauren Johnson, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, at 302-735-8651 or via e-mail Vickie.Henderson@state.de.us or Lauren.Johnson@state.de.us.
Is Komodo not paying attention to Eco and safety problems
DRN did a story some time ago where the Ministry of Tourism was asking the world to vote for the Komodo Islands as a new world wonder. They were hopeful that gaining such a status would help them raise money from tourism on their islands but their own tourism industry as well as Rangers are speaking out saying they are not prepared for such an influx of tourism and it could cause not only a safety risk to visitors but also cause a huge ecological imbalance in an already fragile eco system. Park Rangers say they do NOT have the infrastructure in place to handle a large influx of visitors to the islands. Last year 45,000 people visited Komodo National Park and this year they expect to far pass their goal of 54,000 people.
New snake laws?
Picture by Jason White
Apparently Nebraska may adopt statewide restrictions on exotic animals including reptiles. Nebraska is one of the few states where reptile keeping is not restricted but Sen Abby Cornett of Bellevue introduced LB 64 After a man was killed by his 9′ Boa last year. The new law would “proposal would restrict pet snake length statewide to 8 feet and prohibit owning venomous snakes. The bill would require that any Nebraskan seeking to own a wild animal first must obtain a permit and $250,000 in exotic animal liability insurance, which may have to be obtained from an insurer other than the person’s homeowner’s insurance provider.” If you keep a native pet snake you will be required to have a warning sign on your property letting the public know a “dangerous animal” lives there. Current owners will be exempt from the rules until they get a new pet/. “The bill doesn’t stop people from having snakes in their home, and that’s where there have been problems,” Ferraro said. “They are not a companion pet, but if the person learns about the animal, they could contribute to conservation.”
Is it already to late to save our planet?
Scientists at UC Berkley have said that at the current rat 75% of all species will be extinct within the next 300 years. It supposedly is being called a mass extinction the likes of which have only happened a few times in the history of the earth and this one is being blamed on climate change and humans. According to studies of fossils extinctions were far less common in ancient times than they are now. The scientists say that hope is far off as the 2 recommendations to stop what could ultimately lead to the end its to slow human growth or consume far less natural resources, 2 things are are least popular to the majority of human inhabitants on earth.
This brings to mind what Bob Irwin said on Urban Jungles-Radio last Friday night “Animals can live fine without humans but we can not survive with out the animals. I know a lot of people put a lot of effort into conservation all over the planet but it never seems to be enough. I wander what it would take to get more people to move in that direction and or is it even possible before we reach the point of no return?
400lb Crocodile gets his foot fixed
6 staff members of the Virginia Aquarium and a vet got to work on the foot of a 400 pound Crocodile today. The procedure was actually two where first they removed a wart on the bottom of the Crocodiles foot and then second injected antibiotics into the the stub of a removed toenail the size of a shotgun shell. As a measure agenst infection they also put superglue on the tips of her other nails.