Sea Turtle News

First, an update from Texas: 10 more Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests have been found. (News source.)

And Anna Maria Island (Florida) is gearing up for nesting season. (News source.)

Sea Turtles

23 Kemp's Ridley sea turtle nests have been found on the Texas coast this year. (News source.)

Land for Watersnakes

9.1 acres (purchased by a conservation and government partnership) on the eastern tip of South Bass Island will be set aside for birds and the threatened Lake Erie watersnake. (News source.)

Massasauga Hunt

A road project in Butler County, PA, is being held up as the state is requiring a search for eastern massasaugas (a small rattlesnake). (News source.)

Turtle Politics in Vermont

Controversy brews as biologists disagree with the F&W commissioner's recovery plan for the eastern spiny softshell turtle. (News source.)

Sea Snake Bycatch Drops

Fishing trawlers in Queensland, Australia, waters using "bycatch reduction devices" are catching fewer threatened sea snakes. (News source.)

Ravens vs Desert Tortoises

Federal wildlife officers plan to kill any ravens caught preying on desert tortoises in the California desert, along with using other methods to make the area uninviting for the birds. (News source.)

Toad-Culling Day

Plans are afoot to create a Queensland (Australian) toad-whacking day against the invasive cane toads. The RSPCA will only support it if toads are killed by freezing. (News source.)

Turtle Hunting Pressure

Because of increasing pressure on wild turtle populations from hunters for the Asian meat market, environmental groups are asking Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, and Texas to stop commercial turtle harvesting. Here's an article on the Oklahoma figures.

Boats More Dangerous to Sea Turtles than Plastic

There's some controversy over in Australia over the threats toward sea turtles and other wildlife. While plastic bags have been commonly heralded as a danger (and certainly, they can be), some conservationists are saying that danger is overhyped, while greater threats (like boats) are underplayed. (News source.)

Push for SC Turtle Regs

Turtles aren't a protected game species in South Carolina, and some conservationists are pushing for regulations, thinking the species are being exploited for the foreign food markets. (News source.)

Turtle News

Logging in Gabon has led to loose logs floating up on beaches, creating barriers for leatherback turtles trying to beach themselves for nesting. (News source.)

Sand dunes are being built up on South Padre Island for nesting Kemps Ridley sea turtles. (News source.)

A Missouri man was arrested for stealing a tortoise from a veterinary hospital. (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.)

Turtles and a Tortoise

Nine juvenile sea turtles were released at a Florida beach after rehabilitation from red tide poisoning. (News source.)

A pet tortoise in the UK piled up the dry straw substrate in her terrarium under the heat lamp, and almost burned the house down. (News source.)

Frog Release

Taronga Zoo (Sydney, Australia) is releasing a number of boorolong frogs (the first bred in a zoo) back into the wild to help boost native population numbers. (News source.)

Malaysia: Just Say No to Turtle Eggs

The Turtle Research and Rehabilitation Group at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu has launched a campaign to get 1 million Malaysians to pledge not to eat terrapin or turtle eggs for the rest of their life. (News source.)

Turtle News

71 poached Asian box turtles were released into the wild in the Philippines. (News source.)

Illegal fishing trawlers are entangling sea turtles, leaving them to die on the beaches of India's Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. Police have been asked to help with patrols. (News source.)

Womas for Dinner

8 out of 9 womas (an Australian python) that were reintroduced into South Australia last year ended up being eaten by king brown snakes. (News source.)

Cuba Ban on Sea Turtles

Cuba has banned the hunting of sea turtles on its beaches. (News source.)

Victoria Frog Fences

$250,000 (Aus) has been spent building frog fencing along roads in Pakenham, Victoria, Australia, to protect growling grass frog breeding grounds. (News source.)

Volunteers Needed in NC

North Carolina WRC is looking for volunteers to join the Calling Amphibian Survey Program, to help map out frog/toad populations in the state. (News source.)

Bullfrogs in Oregon

Here's another article on the non-native bullfrog's impact on other species in Oregon. (News source.)

And on a similar topic, because bullfrogs are eating so many baby western painted turtles in Oregon, there are plans to raise the turtles in captivity for release after they are too big to be eaten. (News source.)

Lancelin Island Skinks

Introducing the rare endemic Lancelin Island (Australia) skink to a nearby island in 2003 has paid off, as 133 skinks have grown to what is thought to be about 500 skinks. (News source.)

Snake Trapper

A Maryland no-kill snake trapper is profiled here.

Mountain Yellow-Legged Frogs

A small population of mountain yellow-legged frogs in the San Gabriel Mountains (California), and less than 100 are believed to remain in the wild. Regulations set up by the Forest Service to protect the surrounding habitat are coming into contention with climbers who want to cross the area to reach a popular crag. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Stories

Australian researchers had previously moved several sea turtle nests further up the beach from the water, which appears to have saved them from recent king tides and swells that hit the beach. (News source.)

A documentary in the making focuses on 25 years in the life of a loggerhead sea turtle. (News source.)

Three people in Kenya died after eating the meat of an endangered sea turtle. (No mention of what tainted the meat.) (News source.)

Mountain Chicken Frogs

Mountain chicken frogs are being collected in captivity in Dominica to preserve the species after a population drop due to the chytrid fungus. (News source.)

Golden Mantella Project

A conservation effort to preserve two newly discovered populations of the golden mantella in Madagascar is receiving a boost from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund. (News source.)

Nutrient Pollution Drives Parasitic Infections

Amphibian deformities derived from parasitic infections are driven by nutrient pollution (increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus), according to a new study. The nutrients cause algal blooms, which increase the number of snails, which release more parasitic trematodes, which form cysts in amphibians, causing developmental anomalies. (News source.)

Croc News

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust has hatched six Cuvier's dwarf caiman, the first time for that species in South Asia. (News source.)

The Taiwanese veterinarian who lost his arm to a crocodile has had it reattached. (News source.)

A Russian crocodile smuggler was caught red-handed at the Cairo International Airport with baby crocs, turtles, and lizards. He was deported, and the animals confiscated. (News source.)

Habitat Splits Hurt Amphibians

"Habitat split," or "human-induced disconnection between habitats used by different life history stages of a species" was recently identified as a primary cause for the decline in amphibian species diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Conservation Pays Off

Conservation of sea turtle nesting sites is paying off, with notable increases in nesting numbers at four protected beach sites over the last few decades. (News source.)

Sea Turtle News

First, a profile on a eco-tourism sea turtle nesting site in Suriname.

Second, red tide is being blamed for the deaths of 14 juvenile green sea turtles this week. (News source.)

Toad Loan

The World Bank is loaning Tanzania 3.5 million for environmental protection of the habitat of the endangered Kihansi Spray Toad. Captive-born toads are expected to be released in stages over the next year. (News source.)

Tadpoles Go Home

Several hundred Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles are being sent back to their homeland after being hatched at the Miami-Dade zoo. (News source.)

Newt Pond Protection

There's a bit of controversy over a decision to set aside 5,000 acres of land containing striped newt ponds in the Apalachicola National Forest south of Tallahassee, Florida, protecting it from off-road recreational vehicle traffic. (News source.)

Day Gecko Invasion

The Madagascan day geckos accidentally (or intentionally) released on Mauritius are a threat to that island's native day geckos. Other species are also causing trouble. (News source.)

European Frogs Threatened

Here is a study on European frog conservation, noting that some native species in western Europe are being threatened by an eastern European species, Rana ridibunda, that has invaded their territory.

India: Crocodilians Released

40 "alligators" have been released by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department into the River Chambal. I'm guessing the correct word is "gavials." Oddly, the article goes on to quote alligator facts (e.g, only found in China and America) taken off Wikipedia or wherever, but doesn't recognize the discontinuity. (News source.)

Gharial Program

A captive breeding program for gharials is being set up in Assam, after a female was rescued from a fisherman's nets. (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.)

Sea Turtle Conservation

Two conservation groups are requesting that the loggerhead turtle be classified as an endangered species with USFWS. Currently, it is only classified as threatened. (News source.)

An overview of the USFWS' work with sea turtles can be found over at Mongabay.

Turtle Protection

A permanent fence has been set up along US 98 in Alabama, to prevent the endangered red-bellied turtle from becoming DOR. (News source.)

Natterjack Conservation

Farmers in Co. Kerry, Ireland, (or at least specified zones in the county) are being offered payments to dig shallow ponds for the rare natterjack toad. (News source.)

Indonesia Sea Turtle Hatching Center

A sea turtle-hatching conservation center has been set up off Indonesia's Karimunjawa archipelago (north of Central Java), on the 56-hectare Menjangan Besar Island. Eggs are collected, hatched on the island, then released. (News source.)

Tortoise Move

A number of gopher tortoises in Brevard County (FL) are being relocated to Pasco County due to developing Rhodes Park into soccer fields. Costs are running up to $162,000 for the project. (News source.)

Red-Eared Sliders in New Zealand

Here is a brief discussion of the invasive potential of red-eared sliders in New Zealand, following an escaped or released turtle found in the Kawau Stream.

Tortoise Research

An interesting article on Galapagos tortoises here.

Sea Turtle Mortality

It looks like there is an average of one adult sea turtle a day dying off the coast of Bahrain. (News source.)

Garter Habitat Project

A $5 million contract to create giant gartersnake habitat in (or at least near) Yuba County, CA, has been approved. The habitat will be an extension of Gilsizer Slough, which is already preserved. (News source.)

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.)

Frog Fungus Cure

New Zealand scientists have discovered that chytrid-infested frogs dipped in Chloramphenicol (currently a human eye medication) are cured, and become resistant to the disease. (News source.)

Turtle Conservation

Researchers are trying to save the pig-nosed turtle. (News source.)

Tortoise Preserve

73 acres with gopher tortoises in Lutz, FL, may be turned into a conservation preserve. (News source.)

Tuatara Transfer

130 more tuatara are scheduled to be transferred to the Karori Sanctuary on the NZ mainland. (News source.)

Timber Relocation

A group of timber rattlesnakes in Kansas was moved due to development, and appear to be keeping to their relocation spot. The project won't be deemed successful, however, until it's been determined that they have made it through the winter in good health. (News source.)

Snot Otter Conservation

Ohio researchers are studying the decline of the hellbender, as a conservation facility prepares a captive-breeding program. (News source.)

Fighting Cane Toads

Australian researchers are looking at another weapon against the invasive cane toads: spinal disease. (News source.)

India Gharial

A gharial was videotaped by researchers in the the Brahmaputra river at Chapor near Dhubri, after being alerted by villagers. (News source.)