Man arrested at LAX with 15 lizards strapped to his chest.

Sometimes you just have to wonder what people are thinking…

Forty-year old Michael Plank of Lomita, California was arrested last week while attempting to pass through U.S. Customs at Los Angeles International Airport with two geckos, two monitor lizards and 11 skinks in a money belt wrapped around his chest.

The lizards, valued at $8,500 and strictly regulated in Australia can cost Plank as much as a $250,000 fine and up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Plank didn’t have the required export permit from Australia and was obviously trying to sneak the lizards into the U.S. without being detected.

Being someone who gets squirmy just thinking about one lizard let alone 15, I can’t imagine taking a flight of 14 hours and 30 minutes with live (or dead) lizards in a money belt under my clothes. Then there was the additional time of getting prepared to take such a flight, the airport check-in, somehow getting through security and then taking the flight itself. Can you even imagine doing all of this and getting caught? I think Mr. Plank has taken stupidity to a new level.

Maybe he was envisioning a re-enactment of the movie “Snakes on a Plane”? Or perhaps Mr. Plank was going to propose a new mascot for Geico Insurance?

Written by: Marc Friedman

From examiner.com

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I think that the punishment of either $250,000 or 20 years of inprosonment is too low.. People smuggling animals of any kind should have hard punishments, no matter what the species is.

//Miqe

 

18:th Norrköping Symposium 2009, Sweden

Hi all!!

I would like to invite you to this event. Have a look on what you´ll get in one weekend!

This is the 18:th symposium in Norrköping, Sweden.

Bernard Devaux, France. Is working with tortoises and will hold two talks:

1.   The status of the French populations and conservation projects.
2.  Spurred Tortoise, Centrochelys sulcata, status in Senegal and conservation projects.

Presentation of Mr. Devaux:
Bernard Devaux, 65 years old, formerly film-maker on reptilians. In 1986, he created the SOPTOM (tortoises protection association) and the “Tortoise Village” with David Stubbs, english environmentalist.-Since 1988, he has developed the “Tortoise Village” in Gonfaron followed by 2 others villages, in Senegal and Madagascar-Organisation of many International Congress on tortoises and turtles (main topics; pathology, biology, conservation).-Author of many books and encyclopedies on tortoises and turtles. Editor of the international tortoise journal LA TORTUE.-International protection actions around the world, including struggle against traffics and animals busdiness; Seychelles (Aldabra), Galapagos, Australia, Costa-Rica, Senegal, Indian Ocean.

Link to website: villagetortues.com

Johan De Smedt, Germany. Johans intrest is vipers. He will hold three talks:

1.   The genus Vipera, and it´s systematics, history and present.
2.   The different subgenuses whithin the Vipera-genus.
3.   Keeping and breeding of European vipers.

Presentation of Mr. De Smedt:
Johan De Smedt was born and raised in Belgium, but has been living in the south of Germany since 1996. He is married and has a son. His interest in keeping amphibians and reptiles dates back more than 29 years. He kept his first venomous snake at the tender age of 14 in the form of a European nose-horned viper, after which followed a range of other venomous snakes, mainly bamboo pitvipers and bushvipers. His main field of interest were, however, the vipers of Europe, and it was these that he specialized in.
In the year 1985 he was one of the founders of the Belgium snake-society called at that time “Medusa”, a couple of years ago this society changed the name in B.O.A (Belgian Ophidian Association). This association is now well known and the biggest group for people interested in snake in Belgium. For this association he wrote many articles, mainly on Vipers.
Johan De Smedt’s profession has nothing whatsoever to do with snakes: he is employed as a technical engineering manager in a mechanical engineering company where he teaches clients from all over the world in matters of automated control technology. He is fluent in four languages. He speaks Dutch, German, French and English.
In November 2001, his first book, “Die europäischen Vipern, Artbestimmung, Systematik, Haltung und Zucht” was been published. This book was written in the German language. He has had many requests for an English edition. Even a second edition was not planed at that time. But within a few years after publishing the first edition numerous systematic changes have become effective. New species and subspecies have been defined, several subspecies have been elevated to species rank, and various taxa have been transferred to other genera. This made him revise, and expand where necessary, the original German edition. Finally 2006 he published a second edition of his book in the English language.
Only a few photographs of the first edition have been reused, but many are new ones that have never been published before. Most photographs were, taken in the natural habitats of the respective specimens. For this reason he has travelled many different countries of Europe. These herpetological excursions were always undertaken with the aim of taking snapshots of vipers in their natural environment.

Mr. Johan De Smedt

Link to website: viperidae.de

Mirko Barts, Germany. Mirko will hold two talks:.

1.   Jewels of Namibia. Fieldobservations, and keeping/breeding.
2.   Secret, only for attenders to the evening-arrangement.

Presentation of Mr. Barts:
Mirko Barts lives near Berlin and has been working with reptiles for more than 20 years. It was his grandfather who raised him nature-orientated. He also helped him to understand nature and the special relationship between plants, animals and mankind. Furthermore, he simply showed him the beauty of the flora and fauna. Born in the former GDR, Mirko mainly travelled to Bulgaria and Georgia, where his family has its roots in. Jouneys to Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Morocco and the USA followed after the German reunification. Mirko already dreamed of visiting Africa during childhood and now he was able to live this dream.Since 15 years, he works with reptiles and amphibians of southern Africa. During more than 10 journeys, he did research in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. His main focus always were the geckos of this regions, especially the genus Pachydactylus, the thick-toed geckos.
Mirko shared his observations in many publications. Most of his articles deal with husbandry and breeding of Pachydactylus species and include extraordinary observations. These and other species will be presented in his speech on the gecko fauna of Namibia, an African hotspot in terms of  diversity in gecko species. The speech will include some information on husbandry of selected gecko species, but its main focus will be on nature observation.

Mirko Barts

Links to websites: sauria.de and pachydactylus.com

Freek Nuyt, Netherlands. Mr. Freek will talk about various morphs in the boa and python species, as well as keeping and breeding of them. He will hold three talks:

1.   New morphs of boa´s.
2.   Breedingtechniques.
3    Royal/Ballpythons.

Link to website: fnreptiles.com

ALL talks are being held at:
Borgen, Folkborgsvägen 1, Norrköping, Sweden

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The fair/expo:

Saturday november 8, at 12,00-16,00 o´clock.
Adress: Pronova Center, S:t Persgatan 19, Norrköping, Sweden

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The eveningarrangement:

Talk by Mirko Barts:

A new geckospecies from southern Angola; keeping and breeding the feather-tailed gecko.

Saturday november 14
19,00-23,00 o´clock
Location: Strömvillan, S:t Persgatan 7 Norrköping, Sweden
Price: 200 SeK/person.

Food and coffee will be served after the talk.

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Prices:

Symposium:
Both days, including lunch and coffee:                   600 SeK
Specialprce at booking latest at the 12/11             450 SeK
One day:                                                                               350 SeK/day.

Eveningarrangement:
Eveningarrangement with talk, dinner and coffee.   200 SeK

Packages:
Talks both days, eveningarrangement, entrance to the fair/expo, symposium T-shirt and compendia (Latest bookingday, 12/11).                                                                       698:-

Fair/Expo:

Tableprices (1 table = 180×60cm)

1-2 tables                                                              250 SeK /table ( including 1 person )
3-5 tables                                                             200 SeK /table ( including 2 persons )
6-9 tables                                                             175 SeK /table ( including 3 persons )
10 tables or more                                             160 SeK /table ( including 3 persons )
Extra person                                                           40 SeK /each.
Electricity                                                               50 SeK

Misc.:
Symposium2009  T-shirt                                           89 SeK /each.
Compendia (ordinarie pris 49 SeK /each.)         39 SeK /each.

Floor Accommodation:
Friday and lördag, including mattress               100 SeK / night

Notification:

Notification is made via the form on the page “Kontakta oss” ( Translated: Contact us ).

To have the special Symposium2009 price 450 SeK, or the packageprice 698 SeK, the notification has to be made at the latest at 2/11 2009.

Notification IS binding!

Link to the webpage of the arranging society “Tropikföreningen ALBA”

Link to the “Contact”-page.

Dog to hunt turtle pests in Blackburn Lake

IF THE turtles in Blackburn Lake don’t smell right, Angus will sniff them out.

The pure-bred labrador has been trained specifically to track and hunt down the illegally introduced red-eared slider turtle.

The invasive pest has been seen in Blackburn Lake Sanctuary, Elsternwick Park Lake and Ruffey Lake Park.

Gary Jackson and sniffer dog Angus on Blackburn Lake. Picture: Jason Edwards

Click here to view more pictures (Opens in a new window.)

A turtle was captured in Blackburn Lake in January this year, but authorities believe up to three turtles and possibly a nest remain.

Gary Jackson, Angus’ trainer, said the five-year-old was the only dog in the world trained specifically to catch red-eared slider turtles.

“We have trained him to ignore native turtles and eggs,” Mr Jackson said.

“He loves finding the slider turtle’s nests; when he sniffs one he starts digging for it and unless we pull him off, he would dig all the way through to the nest and probably eat the eggs.”

Angus is on loan from the Queensland Government for the next week and will spend today hunting for the elusive turtle in Blackburn.

Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said the World Conservation Union listed the red-eared slider turtles as one of the world’s 100 most-invasive species.

The female turtle lays up to 70 eggs and, if unchecked, the species can destroy native habitats and food supply.

Red-eared slider turtles have a distinctive red stripe behind each eye and a dome shaped shell.

Mr Helper urged the public to report any sightings to the Department of Primary Industries on 136 186.

From: Whitehorse Leader

Pictured: The glowing frog who wanted a light snack and swallowed a Christmas bulb

Something was making this little fellow feel all warm inside.

Unfortunately for him, it was a blinking fairy light.

The Cuban tree frog managed to swallow an entire bulb as he hunted for bugs.

Photographer James Snyder, whose Florida garden is festooned with lights, spotted it all lit up in a mango tree.

Colourful calories: The Cuban tree frog took a gulp of the bulb and wouldn't let go

James, who lives in Palm Beach, Florida, had decorated his back yard with colourful lights after noticing that frogs had worked out lights attracted bugs.

But one night he discovered that one of the little beasts had bitten off far more than it could chew.

James, 29, said: ‘A bug landed on the bulb and when the frog went for it he got a little bit extra.

‘I zoomed in and noticed that the wire was actually going into the frogs mouth, he had swallowed the entire light, he wasn’t sitting on it at all’

‘I have a large mango tree by my patio and my wife and I have Christmas lights wrapped around the trunk and main limbs to light it up from underneath.

‘I took my dog out back when I noticed the frog glowing on the tree and at first I thought that the frog was sitting on top of the light.

‘I quickly put my dog back inside and grabbed my camera, but I was convinced that he would be gone by the time I returned but when I got back he was still sitting there glowing away.

‘I began taking a few pictures from about four or five feet away because I did not want to scare him and make him move.

‘I zoomed in and noticed that the wire was actually going into the frogs mouth, he had swallowed the entire light, he wasn’t sitting on it at all.’

James, 29, said he feared the frog had been killed after it ate the bulb.

He said: ‘I figured that he must be dead and because there was no fear of spooking him I got very close and continued taking pictures.

‘But after few minutes I noticed one of his legs had moved, death spasm I thought for a second until he repositioned his entire body.

‘Now with the realisation that the frog was indeed alive I wanted to keep him that way.

‘So I fired off a few more shots, then gently grabbed the wire next to the bulb and slowly pulled it out for his mouth.

Because the wire was still attached to the light, Snyder was able to pull it gently from the frog’s mouth.

It seemed none the worse for its ordeal – apart from instantly losing its glow.

From Dailymail.co.uk

Hundreds of sand lizards released

Hundreds of rare sand lizards are being released into the wild at locations in England and Wales from where they had previously disappeared.

They will be reintroduced at five sites in Surrey, Dorset and mid-Wales.

The sand lizards were bred in captivity so they could be released into the wild

The sand lizard was once a common sight across heathland, but the gradual destruction of its habitats has led to its extinction in many places.

Some 400 of the creatures would be set free within a fortnight, the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation group said.

The first release of about 80 two-inch-long baby lizards, reared in special hatcheries, will take place at a National Trust nature reserve in Surrey on Thursday.

According to the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation group (Arc), the lizard was lost altogether from a number of counties including Kent, Sussex, Cornwall, Cheshire and north and west Wales.

More than 90% of suitable habitat has also vanished from Surrey, Merseyside and Dorset.

Reptiles and amphibians are coming under pressure from an increasing number of factors including habitat loss, disease and a future of climate change Dr Tom Tew, Natural England

Frogs, toads, newts, lizards and snakes have all been affected by the loss of their habitats, often because of changes to agricultural practice, the planting of forests and building developments.

But Arc, formed by the merger of Froglife and the Herpetological Conservation Trust charities, said the animals and their habitats were now protected by law.

Nick Moulton, of Arc, said: “It’s great to see them going back, now safely protected, where they belong.”

The reintroductions were part of efforts to “turn back the clock on amphibian and reptile declines” in Britain, a statement from Arc added.

‘Reverse the decline’

The young lizards were bred in captivity at locations that include the zoos at Chester and Marwell, and also specially modified back gardens.

The breeders minimised contact with the reptiles to prevent them becoming too tame, which would leave them at risk of being eaten in the wild by their main predator, the smooth snake.

The reintroduction of the sand lizards is part of a 133-point action plan, intended to reverse the decline of the UK’s frogs, toads, lizards and snakes.

The plan includes research, monitoring species and encouraging land-owners to create habitats such as ponds to help wildlife flourish.

Dr Tom Tew, chief scientist at Natural England, the government’s conservation agency, said: “Reptiles and amphibians are coming under pressure from an increasing number of factors including habitat loss, disease and a future of climate change.

“This important reintroduction programme is an example of the action that must be taken to reverse the decline in England’s biodiversity and to conserve the habitats that our unique wildlife relies upon.”

From BBC NEWS.

It’s a leap, but frogs find home in elephant dung.

Study of ‘ecosystem engineers’ sees cheap pachyderm shelters piling up.

One species of frog found in a pile of Asian elephant dung. Photo: Ahimsa Campos-arceiz / livescience.com

They may not be the best-smelling homes, but Asian elephant dung piles provide certain frog species with shelter, one researcher has found.

Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz of the University of Tokyo found the dung-dwelling frogs in Sri Lanka’s Bundala National Park, while searching for signs that Asian elephants acted as ecosystem engineers in their environments.

Ecosystem engineers are “organisms capable of controlling the availability of resources for other organisms by modifying the physical environment,” Campos-Arceiz said. The beaver is probably the most well-known example of an ecosystem engineer, Campos-Arceiz said. “The construction of their dams modifies the landscape, creating a new type of ecosystem.”

Big animals, such as elephants, are particularly good at ecosystem engineering, because they can have such a proportionately large impact on their environment, Campos-Arceiz said.

Previous studies have shown that African savanna elephants (Loxodonta Africana) impacted their ecosystem by creating refuges for tree-dwelling lizards — when the elephants broke off twigs and branches while feeding, they left behind crevices in the trees. The research showed that lizard communities were more diverse in places where elephants also lived.

Campos-Arceiz wondered if Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) might have a similar impact on their ecosystems.

During August 2008, Campos-Arceiz was in Bundala National Park inspecting Asian elephant dung piles looking for seeds (the feces can act as a nutrient source for plants and fungi, which will germinate and grow there). Instead, he found an amphibious surprise: six frogs representing three different species (Microhyla ornata, Microhyla rubra and Spaerotheca sp.) in five dung piles.

“I was looking for seeds in the dung — and was ready for some insects and other invertebrates. But I never thought about a vertebrate like a frog staying inside of the dung,” Campos-Arceiz told LiveScience.

An alternative habitat
Accompanying the frogs in the dung piles were beetles, termites, ants, spiders, scorpions, centipedes and crickets, “suggesting that a dung pile can become a small ecosystem of its own,” Campos-Arceiz wrote in the study, titled “S*** Happens (to be Useful)! Use of Elephant Dung as Habitat by Amphibians,” detailed in the journal Biotropica.

“I don’t really remember how it came up, but it happened as soon as I decided to write a paper. I created a folder in my computer called ‘S*** Happens!’ and this project name made the work funnier for me,” Campos-Arceiz said.

The frogs Campos-Arceiz found live among the leaf litter on the ground. But that litter can be scarce in the dry season (when Campos-Arceiz was visiting), so he suspects the dung may provide an alternative habitat for the frogs.

Campos-Arceiz suspects that Asian elephants may act as ecosystem engineers in their environment in other ways as well.

From msnbc

Mating frogs get waterside hotel

Mating frogs are vulnerable to predators such as foxes and herons

What is claimed to be Britain’s first “frog hotel” is to be created on the banks of the Water of Leith.

The two-tier structure, made from wood and recycled materials, will be placed alongside a pond in Redhall Walled Garden in Edinburgh.

It is designed to protect mating frogs, which are vulnerable to predators such as foxes and herons.

The project aims to encourage breeding amphibians and highlight the work volunteers do for the environment.

Robert Henderson, Scottish co-ordinator for the CSV Action Earth campaign, said the hotel would be a beehive structure.

“At ground level is what’s called the Compost Cafe”, he said.

“Then there’s a ramp up to a more protected area where frogs can hibernate in the winter.”

From BBC

Lizard she-males survive longer

Augrabies Flat Lizard ’she-males’ can

The Augrabies Flat Lizard (Platysaurus broadleyi), a star of Sir David Attenborough’s recent series Life in Cold Blood, adds another twist to its tale. A team of South African and Australian researchers have discovered that some males of this dramatically coloured lizard mimic females during early maturity and thereby avoid the costs of broadcasting their masculinity.

As juveniles, all males look like females before gradually developing extravagant adult male coloration at the onset of sexual maturity. These young males are most vulnerable to aggressive adult male rivals when these first tell-tale signs of masculinity begin to develop and adults are quick to capitalise on a soft target by chasing and sometimes biting these young males.

Assoc. Prof. Whiting pointed out that “by delaying the onset of colour to a more convenient period, these males (termed she-males) are making the best of a bad situation”. An immediate advantage is freedom of movement in the normally treacherous zones which make up the territories of highly aggressive males that already have extensive fighting experience. At the same time, these female mimics are able to court the myriad of females that share the territorial male’s residence.

The authors of this study (Assoc. Prof. Martin Whiting of the University of the Witwatersrand; Dr. Jonathan Webb of the University of Sydney; and Assoc. Prof. Scott Keogh of the Australian National University) also tested whether she-males are able to mimic the chemical ‘signature’ of females.

In a clever experiment performed in the wild, they removed all pheromones and skin lipids that might signal gender and relabelled a group of females and she-males with either male or female scent, before presenting them to typical adult males. Males use their tongues to sample chemical scent and responded by courting she-males labeled as females, but not she-males labeled as males. “Males are fooled by looks, but not by scent” said Dr. Webb.

She-males are able to maintain this deception by staying one step ahead of a prying male, and thereby avoiding a nosey tongue that might give the game away.  Assoc. Prof. Keogh said that “young transvestite males appear to have a dual advantage: the avoidance of potentially dangerous bouts with dominant males and access to normally inaccessible females”.

From Science Alert

Toad crossings mapped on Google Earth

Hundreds of toad crossings across the UK have been mapped on Google Earth in a bid to cut the number killed by motorists.

Froglife, which helps the conservation of amphibians and reptiles, has mapped 700 crossings using satellite technology.

It is hoped the satellite map will help conservationists and volunteers find out more about where amphibians are killed on roads on their migration to breeding ponds in spring.

The new software will help members of the public find out where frogs and toads cross local roads, as well as whether a “crossing” is active.

They will also be able to use it to find out where they can help with volunteer “toad patrols”, as well as updating Froglife’s records and reporting new toad crossings.

Conservationists at Froglife also hope the Froglife Google Earth application will be useful for the planning sector, and will allow highways officials to find out more about amphibian populations around the UK’s roads.

Toad numbers have declined in many areas of England, thought to be due to the effect of road traffic during the breeding season and loss of breeding ponds.

It is also thought the common toad, which was listed as a threatened species in 2007, suffers dangers of high kerbs which steer them towards drains where they are trapped and die.

Jules Howard, from Froglife, said: “Google Earth software is allowing wildlife experts to use new creative ways to communicate important conservation issues to an increasingly techno-savvy public.

“We’re delighted that more people can get involved in the Toads on Roads campaign by using this free software.”

She said last year 36 new toad crossing sites were registered, and 35,183 amphibians were carried across UK roads by volunteer “toad patrollers” in 2008.

From Telegraph.co.uk

Photos of new frogs discovered in Colombia

Ten undescribed species of amphibians — including nine frog and one salamander — have been discovered in the mountains of Colombia, report scientists from Conservation International (CI).

The amphibians were discovered during a recent Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) expedition in the Tacarcuna area of the Darien, near the border with Panama. Also sighted were 50 other species of amphibians, 20 species of reptiles, and almost 120 species of birds. The survey also documented the presence of large mammals including Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii), listed on the IUCN Red List as Endangered in Colombia; white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari); and four species of monkeys, including Geoffroy’s spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), Geoffroy’s tamarin (Saguinus geoffroyi), white-throated capuchin (Cebus capucinus) and the mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata).

Harlequin frog of the Atelopus genus potentially new to science discovered in a Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) suvey conducted in Colombia during which 10 species of amphibians believed to be new to science were found. Credit: © Conservation International Colombia, photo by: Marco Rada

 

A glass frog of the Nymphargus genus potentially new to science discovered in the mountains of the Darien in Colombia. Darien is a mountainous system isolated from the Andes Mountain range and is a recognized endemism center, valuable for its high biological diversity. Credit: © Conservation International Colombia, photo by: Marco Rada

 

Full story, and more pictures on Mongabay.