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Iowa Reptile Rescue hopes it will be rescued

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It needs $2,500 to cover rent and food (rats and vegetables) for 80 homeless reptiles and amphibians.

Hello, my name is Jose. I’m a green iguana.

Adopt me!

Jose’s plea will soon need a few more exclamation points – unless his caretakers raise $2,500 by the end of the month.

The rough economy has taken its toll on Iowa Reptile Rescue, which is home to about 80 reptiles and amphibians that, for many reasons, are homeless.

Jason and Robin Argo started the rescue 2feet,” Jason Argo said.

The Argos need $2,500 by Nov. 27 to catch up on money owed for their lease and rats and vegetables that their homeless critters eat. They’ve raised more than $600 so far.

The rescue has between 60 and 100 animals at any given time, depending on demand and other factors. The Animal Rescue League, which does animal control work for the city of Des Moines, has an agreement with the Argos to place all wayward reptiles and amphibians with them.

The Argos use a two-week waiting period on all adoptions to be sure the creatures find the right home.

“Everybody wants to adopt, but we’re real picky,” Jason Argo said.

Zac Sadler, who manages another store in the mall, said he would hate to see the group leave the mall or close.

“They try really hard to do the right thing,” Sadler said. “It’s truly a good cause.”

Argo said they’ve found a lawyer who is willing to do free work to help the rescue become a not-for-profit organization. That would make it eligible for grants to make the rescue solvent, even in tough times, he said.

Survey: What do you think about reptiles & amphibians?

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Davidson College students went door-to-door in Davidson over the weekend quizzing residents about their attitudes toward the conservation of reptiles and amphibians. It’s part of the college’s “Reptile and Amphibian Conservation” course. They’re still looking for more participants, and they’re inviting residents to help out by taking the survey online.

“Our project involves looking at attitudes towards the conservation of reptiles and amphibians in the Davidson area,” students Christian Oldham, Ross Davis and Ross Lackey said in an email. “To do this, we have constructed an anonymous online survey.”

SURVEY LINK

Take the survey online at http://checkboxweb.davidson.edu/Survey.aspx?s=26aaccb86a7549a78d214f36d34186ba

The survey is anonymous and takes about 3 minutes to complete, the students said.

Australia celebrates Steve Irwin’s life

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The Crocodile Hunter’s life will be remembered today in Australia four years after his death.

Australia Zoo on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will celebrate the life and legacy of Steve Irwin who died after he was stabbed in the heart by a stingray barb while filming one of his famous nature documentaries off far north Queensland’s coast on September 4, 2006.

His widow Terri and family decided the year Irwin died to make the anniversary of the 44-year-old’s death a private day and established November 15 as Steve Irwin Day for the public.

The zoo’s gates open extra early at 8am local time with an official opening of Steve Irwin Day at the Crocoseum at 10.30am local time.

The day will include performances from Australian pop singer Shannon Noll and presentations from Terri, daughter Bindi and son Robert.

Australia Zoo was founded by Steve Irwin’s parents in 1970 at Beerwah, north of Brisbane and has grown to become one of Queensland’s major tourism attractions.

Native species will be topic of presentation

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Join North Branch Land Trust Naturalist Rick Koval as he vividly illustrates in his PowerPoint program all 48 native species of reptiles and amphibians found in our region.

Afterwards, get up close and personal with live salamanders, frogs and snakes.

The program will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the North Branch Land Trust office, 11 Carverton Rd, Trucksville.

This program is free to NBLT members, $5 for non-members and free for children under 12 years of age.

For more information, call 696-5545

Santa Rosa Plateau Foundation holds Family Wildlife Day

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As his mother, Stephanie Schuitt, looked on, 7-year-old Jeremy Schuitt stood inside the visitor center Saturday at the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve holding and petting a small snake.

“I’m good at holding snakes,” Jeremy said as he looked around.

Jeremy, his mother and his 4-year-old sister, Faith, were among the dozens of adults and children to attend Family Wildlife Day at the reserve.

It is the third year the Santa Rosa Plateau Foundation and Riverside County Regional Park & Open Space District have sponsored the event.

The idea behind holding a family day is to get parents to bring their children to a day outdoors while also giving the youngsters a chance to see various animals, both live and mounted for display. The event also shows visitors what is available at the plateau.

“I’ll give the kids a chance to see the wildlife up close and personal,” said Nancy Backstrand, chairman of the event.

Backstrand said the event has grown since the first year, when only a few people showed up. Last year, she said, about 200 people attended.

This year, the parking lot at the visitor center was packed; cars, SUVs and trucks were parked along Clinton Keith Road near the entrance.

Throughout the event, someone in a Smokey Bear costume wandered through the crowd, greeting children and parents and occasionally posing for photos.

Along with the snake inside the visitor center, there was a turtle, opossum, savanna monitor lizard, bearded dragon lizard and a raccoon, along with displays of bats and the a mountain lion that had been mounted.

“We got to pet the bearded dragon,” said 6-year-old Brynna Green, who was at the event with her father, Kellen, her mother, Shelley, and 4-year-old sister, Kacey.

Outside, children could make plaster casts of paw prints, look at display rocks, listen to a storyteller and live folk music or visit with the owners of several hawks and other birds of prey.

Chris Allen of De Luz brought his hawk to educate the public about hawks and how they should be protected from harm.

“Hawks are really cool birds,” Allen said.

Owner of animal movie agency investigated for cruelty

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SURREY — The owner of a Surrey, B.C., animal talent agency and a rescue shelter is under investigation for animal cruelty.

The BCSPCA and the provincial Ministry of Environment are looking into the operation of a shelter run by a non-profit called Urban Safari, located in South Surrey.

Urban Safari is the brainchild of Gary Oliver who also owns Cinemazoo, a company that provides animals for television and movie productions.

BCSPCA spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk confirmed there is an investigation but did not elaborate, citing legal reasons.

Most of the animals kept at the refuge are exotics, animals brought to Urban Safari by owners who no longer want them. It’s the fate of some of those exotics that appear to be at the heart of the investigation.

Cinemazoo and the refuge moved in August from their former location in Whalley to South Surrey.

“I had some caimans. We had a cold spell (in October) and our furnace broke down and they got cold and they died.” Oliver said he bought electric heaters to try to keep the caimans warm, but it wasn’t enough.

Oliver also said he’s being accused of cruelty for taping the alligators’ mouths shut for about a week during and after the move. He said the alligator pool wasn’t finished when the time came to move and he had to work in the same enclosure with the gators.

“I was working in there. I taped their mouths so I wouldn’t get . . . chomped,” he said.

” The SPCA doesn’t understand that gators stop eating when they’re moved. It’s a thing with all crocodilians. I’ve seen some go seven months without eating.”

B.C. law won’t allow him to adopt dangerous alien species to anyone in this province, Oliver said, so that option wasn’t open to him either. He said a shelter in Drumheller, Alberta, has agreed to take his alligators and snakes at the end of this month.

Oliver said there was so much to get done before the move and too little time, help and money to make it all happen.

“I got in a situation where I was overwhelmed in this move. Holy mackerel, I was doing everything I could and now they’re trying to discredit me. It wasn’t cruelty.”

Oliver said he’s getting things under control now. He’s been able to hire more staff and moving the gators and snakes to Alberta will help. He’s worried the investigation, no matter how it turns out, will ruin his reputation.

“The SPCA, they forget I rescued these animals . . . If it wasn’t for me, they’d all be dead.”