A boy is recovering today after being bitten by a Brown Snake at home near Sydney Australia. The boy was helping his father move some stuff when he disturbed the snake and was promptly bitten, Doctors say he is lucky that he was not invenomated by the bite.
Category Archives: Reptiles
Exotic turtles seized at LAX in smuggling arrest
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.
Sedgwick Co. Zookeeper Injured By Venomous Snake
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
Snakes at heart of invasive species debate
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.”
CSSB scientists to develop technology for identifying snake from bitten person
A team of scientists from the Centre for Systems and Synthetic Biology (CSSB), headed by Dr Pawan K Dhar is in the process of developing a new biosensor technology called Indriyam for health applications. This technology is specifically designed to identify the snake that has bitten a person, so that proper medication or anti venom can be administered to the patient in time. The technology is still under development and is expected to be completed by 2012.
The first phase of the project included collecting venom which the team did after getting the required permission from the Government of Kerala for collecting it from nine venomous snakes and studying it for charecterisation. According to Dileep Kumar R, a post doctorate who is closely associated with the research of biosensor, informed that the work on Indriyam had started four years back, wherein the first phase included collecting snake venom and studying it in details for characterisation. Just recently the team has concluded with the first phase and have progressed to the second phase of the project which includes developing a diagnostic kit for studying the various effects of it.
“Once we develop the technology we hope that through the characterisation of venom we will be able to find out the non cross reactive antigens in it and help administer proper anti bodies,” Dileep said.
Though the venom was collected from nine snakes, at present the research is being conducted only on four kinds of venomous snake belonging to the big four venomous snake category i.e. common krait, the spectacled cobra, Russell’s viper and saw-scaled viper. Snakes belonging to this category are believed to be responsible for causing the most snakebite cases in India.
According to Dr Pawan K Dhar, director, Centre for Systems and Synthetic Biology (CSSB) who is also heading the research, “The most difficult part in the whole process was the collection of the snake venom and isolation of useful molecules for diagnoses.” He feels that this technology will help in controlling the number of deaths caused due to snake bite, which is a problem in India.
He informed that if things go as planned then this technological advancement will be a great scientific achievement, since most of the deaths that occur due to snake bites is attributed to lack of timely intervention or due to use of wrong anti venom that reacts negatively with the patients body.
“As of today point of care treatment for snake bite is not yet developed in India in spite of large incidences of death and complications because of snake bites. With this technology we intend to bring change in this scenario”, he said.
Administration of wrong anti venom can have ill effects on the victim leading to death, as it may lead to distress of physiological activities in the body. However, with this biosensor technology the scientists hope that through the venom present in the victim’s body fluid around the bite or from the blood, it may be possible one day to detect the snake and administer proper anti venom in time to the patient.
http://www.pharmabiz.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=59265§ionid=
Another boy escapes crocodile’s jaws
15-year-old Mvelo Dlamini has lived to tell how he was saved from the jaws of death when he came face to face with a crocodile.
His friend, Machawe Mafuleka (15,) is now the hero in the small community of Matsanjeni. Mafuleka saved his friend from the jaws of the raging crocodile while they were swimming at an irrigation stream. The stream runs along the Matsanjeni area up to Nsoko and Nisela.
The two teenagers were swimming with three friends when the reptile attacked Dlamini, grabbing his right arm. While the three took to their heels, Mafuleka was brave enough to stay behind and save his friend.
As the crocodile got hold of Dlamini’s right hand, Mafuleka went for the left hand and pulled to the opposite direction until the crocodile lost its grip. As they were running for safety the crocodile went for his right leg and ripped off the tissues but they managed to escape. According to a source it was a miracle that the Mafuleka was able to save his friend from the raging reptile. Dlamini is currently admitted at the Good Shepherd hospital after suffering a fractured arm and damaged tissues between the foot and the leg but the bones were not affected.
In an almost similar heroic act, last Tuesday a 15-year old Sonnyboy Masilela lived to tell the tale after he was attacked by a crocodile while crossing the Mbuluzi River.
He only sustained a few wounds to his neck and head after the crocodile had attempted unsuccessfully to sink its jaws and he further saved his younger brother (8) who was with him inside the river.
Police PRO Superintendent Wendy Hleta confirmed the incident. She further warned the public to be careful when using rivers more especially with the never ending rains.
“We have gathered from experts that crocodiles migrate to smaller streams and rivers when water swells in dams because they feel insecure. So people should be careful when using rivers where the sand is not visible because there maybe crocodiles,” she said.
Hleta said crocodiles have been spotted in rivers such as Black Mbuluzi, Mlumati and in a stream in Sihlutse.
About crocodiles and
how to protect yourself:
• A crocodile can spend about one to two hours studying its prey very well and monitoring its movement.
• A crocodile can travel about one to two kilometers looking for food.
• In deep waters and flooded rivers they tend to swim against the water flow to find safe places.
• Avoid murky waters
http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=19664
Brown toilet snake
Constable Jarrod Williams got the shock of his life when he lifted the toilet seat at the remote Lajamanu station and found a large King Brown Snake in the toilet. He of course screamed for help and returned with a colleague wielding a shovel and a torch “What? a torch? really?” but by the time the seat came back up the snake was nowhere to be found. It is believed the snake got in through a hole in the wall and likely made a hasty retreat via the same hole. Const Williams isn’t playing any games though. According to him because of the remote location of the station if you were to get bitten you would likely die.