Highly Endangered Round Island Boa Captive Population Doubles at Durrell

The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is hailing a breakthrough in the husbandry of the Round Island boa, one of the world’s rarest snakes.

Once found throughout Mauritius and the surrounding islands, the Round Island boa (Casarea dussumieri) is today restricted to Round Island off the Mauritian coast. The world’s only captive population is at Durrell’s Jersey headquarters where animal managers have recently made breakthroughs in increasing egg production and increasing the survival rates of young.

The Trust began keeping the species in the 1980’s, but the animals proved highly difficult to manage due to their specialized diet, and it has not been until recent years that advances in the snake’s husbandry have been made, leading the Jersey population to double from10 to 20 in five years.

Alasdair McMillan, a senior keeper at Durrell who works with the species, said: ‘Working with this unique species is a real challenge. They are very shy, easily stressed, and a specialist lizard feeder.’

Diet of Geckos and Lizards
The snakes’ preferred food is geckos and lizards, and some specimens refuse to eat anything else. But since the 1990’s staff at Durrell learned that the animals could be encouraged to eat mice if chick thigh meat was first used to scent them.

Mr McMillan added: ‘The boas are extremely shy and not aggressive at all, but are incredibly beautiful. We are delighted that the progress made in husbandry over the last 30 years has led to a doubling of the population here in Jersey.’

The Round Island boa is unique among all vertebrates in that it has a split top jaw which scientists believe may help it get a better grip on its lizard prey when hunting. It also changes colour throughout the day – remaining slate-grey throughout the morning, then becoming ghost grey throughout the evening; making it only one of a handful of the 2,700 species of snake able to alter their natural colour. It’s close cousin, the Round Island burrowing boa has not been seen since 1996 and is believed to be extinct.

Durrell and its partner organisations have carried out an extensive restoration of the snakes’ native habitat of Round Island – removing invasive species like goats and rabbits, and allowing the native flora and fauna to recover.

From Wildlife Extra

Unique NZ frogs found to be breeding

Thirteen rare finger nail-sized frogs have been born for the first time on one of New Zealand’s main islands.

The Maud Island frogs were found in the frog enclosure at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington and have been taken to Victoria University.

When they have grown they will be released into the wild.

Victoria University student Kerri Lukis, who is studying the sanctuary’s population for her Master’s thesis, said it was an exciting find.

“Maud Island frogs have never been found breeding in their natural habitat before, and certainly not on the mainland. It’s wonderful timing for 2008 — International Year of the Frog and a Leap Year,” Ms Lukis said.

“It’s rare to get a good news story about frogs, every year around 35 species of frog become extinct and two of New Zealand’s remaining native frog species are on the critical list.”

Maud Island frogs hatch from the egg as fully-formed frogs without going through the tadpole stage.

Maud Island frogs are nationally threatened. They evolved very little over the last 70 million years, resulting in distinctive features and behaviours.

They do not croak, live in water or have webbed feet, Ms Lukis said.

In 2006 , 60 frogs were released into the mouse-proof frog enclosure at the wildlife sanctuary in an effort to re-establish the species on the mainland.

Thirty of these frogs were then released into the wild so captive and wild populations could be compared.

From Stuff.co.nz

Celebrate Year of the Frog by spreading amphibian awareness

Through an international effort, 2008 has been declared the “Year of the Frog,” and it will launch on leap day, Feb. 29.

The Year of the Frog is part of a global effort to bring attention to the decline of frog, toad and salamander populations worldwide. Zoos, aquariums and government agencies are making efforts to educate the public through various programs and exhibits.

Nearly one-third of the approximately 6,000 known species of amphibians in the world are in serious decline. If action is not taken, nearly 500 species will go extinct in five years, St. Louis Zoo president Dr. Jeffery Bonner said.

“We’ve never seen an extinction this broad before,” Bonner said.

Bonner compares this potential extinction of such a vast array of species unequal to anything since the age of dinosaurs.

Why should people care?

People should be concerned about the broad extinction of species because amphibians are indicators of the environment’s overall health and are important components of ecosystems, Bonner said. Amphibians are contributors to human health, they provide vital biomedicine, including compounds that are being refined for analgesics and antibiotic.

As an example of what medicine can be produced and lost, Bonner described the Australian gastric-brooding frogs that became extinct in the mid-1980s.

These frogs incubated their offspring in the stomach of the mother. 

The frogs secrete a chemical that would shut down the mother’s digestive system. This would have huge medicinal benefits for obesity and ulcers among other uses. All medical uses died with the frog’s extinction, Bonner said.

Another example Bonner used to describe the incredible medicinal value of frogs is a potential cure for HIV. Fourteen frog species were randomly chosen, four of the frogs produced a peptide that kills the HIV virus without damaging cells, Bonner said.

Frogs also play a vital role in the food chain. They are both predator and prey. They help control insect populations and are a food source for many larger animals, Missouri Department of Conservation herpetologist Jeff Briggler said.

What has contributed to this massive decline in such a broad range of species?

According to Bonner, one of the main factors leading to the potential extinction of 500 species is chytrid fungus. Chytrid fungus is thought to have originated in South Africa.

In the 1930s, it was discovered that the African clawed frog could be used as a pregnancy test for humans by injecting the frog with female urine. If the frog produced eggs within 24 hours, the test was positive. The frogs remained alive after the test and could be reused.

Through this discovery, frogs were distributed across the globe by the thousands. The chytrid fungus can not be seen on the frog or in the water, making it difficult to manage.

The frogs must be swabbed inside their mouths to discover the killer fungus. Scientists still do not know the exact reason why this fungus is killing frogs in mass numbers, Bonner said.

The fungus kills about 85 to 90 percent of a species. This means the survivors are walking dead if they can not find others within their species to breed with. However, this also means that 10 to 15 percent are unaffected or immune to the fungus, Bonner said.

The other leading cause to the decline in the worldwide amphibian population is destruction of habitat. Wetlands across the country and globe have been drained or replaced. Wetlands are necessary for frogs to lay eggs, Briggler said.

What is being done to save the 500 species that are endangered?

Bonner also is the executive chairman of Amphibian Ark. The AArk is a joint effort of three principal partners: the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group and the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group.

These groups recently met in Washington, D.C., to address this pending issue with Congress, Bonner said.

This issue crosses the political aisle. Bonner said Republicans and Democrats were receptive to addressing this issue.

Bonner said $40 million could ensure the survival of all 500 species by placing them into a global breeding program.

“We’ve been very successful with reintroducing frogs,” Bonner said. “They can live for generations in captivity and are just fine when placed back in the wild. They are simple in that way.”

What can I do to help?

To help with the health of frogs in your immediate area, refrain from using pesticide and herbicides. Frogs absorb everything through their skin and additional chemicals can have adverse effects to their health, Bonner said.

People can make a small pond without fish to provide a habitat for frogs to lay their eggs, Briggler said.

Bonner recommends expressing concerns about this issue to legislators.

Both suggest contributing money to foundations or zoos participating in breeding programs.

On the Net:

www.amphibianark.org

From Patriot Ledger

Amphibian Ark to Protect Funky Frogs

Spotted salamanders, poison dart frogs and other color-splashed amphibians will leap aboard a Noah’s Ark of sorts this week.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has pledged its continuing participation in the Amphibian Ark, a global initiative to save hundreds of critically endangered amphibians from extinction through captive breeding in zoos.

On Leap Day, as part of the Amphibian Ark mission, the WCS’s Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium and other city zoos will raise awareness of the plight of amphibians as they welcome the 2008 Year of the Frog.

At least 120 species of frogs, toads, salamanders and other amphibians have perished since 1980, and up to half of the remaining 6,000 species may soon succumb to extinction, according to WCS.

Habitat loss, climate change, pollution and diseases have all contributed to the dwindling amphibians.

Many species are already benefiting from the safe-nest of WCS zoos. For instance, zoos have bred hundreds of the Kihansi spray toad, a species that is considered extinct in the wild. The tiny toad, whose body is under an inch long, was once found only in an isolated river gorge in Tanzania where fine mist from cascading falls kept away predator safari ants and kept the habitat at a nearly constant temperature.

Other slimy stars, such as the endangered Puerto Rican crested toads and Wyoming toads, have been released back into the wild after successful zoo breeding.

From Live Science

Snakes use inner ear to locate prey: Study

Snakes can’t hear as they don’t have an ear, it is often believed. But, a new study has found that the reptiles do possess an “inner” ear with a functional cochlea which they use to detect vibrations caused by prey.A team of international researchers has carried out the study and found that the ears of the snakes are sensitive enough to not only hear the prey approaching, but also to allow the brain to localise the direction it is coming from.

According to the researchers, any disturbance at a sandy surface leads to vibration waves that radiate away from the source along the surface. These waves behave like ripples on the surface of a pond after a stone is dropped into water.

However, these sand waves propagate much quicker (the speed is about 50 metres per second) than at water surface. But, on the other hand much more slowly than for instance in stone and the amplitude of the waves may be as small as a couple of thousands of a millimetre.

“Yet, a snake can detect these small ripples. If it rests its head on the ground, the two sides of the lower jaw are brought into vibration by the incoming wave. These vibrations are then transmitted directly into the inner ear by means of a chain of bones attached to the lower jaw.

“This process is comparable to the transmission of auditory signals by the ossicles in the human middle ear. The snake thus literally hears surface vibrations,” the study’s lead author J. Leo Van Hemmen of the Technical University Munich was quoted by the ‘ScienceDaily’ as saying.

From Daily News and Analysis

Frog salvation

AN ENDANGERED species of frog found in the Hawkesbury may be one step closer to salvation, thanks to the enormous efforts of committed local naturalist Lance Jurd.

The green and golden bell frog, also known as ‘litoria aurea’, has gone from being one of the most commonly encountered frogs on the eastern side of Australia to one of the most threatened.

It was first discovered in Botany Bay in 1770 by the members of Captain Cook’s party but as time passed, its numbers fell significantly.

Now thanks to a partnership between Mr Jurd and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the species’ future is looking a little more secure.

Lance Jurd, of Riverstone, holding an endangered green and golden bell frog.

A green and golden bell frog enthusiast for almost 40 years, Mr Jurd has been breeding green and golden bell frog tadpoles in enormous numbers, and is preparing to release them in Scheyville National Park.

He currently has around 10,000 tadpoles and 200 juvenile and 60 adult green and golden bell frogs, living at his property in Riverstone.

“My first encounter with this frog was 40 years ago in Riverstone when I was only 10 years old,” Mr Jurd said. “In 1966 whilst going under a railway water canal which opened into a large open area thick with bulrushes, near the entrance of Riverstone Meatworks, I found a large population of sun baking green and golden bell frogs.

“I would catch some of the frogs and tadpoles and take them home and kept them in disused large outdoor bird cages, where I would watch them develop and learn their needs as a species.”

Mr Jurd said a number of factors had contributed to the species’ population decline, including habitat destruction, predation by the introduced mosquito fish and the presence of ‘chytrid fungus’ a parasite that clogs the skin pores of the frogs until they die of dehydration.

A decline in insect numbers, which the species prey on, has also added to the bell frogs’ decline. By releasing tadpoles in Scheyville National Park, the NPWS hope to regenerate the local frog population.

Mr Jurd has been working on the project for about 18 months and said initially, several hundred tadpoles would be released into the park. Their first test of survival will be finding food during the winter months.

“This species has been here for millions of years evolving slowly, but they can’t adapt to man’s progress and needs,” he said. “All the things that have lead to this species becoming endangered are all related to our own intervention. If we are to save any species we must now give them a helping hand, beyond just expecting them to fend for themselves.”

From Hawkesbury Gazette

Woman survives deadly snake attack.

A CECIL Plains woman, 32, has amazed doctors by surviving seven strikes from one of Australia’s deadliest snakes, the Eastern Brown.

Meegan Harrison-Philbey is recovering in Toowoomba Hospital after a month of fighting for her life in the Intensive Care Unit at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.

Her mother Glennis Philbey said she had spent weeks holding her breath as doctors predicted that her daughter’s chances of survival were minimal.

“Meegan was collecting eggs from our chook pen when she stood on the snake,” she said.

“It struck her foot seven times, leaving a large amount of venom inside her.

Meegan ran to the house, her foot bleeding.”

Ms Harrison-Philbey said despite the number of bites she received, the pain wasn’t her biggest fear.

“I felt a sharp pain at first, but it wasn’t excruciating until later on at the hospital.

“There was a timber cutter who was staying with us at the home8stead who knew what to do and bandaged up my foot.”

Dalby Hospital’s Dr Denzil Daniels said his team of doctors fought hard to keep Meegan alive.

“When Meegan arrived at the hospital, she collapsed and started having convulsions,” Dr Daniels said.

“She was bleeding from everywhere and at one point we didn’t think she was going to make it.”

Ms Harrison-Philbey was stabilised but slipped into a coma when transported to Brisbane.

Mrs Philbey said her daughter was not expected to live and spent seven days unconscious.

“She relied 100% on oxygen and was on life support.

“The doctors said it was a wet strike as the venom went straight into her veins.

“People don’t realise the amount of damage a snake can cause to a person.

“Your body breaks down and destroys itself from the inside out,” she said.

From Toowoomba Chronicle

Golf ball-eating snake released into wild

The snake in this article has been released..

A SNAKE that had four golf balls removed from its gut in a world-first operation will be released back into “the rough” today.

Greg and Margaret Church discovered the 80cm-long carpet python on their northern New South Wales property in December.

The couple had put golf balls in their hen house to coax a broody hen to lay, and blamed their grandchildren when the balls went missing.

But then they found the very lumpy snake nearby, they put two and two together.

The snake, nicknamed Augusta, had surgery at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast.

After eight weeks’ recuperation, it will be returned to the wild via the Church family’s Nobbys Creek property.

Mrs Church said she had a previous encounter with Augusta, when it ate a bat and became so fat that she had to help it slide out of a chicken wire fence.

A nature lover, Mrs Church said she would be pleased to have the snake around again.

“I’m glad we found him when we did,” she told AAP.

“My husband, who doesn’t mind handling snakes, picked him up, and he could feel the golf balls inside.

“It was a funny thing at the time.”

Reptile carer Sue Johnston, who housed Augusta after the operation, said it was a happy ending.

“It’s really good to see him go back to his own home again and hopefully he will be eating meals other than things like golf balls,” she said.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary raised $1401 for a new animal hospital through an online auction of the golf balls.

From news.com.au

New species of lizard found in Maharashtra

A new species of lizard was found in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra’s Satara district.

The distinctive new species of ground-dwelling lizard (gecko) of the genus Hemidactylus is described from the plateaus of the Satara district, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has said.

It is a member of a group of chiefly terrestrial Indian Hemidactylus species that have undivided, or only partly divided subdigital lamellae.

This new species has been discovered by Varad B Giri of the BNHS and Dr Aaron M Bauer of illanova University, USA. Their paper was published in the Journal Zootaxa in February 2008, the BNHS said.

At present this species is only known from the type locality, which lies in the south-central part of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. This region is unique in the presence of large laterite or basaltic plateaus on the crests of mountains. Mostly semi-evergreen forest characterises the valley vegetation. Most of the plateaus support sparse vegetation, which is mostly evident in monsoon and in summer they look barren. Apart from their unique ecological features, these plateaus have a unique floral and faunal diversity.

The northern Western Ghats, especially the parts in Maharashtra, are relatively unexplored and there is little information regarding the amphibians and reptiles of this region. In the last four years three new species of amphibians have been discovered from Maharashtra.

All these new discoveries were the result of localised surveys with moderate search efforts. With intensive and systematic surveys it will be possible to further increase our knowledge of reptiles of the northern Western Ghats.

In Maharashtra, there are excellent examples of the highly diverse and intact Western Ghats forests, but in the Satara district the forest is more fragmented and is increasingly degraded by human exploitation. Though herpetologically unexplored, the occurrence of a new ground dwelling Hemidactylus highlights the uniqueness of this region. As this area has large expanses of plateaus, efforts are now being made to confirm the occurrence of this species from other likely areas.

From Sify.com

Bashed frog victim of mistaken identity

WILDLIFE experts are trying to save a green tree frog almost kicked to death by children who thought it was a cane toad.

The creature was yesterday handed in to the Gold Coast’s Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary suffering horrific injuries.

Senior veterinarian Michael Pyne said some children apparently mistook the frog, nicknamed Puffy by sanctuary staff, for a cane toad and tried to kill it.

“There was some children kicking what they thought was a toad in their backyard.

“The neighbour saw it and saw that it was a green tree frog, and they rushed over and grabbed the frog and brought it in to us.”

Dr Pyne, who said Puffy was not likely to survive, urged people not to bash any amphibian, even if they suspected it was a cane toad.

“This poor frog is in a desperate state, we’re going to need a lot of luck for him to pull through,” he said.

“He’s basically ruptured his lungs and he’s filling up with air, and he’s heavily bruised, so we’re going to be doing a few procedures on him later today.”

Cane toads should be killed humanely, Dr Pyne said.

“You shouldn’t be kicking toads to death anyway, it’s far better to catch them up and pop them in the freezer.”

From NEWS.COM.AU