Fear and Loathing in LA

Bigots in Oakdale, Lousiana, are spreading rumors about a high-end python breeder who lives in the area. They tell the police that cats and dogs are missing, so it must be the python guy... Apparently, these villagers are dumb enough to think that someone with thousand-dollar boids is going to feed parasite-ridden free-roaming pets instead of quality captive-bred lab rodents. What's worse, the Allen Parish Sheriff's Office and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officials don't bother pointing out the obvious flaw in such reasoning, but just imply they can't do anything about it. (News source.)

Lonesome George Not So Lonesome

The famed Galapagos tortoise has apparently fathered 5 healthy eggs. (News source.)

Massasaugas Removed

Officials are removing massasaugas from a Chicago wetland and putting them in a zoo breeding program. (News source.)

Sea Turtles Nesting

It's that time of year again. Sea turtles are nesting in Florida and Texas.

One Turtle Patrol is using a terrier to find nests. (News source.)

Amphibian News

An environmental group thought they were helping salamanders that migrated across a Massachusetts road, by removing a long tube laid next to a new road. Turns out it was stopping silt from running into an important vernal pond. Actually, sounds like the group doesn't know that much about salamanders if they think a small tube is going to prevent them from moving across a road... The town wants the environmental group to pay for repairs. (News source.)

And, a profile here on a Maryland herpetoculturist who specializes in dart frogs.

Tuatara Hatchling

The first natural tuatara hatchling from mainland New Zealand in about 200 years has been found in the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. (News source.)

Dart Frogs

A profile here on a dart frog breeder/conservationist.

Herp Legality News

Hard to believe that there are still ignorant herp laws out there, but a 3-foot ball python was recently confiscated from a Sioux City, Iowa, home. (News source.)

On a more positive note, a Delaware county is proposing to allow (small) snakes to be bred by residents. (News source.)

In Malaysia, 2300 monitor lizards were confiscated from poachers. (News source.)

Herp Legality Issues

Squabbling and lawsuits here between a couple of snake breeders in Iowa.

Snakes seized from a PA petshop will probably be sold.

Northern Territories Good for Sea Turtles

A report notes that the sandy islands off the NT coast in Australia are important as sea turtle breeding grounds. Six species live in those waters. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Conservation News

North Carolina has a higher than average number of loggerhead sea turtle nests this year. (News source.)

An article here on a rehabilitated green sea turtle released in California waters.

Tuatara Nest Discovery

A tuatara nest has been found on mainland New Zealand, the first known in 200 years. (News source.)

Herp Conservation News

Weather conditions this year were beneficial for the successful breeding of the endangered Mississippi gopher frog. (News source.)

Thailand wildlife officers seized 200 monitor lizards being smuggled out to the illegal food markets. (News source.)

North Carolina bought 40 acres to preserve as bog turtle habitat. (News source.)

Siamese Crocs Hatch

Detroit Zoo has bred Siamese crocodiles for the first time. Three hatchlings were found during exhibit maintenance. (News source.)

Turtle News (Not So Good)

A Florida turtle preserve (successful in breeding several rare species) is shutting down, due to bills, hurricane damage, and zoo politics. (News source.)

Sea turtles that reproduce on beaches near humans are less fertile. (News source.)

Turtle News

The oldest known Fly River turtle turned 50. (News source.)

Significant leatherback sea turtle nesting sites have been found in the Caribbean. (News source.)

Rattlesnake News

A California girl was bitten on the toe by a rattlesnake. (News source.)

An Illinois wildlife center has bred ridge-nosed rattlesnakes. (News source.)

Leatherbacks on Padre Island

For the first time in 70 years, it looks like a leatherback turtle has laid eggs on Padre Island (TX). (News source.)

Manitoba Garter Gallery

Here is a photogallery of the annual garter snake mating groups up in Manitoba.

Tuatara Problem

Turns out older tuataras will eat hatchlings... (News source.)

Gharial Breeding

The Prague Zoo is starting a breeding program for gharial, the first in Europe. (News source.)

Zoo Breeding

Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in India has bred Indian painted roof turtles. (News source.)

Northern Territory Wildlife Park has bred a pair of death adders, resulting in a 25 baby litter. (News source.)

New Zealand Frogs

Maud Island frogs (a New Zealand endemic) have been found breeding in the wild for the first time. (News source.)

King Cobra Breeding Center Starts Up Again

A captive breeding program for king cobras in Mangalore, India, has restarted, though apparently with some opposition. (News source.)

Amphibian Breeding Strategies

A researcher is suggesting that alternative breeding strategies by amphibians are an attempt to avoid parasites, etc. From the Eurekalert:

"Brian Todd, a researcher at the UGA Odum School of Ecology Savannah River Ecology Lab, explains that most amphibians start their lives in water (tadpoles are a good example), and then make their way onto land as adults and return to the water to breed. But there are other breeding strategies as well. Take, for instance, the Darwin’s frog, the species that swallows its eggs and, a few weeks later, regurgitates its young. Or the marsupial frog, a species that carries its eggs on its back until they hatch. Several species lay eggs in small puddles on land or high up in trees where they hatch as miniature versions of adults, bypassing the larval stage entirely.
"Researchers have hypothesized that natural selection favored these non-traditional breeding strategies as a way to avoid predatory fish or the risk of a breeding pond or stream drying up. In a review article published in the November issue of The American Naturalist, Todd argues that the diversity of reproductive strategies that amphibians employ might also be influenced by the benefits that come from avoiding viruses, fungi and other parasites."

Tenarife Facility

The giant lizard breeding facility in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, Tenarife, is using natural methods for hatching eggs of the endangered species. Last year, incubator methods produced far more males than females, so they are hoping this produces a more number of both genders. (News source.)

Slimy Salamanders Breed

Toledo (OH) Zoo has a new captive-bred clutch of slimy salamanders, though it apparently wasn't intentional. (News source.)