This Tegu peeking out of his transport bag in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user striggs makes you wonder if he is looking to see how far spring is away!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Reptile News Around the World' Category
Dec 02
Dec 02
Frankie Tortoise Tails – First Cold Night
It was the first really, really cold night in Mobile this season. There was no choice than to bring Frankie inside. Pretty much Frankie has torn up and outgrown his current outdoor habitat. He couldn’t turn around inside anymore so I modified his inside box so he would fit. Then he tore out the doors […]
Read the rest of this entry »Dec 01
Community conservation efforts in northern Kenya reduced elephant poaching by more than a third last year
By Herp News Tens of thousands of African elephants are poached every year for their ivory, which has had a drastic impact on population numbers. According to The Nature Conservancy, the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) population declined from 1.2 million individuals in 1980 to just 430,000 in 2014. Conservationists have long argued that, because community […]
Read the rest of this entry »Dec 01
Snake Therapy for Autistic Boy
Photo: GetSurry The most comforting thing in young Charlie Burnett’s life is his pet snake. Charlie is a high functioning autistic child and also suffers from Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome (PDA), which can result in emotional meltdowns when stress levels are too high. “It’s changed Charlie’s world,” she told the Woking Advertiser. “I can’t tell […]
Read the rest of this entry »Dec 01
‘Catastrophic’ decline: nearly 99% of African grey parrots wiped out in Ghana
By Herp News African grey parrots are known to be smart, talented mimics. Alex, one of the most well-known African grey parrots in the world, could mimic over 100 human words, differentiate between various shapes and numbers, and would even wish his trainer “goodnight”. Predictably, these birds are extremely popular as pets. But their popularity has taken a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Dec 01
Herp Photo of the Day: White's Tree Frog
This little White’s Tree Frog has his eye on you in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user exoreds ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read more here: King […]
Read the rest of this entry »Dec 01
Big and Beautiful—The Yonahlossee Salamander
This is a large and typically colored Yonahlossee salamander A couple of months ago Patti and I were “leaf-peeping” in western NC. We had visited Grandfather Mountain, driven along US221, and accessed the Blue Ridge Parkway, and were now sitting at Yonahlossee Overlook. This of course brought back many memories. Yonahlossee— the word is said […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 30
Mystery of how snakes lost their legs solved by reptile fossil
By Herp News Fresh analysis of a reptile fossil is helping scientists solve an evolutionary puzzle — how snakes lost their limbs. The findings show snakes did not lose their limbs in order to live in the sea, as was previously suggested. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 30
Managing Pain in a Komodo Dragon
Photo: Photo: Sun Sentinal The Palm Beach Zoo recently noticed Hannah, one of their Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis), was showing pain symptoms. After a CT scan to better pinpoint the source of her discomfort, they brought in a new treatment, acupuncture, to comfort her without the possible side effects from medications. Although acupuncture is a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 30
Hong Kong’s pink dolphins could disappear due to airport expansion and bridge construction
By Herp News Future of the Chinese white dolphins — also called pink dolphins — in Hong Kong waters could be severely imperiled. Proposed expansion of the Hong Kong airport and ongoing construction of a new bridge from Hong Kong to Macau could be a “nail in the coffin” for the dolphins, conservationists say. “We […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 30
Herp Photo of the Day: Carpet Python
Here’s to hoping this IJ Jag in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user StonedReptiles makes your monday a bit brighter!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read more here: […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 27
Herp Photo of the Day: Rattlesnake Friday!
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! For Black Friday, we just HAD To bring you this Black-tailed Rattlesnake for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user bigdnutz ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 27
Data scientists create world’s first therapeutic venom database
By Herp News What doesn’t kill you could cure you. A growing interest in the therapeutic value of animal venom has led data scientists to create the first catalog of known animal toxins and their physiological effects on humans. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 26
Meet the world’s 25 most endangered primates
By Herp News Every two years, primate experts compile a report that highlights 25 primates that are in severe crisis. These are the most endangered monkeys, apes and lemurs in the world. On Tuesday, an international coalition of 63 primate conservation experts — including the Primate Specialist Group of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC), Bristol […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 26
Herp Photo of the Day: Skink
We are thankful for sausages and skinks. Skinks are kinda like sausages, right? We are thankful for this Shingleback Skink in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user albinorosy ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 26
The Search for the Delta Map Turtle
The Delta map turtle is one of the “sawbacked” types. At the time I decided I wished to photograph the Delta map turtle in the wild, it was considered a named subspecies, Graptemys nigrinoda delticola, the darker and easternmore of the 2 forms of the. black-knobbed map turtle. Even back then, the subspecific differences, hence […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 25
U.S. a major destination for trafficked Latin American wildlife
By Herp News A smuggled and confiscated crocodile ashtray, now part of the “Buyer Beware Exhibit” at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Photo by Bill Butcher courtesy of USFWS [dropcap]L[/dropcap]ast March, a four-year manhunt finally paid off when U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) investigators teamed with Mexican officials to arrest a notorious American wildlife trafficker. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 25
Similar proteins protect the skin of humans, turtles
By Herp News Genes for important skin proteins arose in a common ancestor shared by humans and turtles 310 million years ago, a genome comparison has discovered. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 25
[AUTOSAVED] Diary of a Snake Bite
Photo: Science Friday A new snake crosses your table, although it exhibits traits of a known venomous snake, it is missing several key markers. What is it? Is it venomous? If so, just how venomous is it? The situation becomes less an exercise in academics when the unknown subject of your research bites you. That […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 25
Diary of a Snake Bite
A new snake crosses your table, although it exhibits traits of a known venomous snake, it is missing several key markers. What is it? Is it venomous? If so, just how venomous is it? The situation becomes less an exercise in academics when the unknown subject of your research bites you. That is the situation […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 25
Florida to revise venomous regs; Bans melamine caging
click to see larger image Fallout from two highly publicized cobra escapes in Florida is leading to changes in Florida venomous snake regulations in 2016. According to a memo released by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission (see above), the state is banning the use of melamine/particle board enclosures due to their tendency to be […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 25
Herp Photo of the Day: Amazon Tree Boa
This four pack of itty bitty ATBs are keeping their eyes on you in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user micahdenton ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 25
Video: Rare Amur tigress with 3 cubs caught on camera
By Herp News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEgfGlsHZWw&feature=youtu.be In a rare moment, a camera trap videoed a rare Amur tigress, trailed by her three cubs. The camera belongs to a network of camera traps set up by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Russia’s Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve to study Amur tigers. In the video, “the cats are using an overgrown forest road as […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 24
Cornsnake Genome Sequenced for First Time
Gallery Photo by user dallashawks Currently the genomes of only 9 species of reptiles (among 10 000 species) are available to the scientific community. To change this a team at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Swit- zerland, has produced a large database including, among others, the newly-sequenced genome of the corn snake, Pantherophis guttatus, a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 24
Camera traps suggest wild animals anticipated major earthquake weeks before it struck
By Herp News Twenty-three days before a major earthquake in 2011 animals began disappearing from part of Yanachaga National Park in Peru. By 24 hours before the quake they had completely vacated the area. A recent study documenting the animals’ retreat with camera-trap data suggests that animals may have an uncanny ability to sense and […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 24
Poaching upsurge threatens South America’s iconic vicuña
By Herp News A family of vicuñas at Apolobamba, Bolivia. Photo by Daniel Maydana [dropcap]C[/dropcap]orsino Huallata Ibarra was helping his parents round up their herd of llamas at their home in the Bolivian countryside when the sound of gunshots made him jump. Scanning the horizon, distant movement caught his eye. He could just make out […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 24
Corn snake genome sequenced for the first time
By Herp News Among the 5,000 existing species of mammals, more than 100 have their genome sequenced, whereas the genomes of only 9 species of reptiles (among 10,000 species) are available to the scientific community. This is the reason why a team of researchers has produced a large database including, among others, the newly-sequenced genome […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 24
Herp Photo of the Day: Painted Turtle
Such a common find for most of us, but a welcome one come spring! What a great Painted Turtle field shot for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user PATMAN ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 24
Villagers thwart an eagle transaction on a volcano in Java
By Herp News A crested serpent eagle was saved from being trafficked on Sunday by residents of Melung, a village on the slopes of the volcanic Mount Slamet in Indonesia’s Central Java province. Upon hearing a man identified as A arranging to sell the Spilornis cheela bido by phone, villagers intervened to try to talk […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 24
Red-cheeked Mud Turtle
The entire head of some red-cheeked mud turtles is suffused with red. Whether you consider the red-cheek a full species (Kinosternon cruentatum) or a subspecies of the scorpion mud turtle (K. scorpioides cruentatum), there can be little argument that some examples are one of, if not the, prettiest of the genus. Long (and with good […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
World’s vast boreal forests could ‘hit a tipping point’ this century, scientists say
By Herp News The climate zones boreal forests evolved in are moving north, and trees can’t keep up. Key species in North America’s boreal forests, like black spruce, are disappearing from areas where they once thrived. According to Dennis Murray, a professor of ecology at Trent University in Ontario, the impacts of this tree loss […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
Eden Besieged: Amazonia’s Matchless Wildlife Pillaged by Traffickers
By Herp News Brazilian Hyacinth Macaws. Photo by Alexander Yates licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. [dropcap]W[/dropcap]ildlife trafficking casts a toxic net of negative impacts across the entire landscape it exhausts. The nightmarish media imagery emerging from the poaching battlefield of Africa has set the horrific tone for public understanding of Earth’s […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
Marine airgun noise could cause turtle trauma
By Herp News Scientists are warning of the risks that seismic surveys may pose to sea turtles. Widely used in marine oil and gas exploration, seismic surveys use airguns to produce sound waves that penetrate the sea floor to map oil and gas reserves. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
Saving Pygmy Crocodiles
Photo: Adam Britton Friend of kingsnake.com and famed croc researcher Adam Britton is attempting to save the Pygmy Freshwater Crocodiles in Australia. Although they are considered the same species as the Freshwater Crocodiles, there are genetic variations that may lead to a brand new species. The biggest threat to the group is sadly the invasive […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
Saving Australia's Pygmy Crocodiles
Pygmy Freshwater Crocodile – Photo: Adam Britton Long time friend of kingsnake.com and famed crocodillian researcher Adam Britton is attempting to save the Pygmy Freshwater Crocodiles in Australia. Although they are considered the same species as the Freshwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus johnstoni), researchers are looking into genetic variations that may lead to their listing as a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
Researchers in Peru capture some of the Amazon’s rarest and most elusive wildlife on video
By Herp News Six months ago, 80 arboreal camera traps and 40 more cameras on the ground were deployed by scientists in the Manu Biosphere Reserve in Peru, one of the world’s most biodiverse conservation areas. The researchers took the cameras down just a few weeks ago, and they provided Mongabay with a sneak peek […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
Poisonous amphibians may be more likely to go extinct
By Herp News Amphibians occupy almost every ecological niche, from the highest tropical trees to the most fetid pools of desert water. Brightly colored and cryptically camouflaged, they have evolved an astounding array of defenses – about half of all amphibians are poisonous. But despite their adaptability, these animals are in serious trouble, all over […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
Camera trap pictures help nab tiger poacher
By Herp News Photos captured by camera traps could seal the fate of an alleged tiger poacher in Thailand, WCS announced last Wednesday. Thailand police have confiscated tiger skin and body parts at a police checkpoint in Mae Sot District in Western Thailand. Since poaching of tigers in Thailand is illegal, proving the geographic origin […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
Herp Photo of the Day: Anole
A shout out to the little guys! Loving this Vinales Anole in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user macraei ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read more here: […]
Read the rest of this entry »Nov 23
First-ever conviction for orangutan trafficking in Aceh
By Herp News A wildlife trafficker who was caught trying to sell three baby orangutans on Facebook was sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined 50 million rupiah ($3,653) in Indonesia’s Aceh province last week. The man, a 29-year-old university student named Rahmadani, was arrested in a sting on August 1. Besides the Sumatran orangutans […]
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