Herper.com: Reptiles and Amphibians

India: Croc Attack

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:09:00 +0000

A teenage boy was snatched at the Madhuvanti dam while on a picnic. The crocodile grabbed him when the boy jumped into the water after a ball. (News source.)

Tuatara Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:06:00 +0000

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

Yet Another Coral Snake Bite

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:56:00 +0000

A Florida man shooed his kids away from a snake, and it bit him when he picked it up. It was a coral snake, and he was hospitalized in severe condition. (News source.)

Snake Study

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:53:00 +0000

Missouri biologists are studying the mobility and movement of snakes, particularly their seasonal migration across roads, to try and reduce roadkill. (News source.)

Illinois Chorus Frogs

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:50:00 +0000

The search is on for overlooked populations of the rare Illinois chorus frog... (News source.)

Brown Snake Bite

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:25:00 +0000

An Australian 2-year old child was bitten by a brown snake near Sydney. (News source.)

Canary Island Kings

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:49:00 +0000

Someone eventually will bring back a pair of these California kings and start marketing juvies with the new locality data... The introduced species continues to thrive in Gran Canaria. (News source.)

Kenya Snake Thief

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:45:00 +0000

Someone stole seven vipers and cobras from a small snake-park in the Rift Valley. (News source.)

Ultrasonic Frogs

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:39:00 +0000

The female concave-eared torrent frog, Odorrana tormota, uses ultrasonic chirps to attract males over the sounds of rushing water and waterfalls in central China. (Eurekalert.)

Gharial Breeding

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:21:00 +0000

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

Long Island Herp Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:23:00 +0000

One of the highlights of a recent survey of reptiles/amphibians on Long Island NPS sites was an eastern box turtle that had the carved initials (on its plastron) of a naturalist from 90 years ago. (News source.)

Power Outage

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:21:00 +0000

20,000 South Florida homes lost power after an iguana got fried by high-voltage equipment. (News source.)

India: Snake Rescuer

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:19:00 +0000

Here is a short piece by a wildlife consultant in Goa, India, who rescues snakes.

Myanmar Disaster: Snakes Now a Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:16:00 +0000

Increased interaction between survivors and venomous snakes are a greater problem with a shortage of shelter after the Myanmar cyclone. (News source.)

Solomon Islands Croc Attack

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:21:00 +0000

A man was killed by a crocodile while fishing along the Matepona River. (News source.)

Big Snapper

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:15:00 +0000

An 87-lb snapping turtle was caught in a North Carolina pond. (News source.)

Iguana Crime

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:31:00 +0000

Six endangered blue iguanas were killed at a captive-breeding center in the Cayman Islands. The animals were stomped and mutilated, and police are investigating. (News source.)

Toads to Fight Toads

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:28:00 +0000

Another strategy for fighting cane toads in Australia: release small sterile male cane toads in areas without infestation to "teach" local predators that they're not suitable prey. (News source.)

Frog Farming (1978)

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Here is an old article from Mother Earth News on farming bullfrogs.

Gharials Nesting

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:23:00 +0000

Gharial nests have been found in Chambal's sanctuary, so there's (some) hope for the species... (News source.)

Big Snake

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:19:00 +0000

A 21-foot (approximate) python was found in Sri Lanka, relocated to a forest preserve. (News source.)

EDB Bite

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:05:00 +0000

A co-owner of the Edisto Island Serpentarium was bitten by an eastern diamondback while snake hunting on the Georgia coast. (News source.)

Hawaii: Ball Python

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:03:00 +0000

A ball python was found hit by a car in Hawaii; officials euthanized the snake. (News source.)

Cat in a Snake

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:59:00 +0000

An Australian family's pet cat was eaten by a 2-meter python. X-rays proved it. (News source.)

Oklahoma Ban

noreply@blogger.com (Chad Arment) — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:51:00 +0000

Oklahoma has put in place a 3-year moratorium on commercial turtle harvesting in order to study the effect on their native turtles. (News source.)