Swedish Bombinas wins songcontest. (Article in Swedish).

Skånska grodor vann sångtävling.

Den skånska grodkören från Mölle vann den europeiska sångfestivalen för klockgrodor som avgjordes i två omgångar den fjärde och den elfte maj.

I första deltävlingen vann de svenska grodorna överlägset över motståndarna från Danmark, Tyskland och Lettland. I deltävling två gjorde regn och kyla att det dröjde innan några ljud kom från de tävlande överhuvudtaget.

Röstningen genomfördes på internet där även bidragen kunde höras. Sången påminner om ett gammalt klockspel. Idén med tävlingen är att uppmärksamma arbetet med att bevara grodorna.

Från SVT Nyheter

Happy ending for rare tortoises seized from a smuggler’s bag

ROME Several rare Egyptian tortoise eggs, whose parents were found in a smuggler’s suitcase two years ago, have been hatched successfully. The first was hatched in April, six more followed this month, and there are several more waiting to hatch, said Stefano Micarelli, the head reptile keeper at the Biopark zoo in the Italian capital. “These animals are so rare that we are trying to breed them so we can have a stock of these animals in captivity,” he said.

The Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni) is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) and, as an Appendix I reptile, many of which are threatened with extinction, is afforded the highest protection.

The hatchlings’ parents were discovered when rangers working at Leonardo da Vinci airport became suspicious after they noticed a passenger waiting impatiently for his bags after a flight from Libya in 2005. They stopped to check his luggage and found 275 of the rare tortoises packed inside a bag. (AP)

From TimesOnline

On the hunt for horned lizards

By Melanie Typaldos

When I was a kid, my parents took frequent trips to Las Vegas dragging their five kids along and parking us at an arcade or at the hotel pool.

This contented my older siblings but my younger brother and I could not be so easily contained. After our parents disappeared onto the gambling floor, Stephen and I headed out into the desert just behind the hotel.

The hot sand beyond the strip crawled with secretive life. We marveled at enormous ants clearing rings around the bustling entrances to their colonies. Turning over rocks, we watched in fascination as centipedes and scorpions scurried to find new hiding places. But our favorites were the lizards and most of all the horny toads.

There’s a lot to love about a horny toad — or horned lizard as they are more properly called. Of course, their thorny exterior makes them uniquely charismatic. Occasionally one would manage to jab us with the sharp horns that rimmed the back of its head and we would imagine ourselves as T. rex’s, in mortal combat with the great armored herbivores of the Jurassic.

The most endearing characteristic of horned lizards was how easily they were caught. Their evolutionary survival strategy is camouflage. Unlike the speedy race runners or desert swifts, horned lizards don’t run off when approached. Usually they hunker down and hope you’ll pass. To two little kids that made them the best lizards ever.

I suppose those memories are why horned lizards hold such fascination for me. I thrill every time I see one. I’m willing to travel a distance to get that rush too. So last weekend I headed south to Chaparral Wildlife Management Area to get my annual horned lizard fix.

Even in Chaparral where horned lizards are still fairly common, they’re not easy to spot. The lizard hunting plan is to drive, drive, drive and then drive some more, slowly going up and down the roads of the wildlife management area staring at the pavement. It’s not unusual for hours to pass without seeing anything.

I shouldn’t say that though, there’s a lot of other stuff to see. This time of year, the chaparral is teeming with flowers and butterflies. Birds including caracaras, painted buntings, vermilion flycatchers and roadrunners can be seen. Maybe a pack of javalina will cross the road. Or a diminutive Texas tortoise. On this trip we were amazed to spot two bobcats. And there’s the occasional western diamondback rattlesnake for excitement.

Our patience on this trip was rewarded with a stunning 10 horned lizard sightings. Naturally, I had to photograph each and every one. Along with their official status as the Texas State Reptile, all three horned lizards species living in Texas are protected. The reason for their decline is not fully understood but may be related to pesticide usage or the invasive Argentine fire ant. Horned lizards are specialized ant predators but they need big, juicy ants like harvester ants, not small, stinging ants like fire ants.

It’s hard to believe that horned lizards were once common in Hays County. There are probably a few areas where they can still be found. My niece, who lives only about a mile from me, found a dead one on her driveway last year but I’ve never seen one anywhere around here. Kids growing up in this area will not have wonderful memories like mine. That’s a real loss.

To learn more about horned lizards go to:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/texas_nature_trackers/horned_lizard/

http://www.hornedlizards.org/index.html

From San Marcos Daily Record