By Herp News

What is a hackathon? ‘Hacking’ is creative problem solving, commonly through emerging technology. A ‘hackathon’ is an event where people, usually with tech backgrounds, come together to solve problems. Participants usually form teams and dive into the target problem(s), often for 1-3 days, and collaboratively produce (often through coding) a unique solution.  The events are intended to be fun and productive sessions that channel the group’s collective positive energy toward solving real-world problems. But can such short events attended by folks with limited wildlife knowledge actually encourage tech innovation with potential to improve nature conservation? To learn more, WildTech attended a “Hackathon for Wildlife” in mid-November and spoke with Gautam Shah, creator of Internet for Elephants, a social enterprise that leverages information technology to improve wildlife conservation, and organizer of the Chicago Hackathon for Wildlife. The inspiration for a hackathon for wildlife. Photo credit: George Powell Who organizes hackathons? Anyone with a challenge and the ability to interest people in trying to solve it can organize a hackathon – here are some guidelines for hosting. WildTech asked Shah, an experienced data analyst with a passion for wildlife, what motivated him to organize and produce a hackathon for wildlife. “The aim is to help 20 million people engage with wildlife – I’m 44 and don’t have time to think small,” he explained. “We are using data from real wildlife studies; we are ready to take data and figure out the best ways to engage audiences. Having an event helps…

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A farmer chases bird crop pests from his fields. In Bolivia, the species that appear in pet markets for sale most frequently are considered crop pests. Previously shot and killed, they are now poached and sold for additional income. Photo by El deber/ Flickr Creative Commons Share alike 2.0 [dropcap]A[/dropcap] new shipment of illegally trafficked parrots arrives at the Los Pozos market in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The sellers and middlemen are approached and questioned. The species, age and place of capture are noted down. This isn’t an enforcement sting, far from it; it’s research. The year was 2004, and scientists were trying to better understand local wildlife trafficking markets. To do so they needed to get closer to the dealers themselves. But that was no easy task when the data you are gathering could also be used as evidence of a crime. So to achieve their goal, the researchers hired a go-between, a trusted insider, to ask the survey questions. “Technically he’s part of the illicit trade, [and] he’s also a criminal,” Professor Stephen Pires, a criminologist at Florida International University told mongabay.com in a recent interview. The man they chose to conduct the survey had over ten years of experience working in the illegal parrot trafficking business. “There’s no reason why another criminal, like a trafficker or a poacher, would not trust him with this information,” said Pires. What the scientists learned about the clandestine domestic wildlife trade was surprising — and…

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In 2010, researcher Francesco Nardelli discovered two photographs of a certain species of langur, or leaf monkey, on the internet that he could not recognize. The caged langurs in the photos — which had been taken in a bird market in East Java in Indonesia — had black faces outlined by distinctive orange-golden colored hair. Over the next five years, Nardelli combed through zoo records, museum specimens, and published literature to resolve the identity of the langur. Then in October this year, in a paper published in the journal International Zoo News (IZN), Nardelli concluded that the langur in the photos was indeed a new species. He named it the golden-crowned langur, or Presbytis johnaspinalli. However, soon after Mongabay broke the news of the new langur species on October 23, some primatologists challenged Nardelli’s conclusions. One of the critics, Vincent Nijman, a primatologist at Oxford Brookes University who has worked on Presbytis and Trachypithecus monkeys for over two decades, recently published his arguments against the status of the langur species in the journal International Zoo News. Experts are debating the status of the “new” golden-crowned langur (Presbytis johnaspinalli). Courtesy of Nardelli 2015. Like Nardelli, Nijman investigated the origin of the photographs and traced the source of all photos — including two additional ones that he found online — back to “most likely a single trader [Mr M. Sabar] in the Ratu Soerjo bird market (a.k.a. Mantingan bird market) at the outskirts of the town of Mantingan…

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By Herp News

Scientists have discovered two critically endangered species of sea snakes, previously thought to be extinct, off the coast of Western Australia.It’s the first time the snakes have been spotted alive and healthy since disappearing from their only known habitat on Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea more than fifteen years ago.

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This Chuckwalla is ready to start us on out path to christmas in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rosebuds ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Howler monkeys are often targeted by hunters. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Over-hunting contributes to forest carbon loss, claims a study published this week in the AAAS journal Science Advances. After looking at data from 31 sites from the Atlantic Forest — found along the southeast coast of Brazil — the researchers conclude that the over-hunting of large animals in those forests will eventually result in the widespread loss of the larger tree species responsible for storing the most carbon. The team of Brazilian and European researchers, led by Carolina Bello from Universidade Estadual Paulista, looked at seed dispersal by frugivores as well as the relationship between seed size and a tree’s carbon storage potential, and discovered a disturbing trend. Hunters in the region tend to harvest larger species of birds and mammals at unsustainable rates. These animals are often the species that eat, carry, and disperse large fruits and seeds. The tree species that produce largest animal-dispersed seeds tend to be taller and have higher wood density. Therefore, as these animals disappear, the trees with the greatest carbon storage capacity are less likely reproduce. Gradually, these tree species are replaced by smaller and less dense trees, and the total carbon storage capacity of the forest is reduced. “We found a positive correlation between seed diameter and wood density … as well as maximum tree height,” the authors write, and those correlations were especially pronounced in species with animal-dispersed seeds. Simulation pathway of…

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A snail so dangerous it warrants attention from Homeland Security [NBC] Earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture specialists discovered two live Giant African Snails at the Port of Oakland in California. The snails are considered to be the most dangerous in the world, as they carry diseases dangerous to humans and crops as well as cause structural damage to homes. President Obama says US Republican party’s views on climate are not sustainable [Guardian] On Friday, Barack Obama scolded the US Republican party for standing apart from every other rightwing party in the developed world by denying the science of climate change. The birth of this rare eagle chick provides a boost of hope for the species [Mongabay] On December 7, a tiny Philippine eagle hatchling was born at the Philippine Eagle Foundation’s (PEF) conservation center in the Philippines.  This is the twenty sixth eaglet born at the center in 23 years. The Executive Director of the conservation center has called the birth a “breakthrough”. Giant African snail. Photo courtesy of USDA. How our world’s historic climate treaty could become public health treaty [WHO] This commentary from the World Health Organization explains how the recent international climate agreement can push countries to develop plans that will protect human health from the worst impacts of climate change, such as, droughts, heat waves and floods. The Paris climate talks have ended, but the real work is just beginning [Newsweek] While representatives from 196 nations were able to…

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South America’s Atlantic Forest is one of the most imperiled biomes on the planet. At its southern periphery in northeastern Argentina’s Misiones province, the country’s first ecological corridor links important protected areas within the Atlantic Forest region. A new study looks into the bird diversity of different types of Atlantic Forest habitats, finding that mature forest beat out secondary forest and grassland in terms of bird diversity. However, it also finds that secondary forest still contained relatively high bird diversity, and provided valuable habitat for threatened species.  Its authors underline the conservation importance of mature forests, and urge their protection as well as the maintenance and creation of corridors that knit together protected areas. Hundreds of years ago, the Atlantic Forest was a vast tract of forest that stretched down the coast of Brazil and into Paraguay and Argentina. Today, it is one of the world’s most threatened biodiversity hotspots, facing severe pressures from human activities like logging and farming that has left the biome severely fragmented. Studies estimate only 6 to 10 percent of the Atlantic Forest remains, and its primary forest has dwindled down to 3.5 to 5 percent. Conservationists say restoration and maintaining connectivity between forest fragments is crucial to sustaining viable populations of the many species that depend on the Atlantic Forest to survive. The authors of the study published this week in Mongabay’s open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science also underline the importance of evaluating the impacts of different habitat types on wildlife diversity. Misiones…

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Fast response is critical to preventing the spread of disease, especially in remote places with few potential responders and challenging conditions. Dr. Margaret Driciru, a senior warden and long-time wildlife veterinarian at Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in Uganda, understands this as well as anyone and has consistently promoted the use of practical technologies for her work to save wildlife. Dr. Driciru spoke with WildTech about the mobile-phone data collection application called Magpi and how she and her ranger team at QENP use it to monitor and respond to wildlife health issues. She also recently presented her work at the recent Kathryn S. Fuller Science for Nature Symposium, Wired in the Wild, in Washington, DC. Dr. Driciru presenting at the Wired in the Wild Symposium at National Geographic. Photo Credit: Andrea Santy/WWF Russell E. Train Education for Nature Program How did you become interested in becoming a wildlife veterinarian? When I was in primary school, I had the dream of being a doctor- irrespective of what kind of doctor, so when I went to university, I got admitted to do veterinary medicine. That was the beginning of my career. When I completed vet school, the first real employment I had was in wildlife. It was to do [research on] lions. I was a researcher on a project that was assessing the population of the lions. I worked with lions for 7 years, and it was very interesting. I got attracted to wildlife and then I realized…

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By Herp News

Frog embryos do not fully control which genes they can turn on or off in the beginning of their development — but their mother does, through specific proteins in the egg cell, molecular developmental biologists report.

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Countdown to Christmas! This Green Tree Python is in the holiday spirit in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user toshamc ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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New research out of Angola casts light on the impact of shifting cultivation on dense tropical woodlands. The study, published this week in Mongabay’s open-access journal, Tropical Conservation Science, finds that an increasing demand for agricultural land and a growing population could change the structure and composition of the embattled African country’s remaining southeastern forests. Dry tropical woodlands are the characteristic vegetation in southeast Angola, where the nutrient content of soil is very low and precipitation is seasonal. This means that condsitions are generally unfavorable for agriculture given highly variable rainfall and poor soils that retain very little water and nutrients. Subsistence farmers in this region often have limited knowledge of modern soil conservation techniques and little or no access to chemical fertilizers, according to the study, and instead overcome these poor agricultural conditions by using a practice called “shifting cultivation.”Shifting cultivation is a type of slash-and-burn agricultural technique that involves removing vegetation by cutting it down and then burning it, which both enriches and clears the land. Cultivation is generally followed by a fallow period during which farmers shift to surrounding areas while vegetation in previously used patches of land gets time to regenerate. According to the authors of the study, who hail from the University of Hamburg in Germany, the majority of previous research on the ecological impacts of slash-and-burn agriculture has focused on tropical rainforests. They write that it is important to give increased consideration to assessing the impacts of this method on dry tropical forests like…

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A red uakari (Cacajao calvus) for sale at Bellavista Market, April 2014. Photo courtesy of NPC [dropcap]A[/dropcap] determined collaborative effort between health officials and activists has resulted in the shutting down of one of the most egregious and flourishing illegal wildlife markets in all of Peru. Bellavista Market, after nearly twenty years of illegal activity, was finally not only closed but completely razed to the ground in November. Veterinarian Patricia Mendoza, together with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Wildlife Health and Health Policy Program (since 2010, as a part of the USAID-PREDICT project), visited the market located in the city of Pucallpa repeatedly between 2007 and 2012. What Mendoza saw left an indelible impression on her. “Bellavista was just the worst,” she told mongabay.com. “It always had this pack of animal sellers concentrated in a section of the market, and everybody knew about it. Before the research project, I couldn’t go inside of animal markets without crying or feeling anger. At Pucallpa, I always avoided Bellavista Street. So it was a hard adaptation, harder when I had to explain [to] other members of the crew to [put] their feelings aside to work at the markets.” An extremely young Endangered spider monkey (Ateles chamek). Photo courtesy of NPC The bulldozed Bellavista market. Photo courtesy of NPC At every visit, she and her team introduced themselves as part of a health research project. They returned repeatedly until suspicious vendors eventually allowed…

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A blast in the past today with this old field shot of a Red Salamander in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user SNAKEMANOFLOU ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Somehow this old female mud turtle had survived this, now healed, terrible injury

The big female mud turtle, a common mud, Kinosternon s. subrubrum, was walking along in the shallows at riveredge. Carl was scooting along in the canoe, and I, as usual, was a few yards upstream firmly caught in a riveredge snag that had reached out and grabbed me while I tried to take photos.

Carl, who has an intense interest in all things kinosternid had been lured to the shore by a small mud turtle basking on a barely emergent limb. It was the 3rd example we had seen on this morning. This one had dropped from its sunny perch as Carl had neared and the turtle had inexplicably disappeared in the clear shallow water. It was as he was about to accept defeat that Carl noticed the big female in the shallows.

He reached over and as he lifted her from the water he exclaimed “this turtle has had a hard life!” When I glanced over it wasn’t difficult to see what had prompted Carl’s comment. Much of the turtle’s posterior carapace was missing and scarred and a closer look disclosed that part of her lower mandible had been over broken and had healed and although almost imperceptibly healed, most flesh from one temporal area had been scraped clean leaving a noticeable difference in bilateral facial configuration. What, we wondered, could have caused this? Outboard prop? A marauding alligator snapper? The jury is hung on the causative agent but is unanimous on the fact that this old girl has had a hard – a very hard – life.
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Northern Ravine Salamander Plethodon electromorphus
After herping a place for years and years a person can begin to learn what to expect to find during the course of an outing, but remember to never let your guard down because you just never can tell what your going to find!

Such was the case back in April 2015 when Phil and I returned to one of our favorite snake hunting sites where we expected to see the usual suspects. Instead we flipped up a pair of these Northern Ravine Salamanders. Heavy rains during the right time of year appear to have driven these specimens up to the surface where we could locate them under materials we had set out for well over ten years. After discussions with our local wildlife officials we learned that this species was suspected but not confirmed in this area. Thanks to our efforts, they are now confirmed! …read more
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By Herp News

With so much of Madagascar’s natural spiny desert forest cleared, Radiated Tortoises now feed heavily on the introduced prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp). Photo courtesy of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) [dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Androy Region, Madagascar, October, 2011: Tandroy tribal elders in the village of Tragnovaho send runners to fetch government law enforcement officials to help apprehend poachers discovered in a nearby forest. A large group from the Antanosy tribe has walked over a hundred miles to hunt the formerly abundant Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata). The strikingly beautiful animals have disappeared from the margins of their former range once included in the Antanosy’s homeland, so the tribe is now forced to trek south into Tandroy territory to find them. It’s not a march of starving desperation. “Tortoise meat has always been a delicacy,” explains Rick Hudson, President of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), a conservation non-profit working to help the Malagasy learn about and conserve their native turtles and tortoises. “They cure the meat and sell it in towns to the north because people won’t eat chicken if they can have tortoise. They also collect the smaller juveniles for the pet trade. This deals a big blow to the local tortoise population; making it doubly hard to recover. It was always a local resource, but now poachers have additional markets, plenty of incentive, and little chance of getting caught.” The markets Hudson is referring to are the rapacious black markets of a global, status-driven pet trade, as…

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Researchers have discovered half a dozen new species of the African clawed frog, and added back another to the list of known species, in the process uncovering striking new characteristics of one of the most widely studied amphibians in the world.

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Commonly known as fishing snakes, the Synophis genus has been expanded with as many as three new species following a research in the Andean cloud forests of Amazonian Ecuador and Peru. Not only is the discovery remarkable due to the rarity of new snake species being discovered, but also because this is the first time this mysterious and now eight-member genus is recorded from Peru.

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What a cool shot of an African Stump-tailed Chameleon (Ri. brevicaudatus) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pardalisberlin ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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The rare sight of an Amazon River Dolphin leaping out of the water. The dolphins are playful and curious, and threatened by hydroelectric dams. Photo © kevinschafer.com [dropcap]A[/dropcap] dam-building boom is underway in the Amazon. More than 400 hydroelectric dams are in operation, being built, or planned for the river’s headwaters and basin. Scientists know that tropical dams disrupt water flow and nutrient deposition, with negative consequences for aquatic animals, especially migratory species. But little detailed knowledge exists as to the impacts of dams on specific species, or as to the best mitigations to prevent harm. A recent study that tries to fill in that knowledge gap zeroes in on Brazil’s river dolphins. It found that as many as 26 dams could negatively impact dolphin populations and their prey. The research, led by Dr Claryana Araújo of the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil, focused on two freshwater species: the Amazon River Dolphin, or boto (Inia geoffrensis), which is sometimes famously pink; and the Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis). The river dolphins of South America are charismatic emblems of rainforest biodiversity, and have captured the public imagination. Swimming in rivers, lagoons, and among submerged tree trunks in flooded forests to chase down prey, they can be found as far inland as the upper reaches of Amazonian tributaries, more than 2,600 kilometers (1,615 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean. The two species inhabit Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, and in the case of the Amazon River Dolphin, Bolivia and Venezuela. Their…

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In April 2015, Vreni Häussermann, Director of the Huinay Scientific Field Station in Chilean Patagonia, and her team, discovered nearly 30 dead sei whales on the Gulf of Penas along Chile’s southern coast while surveying the region’s marine fauna. Sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) are members of the baleen whale family, and can reach lengths of 50 feet and can weigh around 100,000 pounds (~45,000 kilograms). On returning to Puerto Montt, a port city in southern Chile, Häussermann notified the Chilean National Fisheries Service about the beached whales. Officials of the Fisheries Service then undertook a study to assess the situation, and in an official statement released in May, said that around 20 whales had beached along Chile’s southern coast. While whale beaching, or stranding, is not uncommon along Chile’s coast, Häussermann was convinced that the scale of deaths was larger than the official study had revealed. So supported by a grant from National Geographic Society’s Waitt Foundation, Häussermann, and Carolina Simon Gutstein of the Universidad de Chile and Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales in Santiago, set out on a four-day expedition in a small four-seater plane, and surveyed the area around Gulf of Penas. Using high resolution aerial and satellite photos, Häussermann and Gutstein identified 337 dead sei whales within the area they surveyed. The team’s analysis showed that all the whales had died around March 2015, within the same event. This, according to the scientists, is the largest known whale beaching event to have occurred within such a short duration. “We were all shocked by this finding,” Häussermann told Mongabay.…

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This Reticulated Python is just popping over to say hi in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eschmit04 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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A new tree frog species, Dendropsophus bromeliaceus, spends its tadpole stage in pooled water that collects in bromeliad plants in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, according to a new study.

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This gator snapper weighed about 50 pounds.

“Dick, bring your camera!”

Easier said than done.

I had just turned around in the canoe to take a photo of a big cypress tree when a strong wind gust blew me broadside into a barely sunken snag. And I was having a devil of a time trying to get free.

Carl, 100 yards down river had just dived to try and find a huge river cooter that had skedaddled off a fallen tree trunk into 5 feet of water. The cooter had disappeared beneath the undercut riverbank but it was obvious that Carl had seen something else while he was submerged.

Finally my snag decided to release my canoe and I was on the way towards Carl.

Carl directed me to haul out across the narrow river from him, ready my camera, and then he dove again. When he next emerged in a shallower spot it was obvious why he was excited for he brought with him a beautiful 50 pound Apalachicola alligator snapper, Macrochelys apalachicolae. Not big as the species goes (the record is 318 pounds!) it was still an unexpected find.

Within minutes photos were made, the snapper had returned to its deeper water den, and we, still buffeted by strong headwinds, were again making our slow way downriver, both wondering whether the headwinds or we would win the gusty battle. Eventually we did.
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By Herp News

A mature male Turks & Caicos Rock Iguana greets arriving guests at the Pine Cay dock, where he lounges on a seaside rock in late afternoon. Photo by B Naqqi Manco [dropcap]I[/dropcap]magine lounging on a white sand beach, clear azure water reflecting the tropical sun against a backdrop of rustling silvery-green palmetto leaves. It’s what most of us would consider the perfect island vacation and an ideal niche for the committed beach bum. But that spot’s already taken. Your ideal niche is the perfect home for the Turks and Caicos Rock Iguana (Cyclura carinata). The smallest of the fourteen species of Cyclura rock iguanas is a beach and dune specialist native to the Caribbean. It spends its days soaking up the tropical warmth to help digest a diverse vegetarian meal, before performing the duty of landscape architect on the remote cays where it’s still found. Locally referred to as “guana,” the lizard is endemic to the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), a small United Kingdom Overseas Territory that is part of the Lucayan Archipelago. Most of this beautiful island chain is occupied by the Bahamas. Though this rock iguana is the largest native terrestrial animal in the TCI, its small in size — typically measuring under 65 centimeters (26 inches) in length. Being island dwellers, the animals evolved with virtually no predators, and were not equipped to defend against the introduction of the numerous rats, cats, and dogs which accompanied European colonization. …

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Wild birds in the state of Amazonas in Brazil are being trafficked for food and pet trade, according to a new study published today in Mongabay’s open-access journal, Tropical Conservation Science. Researchers found that between 1992 and 2011, the state’s environmental agency had seized nearly 2,700 wild birds being traded illegally. The study shows that the use and trade of wild birds is common throughout the state, the authors write. However, “due to the clandestine nature of these activities, and the lack of basic biological data for many of the species traded, determining the impact of trade on bird wild populations is difficult,” they add. Much of the Brazilian state of Amazonas is covered by the Amazon rainforest. Despite being rich in biodiversity, very few studies have looked at the animals being illegally traded in the state, the authors write. To fill the gap, researchers from Brazil scanned through 20 years of seizure records of illegal wildlife trade maintained by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (or IBAMA) in the state of Amazonas. The team found that IBAMA inspectors seized 2,698 wild birds — belonging to 40 species — between 1992 and 2011, mostly in the capital city of Manaus. Of the 40 species seized, around nine species did not occur in the state of Amazonas. Saffron finch is the most frequently seized bird in the state of Amazonas in Brazil. Photo by Greg Hume, Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0. The Saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola), Muscovy duck…

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One little, two little, three little Bearded Dragons in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dedragons ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Last year, Indonesia became the first country in the world to issue a fatwa, or religious decree, against wildlife poaching and trafficking. Now, a Malaysian state has followed suit. Islamic clerics (or the Mufti Department) in the state of Terengganu in northeastern Malaysia, in consultation with experts from the state’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks and university scientists, have put together a fatwa that calls upon Muslims to protect Allah’s creations and forbids them from hunting any species to extinction. The fatwa – likely the first-of-its-kind issued by a Malaysian state – recognizes that illegal hunting is ‘haram’, or forbidden. “I think there was an urgent need for this fatwa because not many Muslims in Terengganu are aware that the Malayan tiger and its prey such as sambar deer are facing extinction, not just in the state, but within the entire country,” Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, an Associate Professor with Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and a Postdoctoral Research Associate with James Cook University who was involved in shaping the fatwa, told Mongabay in an email. “We knew there was some precedence for such a fatwa because the Indonesian Ulema council recently issued their first ever fatwa against illegal hunting.” The critically endangered Malayan tiger is threatened by poaching. Photo by Rennett Stowe Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0. A Muslim legal expert, or Mufti, announced the fatwa to over 500 local people at a conference organized by the Terengganu Mufti Department on November 26. “We do not naively believe that this fatwa will instantly stop the poaching,” Clements said. “We recognize that many…

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Undercover sting by Greenpeace exposes two prominent skeptics [The Guardian] Posing as consultants to fossil fuel companies, Greenpeace was able to uncover two prominent climate skeptics that were available for hire to write reports that would cast doubt on the dangers of global warming. Up to a quarter of Alaska’s permafrost could melt by 2100 [Guardian UK] So what’s the big deal with thawing soil? This permafrost, soil that’s been frozen for thousands of years, has been storing pools of carbon. As the permafrost begins to thaw, carbon and methane is released, thereby fueling more warming and melting, which in turn accelerates the warming of our climate even more. Affects from climate change has islanders pleading for help [Reuters] As rising sea levels and tidal waves wash away the coastlines of Maldives islands, the residents are asking for insurance to help cover the costs of the damage. There are some insurance options for other extreme weather losses, such as high waters and flooding, but not for costal erosion. Base of Mendenhall glacier in Alaska’s Inside Passage, Alaska United States. Photo by Rhett Butler. Nepal’s endangered river dolphins are making a comeback [SciDev.net] Conservation efforts in Nepal have been focused on tigers, elephants and one-horned rhinoceros, but not much focus has been placed on the lesser-charismatic Ganges river dolphin. However, the first river dolphin study in two decades estimates that the species has increased to about 50 individuals. What we’re risking by leaving oceans out of climate…

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The Tacana, a Bolivian indigenous group, have spent years developing sustainable land-use methods for their communities. Earlier this week their efforts were rewarded when U.S. actor Alec Baldwin presented the prestigious Equator Prize to the Tacana indigenous council during a ceremony at COP21 in Paris. The Equator Prizes, sponsored by the Equator Initiative, recognize sustainable development solutions. It is a difficult award to obtain; this year there were just 21 winners of the 1,461 nominations from 126 countries. The theme of the 2015 prize was deforestation prevention, seen as a pivotal player in slowing global warming. The Tacana consist of around 20 communities in northwestern Bolivia, near its border with Peru. Through their years of effort, they have legally secured legal rights to more than 389,000 hectares of their traditional land. They work to ensure its protection by developing sustainable livelihoods, conserving biodiversity, and protecting forests. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been facilitating their efforts since 2001, as well as those of other indigenous Bolivian communities. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Andes Amazon Fund, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation are also partners in the Tacana initiative. Nicolas Cartagena (left) and Ruth Chuqui (center) of the Tacana Indigenous Council accept the prestigious Equator Prize (presented by actor Alec Baldwin) at a recent ceremony at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference. Credit: Getty Images for UNDP. In total, WCS estimates that areas under Tacana management have been subject to four times less deforestation…

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Male and infant Río Mayo titi monkey (Callicebus oenanthe), in the Alto Mayo forests of Peru. This species is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, and at risk from illegal trafficking. Adult primates are typically killed and sold as bushmeat, while the young are simultaneously captured and sold for the pet trade. Photo by Anne DeLuycker [dropcap]L[/dropcap]ima’s central markets are famed for sprawling mazes of interconnected shops, organized by product; this block for shoes, that for textiles. At the heart of this bustling district, there is also a niche for the sale of animals — but not your typical kitten or puppy. Sellers push macaws intended as pets; frogs peddled as aphrodisiacs; monkeys purchasable for a price — with only cursory attempts made to conceal blatant ventures into the illegal wildlife trade. Police vigilance has repeatedly closed these shops, but just as often they’ve reopened, though proprietors are increasingly cautious. Each store’s doorway leads to a long central corridor, with tiny rooms sprouting on either side. Dark, narrow staircases go to the upper floors. “That’s where they keep items they cannot openly sell,” said my friend, a biologist born and raised in Lima. We had just entered the market, pretending to shop for a pet monkey. We viewed hundreds of ornamental birds — finches primarily — in cages. But no exotic animals were in view. Innocuous questions to one storeowner were received in stony silence. Another refused to answer even simple queries regarding the price of puppies.…

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In Russia’s Far East, an Amur (or Siberian) tiger named Zolushka has given birth to two cubs in the wild. Zolushka — Russian for Cinderella – was rescued as a starving four-month old cub by hunters, raised in captivity, and then released into Russia’s Bastak Nature Reserve in 2013, forests that had been devoid of tigers for the past 40 years. “This is a watershed event not just for Zolushka, but for the entire population of Amur tigers,” WCS Russia Director Dale Miquelle, said in a statement. “These births mark the return of tigers to habitat that had been lost, and the beginnings of a recovery and expansion of the last remaining Amur tiger population into habitat lost years ago.” Zolushka was a test case for conservation. After being raised in the Aleksayevka Rehabilitation Center for a year, 20-month old Zalushka was released into the forests of Bastak reserve in May 2013. At the time of her release, Zolushka was the only known tiger in the reserve. However, a lone male tiger arrived soon, according to the statement, reportedly after a 200 kilometer (~124 miles) hike from the northern-most portions of current tiger range in Russia. Researchers found tracks of both Zolushka and the male tiger in the reserve. Then on December 9, Ivan Podkolnokov, the reserve inspector responsible for monitoring Zolushka, managed to photograph and film the tigress with two small cubs. “The story of this Cinderella is no fairy tale,” Cristián Samper, WCS President and CEO, said in the statement. “The discovery of Zolushka’s cubs is…

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! We just love this close up of a Massasauga in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user venombill ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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In 2013, European scientists discovered that a deadly chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (or Bsal) was causing mass die-offs in salamander populations across northern Europe. Experts believe that Bsal originated in Asia, and spread to Europe via the international pet trade. Predictably, researchers are worried about Bsal spreading to North America, home to nearly 50 percent of the world’s salamander species. So within a year of the pathogen’s discovery in Europe, conservation groups and researchers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico initiated major response strategies to combat entry and spread of the fungal pathogen in North America and called for swift policy actions, according to a new study published today in PLoS Pathogens. “It is important to remember that Bsal still hasn’t been detected in North America, so we have time and are currently ahead of the curve,” co-author James P. Lewis of the Amphibian Survival Alliance in Texas, U.S., told Mongabay. “But we need these policy measures in place now.” While policies directed towards controlling diseases in humans and livestock are aplenty, those targeting pathogens in wildlife are rare, Lewis said. In Europe for instance, where Bsal has already annihilated various salamander populations, only Switzerland is known to have restricted the import of salamanders, experts say. The Standing Committee to the Bern Convention in Europe also made a number of recommendations to countries in the European Union on December 4, but “these are far from solid policy action taking place,” Lewis said. Ensatina salamander (Ensatina eschscholtzii). Photo…

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The International Iguana Foundation has published a video outlining the crisis faced by the Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei). Endemic to Jamaica, t is the largest native land animal in the country, and is critically endangered, even considered extinct between 1948 and 1990. Once found throughout Jamaica and on the offshore islets Great Goat Island and Little Goat Island, it is now confined to the forests of the Hellshire Hills.

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Save Goat Islands, Jamaica

Jamaica's Portland Bight Protected Area and Goat Islands are threatened by the development of a mega port. This is the last place on earth Jamaican Iguanas exist, and home to tens of thousands of people who depend upon the fisheries of the Portland Bight. If destroyed….. it cannot be replaced. Watch, share, and join us in the fight to protect it. #savegoatislands
Double Life Films Robin Moore Conservation Photographer NatureStills Jamaica Environment Trust

Posted by International Iguana Foundation on Thursday, December 10, 2015

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[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n September 9, I arrived back in Mombasa, Kenya, after an investigative mission to Dubai and Egypt for the independent conservationist Karl Ammann. No region of the world makes it easy for foreigners to document trade in endangered animals, but the Middle East is especially hard to work in. Karl’s writings on his previous missions there are as informative for the stories of stonewalling bureaucrats and run-ins with threatening animal breeders and police as they are for the facts gathered. As tough as the trip was, we did make some interesting finds. One is the possible existence of a super-smuggler of endangered chimpanzees and orangutans who remains completely unknown to the public, though not necessarily to law enforcers. We now know his real name, but on my return in September we had only a nickname for him, the first half of which — Gorge — I use here, and the second half of which is the name of a country home to wild chimpanzees. Gorge would still be unknown to us if an Egyptian conservation friend hadn’t mentioned him to me during our trip, at the end of August. She knew almost nothing about this man, but he was a foreigner and was stirring resentment among Egypt’s well established exotic animal sellers, many of whom keep their breeding facilities in a village near the Giza pyramids. An elder of one of those families had called our friend repeatedly to complain about this Gorge. Shady dealers complaining about another shady dealer.…

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How adorable is this Newt in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user plagueguitarist ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This is an adult East African gaboon viper. Note the very short rostral horns.
Stoked by a moment’s carelessness by a very experienced keeper of hot (=venomous) snakes that resulted in a bite by a Gaboon viper, as well as a number of other widely publicized incidents, the antivenomous lobby has again been awakened.

The bite was a most unfortunate accident for Gaboons are not difficult snakes to work with. In fact, they are among the easiest. A heavy bodied nocturnal ambush predator, Gaboon vipers (aka Gaboon adders) are usually of quiet demeanor during the hours of daylight and although more alert and active at night or when food is offered they are, except for a defensive or feeding strike, neither especially fast nor agile. Their remarkably pretty coloration and patterns render the species (here I am considering both the eastern and the western forms subspecies—Bitis gabonica gabonica and B. g. rhinoceros respectively— rather than genetically distinct full species). That Gaboons have long fangs and are able to expend a large amount of complex venom is unquestioned. The whys, wherefores, and legalities, of these potentially dangerous snakes being kept by hobbyists perplex non-herpers. Since a Gaboon viper was one of the first exotic snakes that I, as a herper, maintained, this is not a question I dwell long upon. I need only see—or not see, as the case may be—a Gaboon camouflaged against a leafy background and the “whys” answer themselves.

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A pair of critically endangered Takahē released on Maungatautari Mountain. Image in the public domain provided by the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust Imagine yourself surrounded by wispy branches, by an echoing chorus of bird songs, and by the scrutinizing gazes of lizards. You may ask yourself, where am I? The answer is…complicated, for you have found yourself neither in a zoo, nor in the wild. You are somewhere in between: a mainland island. The ‘mainland island’ is a new type of conservation inspired by the widespread success of pest eradication and the subsequent return of native flora and fauna on offshore islands in New Zealand. But unlike real islands, the mainland island model uses predator-proof fences to create a barrier isolating the reserve from adjacent landscapes, much like what oceans do for offshore islands. While some academics such as University of Canterbury professor, R. Paul Scofield, are skeptical of their success, projects like the Maungatautari Reserve in the Waikato region of New Zealand reveal a new potential for ecosystem reserves: their cultural services. The success of mainland islands is evident not only in the revival of native ecosystems, but also in the ways they have benefitted local and national communities. The management of mainland islands has brought together mutual stakeholders while the international attention has attracted travelers from around the world and boosted the economy. The predator-proof fence found in Maungatautari. Image in the public domain provided by the Maungatautari Ecological Island…

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