More than 10,000 snakes bound for China were seized recently in Burma.
The Associated Press, 1/20/12
YANGON - Forestry officials in central Burma have seized nearly 10,000 snakes in 400 crates that were to be smuggled to China.
The weekly journal Modern reported Friday that 50 cobras were among the 9,176 snakes seized in Pyin Oo Lwin district near Mandalay on Jan. 12.
Wildlife smuggling is endemic in Asia, where exotic species are used for food and traditional medicine.
The report did not say how many people were arrested but said those involved would be charged under the Protection of Wildlife and Conservation of Natural Areas law, which carries a five-year prison sentence.
It said the 7,000 non-poisonous snakes were released into a wildlife reserve, while the vipers and cobras were sent to the state pharmaceutical company for their venom.
Showing posts with label Snakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snakes. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Pythons and Anacondas banned from US import and transportation
Burmese pythons target birds
January 2012. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has banned the importation and interstate transportation of four non-native constrictor snakes. Release of snakes into the wild is threatening birds and other animals in the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems across the United States.
January 2012. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has banned the importation and interstate transportation of four non-native constrictor snakes. Release of snakes into the wild is threatening birds and other animals in the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems across the United States.
"In recent years, the release of nonnative snakes into sensitive bird habitats such as the Florida Everglades has reached epidemic proportions," said George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation's leading bird conservation organization. "Unwitting individuals are buying these animals only to later realize they can't keep a six-foot-long snake in their homes. They dump them in the wild, where they breed and feed on native birds and other wildlife."
Burmese python, the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern African python
The final FWS rule - which incorporates public comments, economic analysis, and environmental assessment - lists the Burmese python, the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern African pythons as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act in order to restrict their spread in the wild in the United States. It is expected to be published in the Federal Register in coming days. Sixty days after publication, interstate transport and importation of live individuals, gametes, viable eggs, or hybrids of the four snakes into the United States will be prohibited.
The action is supported by wildlife conservation organizations, including ABC, which had sent a letter to FWS in April 2008 calling for the ban. "This was a decision that had to be made. Populations of long-lived and reproductively prolific invasive snake species, such as the Burmese python, represent an ecological and economic disaster that can quickly overtake even the most far-reaching eradication efforts to protect endangered and declining species," Fenwick said.
Brown tree snake on Guam
Fenwick cited the widespread destructive impacts that resulted from introduction of the brown tree snake to Guam from its native range of New Guinea and Australia in the 1950s. Preying on eggs and birds alike, the brown tree snake has caused the extinction of nine of the eleven native land bird species on Guam. "Its predation of native birds has been so complete that the brown tree snake now survives by feeding almost exclusively on the island's lizard species," he said.
The final FWS rule - which incorporates public comments, economic analysis, and environmental assessment - lists the Burmese python, the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern African pythons as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act in order to restrict their spread in the wild in the United States. It is expected to be published in the Federal Register in coming days. Sixty days after publication, interstate transport and importation of live individuals, gametes, viable eggs, or hybrids of the four snakes into the United States will be prohibited.
The action is supported by wildlife conservation organizations, including ABC, which had sent a letter to FWS in April 2008 calling for the ban. "This was a decision that had to be made. Populations of long-lived and reproductively prolific invasive snake species, such as the Burmese python, represent an ecological and economic disaster that can quickly overtake even the most far-reaching eradication efforts to protect endangered and declining species," Fenwick said.
Brown tree snake on Guam
Fenwick cited the widespread destructive impacts that resulted from introduction of the brown tree snake to Guam from its native range of New Guinea and Australia in the 1950s. Preying on eggs and birds alike, the brown tree snake has caused the extinction of nine of the eleven native land bird species on Guam. "Its predation of native birds has been so complete that the brown tree snake now survives by feeding almost exclusively on the island's lizard species," he said.
South Florida & Everglades
The Burmese python has established breeding populations in South Florida, including the Everglades, and caused significant damage to wildlife. It continues to pose a great risk to many native birds, including threatened and endangered species. Burmese pythons on North Key Largo have killed and eaten highly endangered Key Largo wood rats, and other pythons have preyed on endangered wood storks.
The Burmese python has established breeding populations in South Florida, including the Everglades, and caused significant damage to wildlife. It continues to pose a great risk to many native birds, including threatened and endangered species. Burmese pythons on North Key Largo have killed and eaten highly endangered Key Largo wood rats, and other pythons have preyed on endangered wood storks.
Birds targeted by Burmese pythons
According to a recent study of the intestines of 56 captured Burmese pythons in or adjacent to Everglades National Park, 50 were found to have eaten multiple bird species, including White Ibis, Limpkins, King Rails, and Clapper Rails.
According to a recent study of the intestines of 56 captured Burmese pythons in or adjacent to Everglades National Park, 50 were found to have eaten multiple bird species, including White Ibis, Limpkins, King Rails, and Clapper Rails.
In the Everglades alone, state and federal agencies have spent millions of dollars addressing threats posed by pythons - an amount far less than is needed to combat their spread. If these species spread to other areas, state and federal agencies in these areas could be forced to spend more money for control and containment purposes.
Those who already own any of these four species of banned snakes will be allowed to keep them if allowed by state law. However, they will no longer be able to take, send, or sell them across state lines. Those who wish to export these species may do so from a designated port within their state only after acquiring appropriate permits from FWS.
FWS is also considering banning five other species of nonnative snakes that the agency also proposed in 2010 - the reticulated python, boa constrictor, DeSchauensee's anaconda, green anaconda, and Beni anaconda.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Angry India charmer lets loose snakes in office
An angry snakecharmer in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has let loose dozens of snakes in a government office, sparking chaos and panic.
Hakkul, of Lara village in Basti district, dumped the snakes, including a number of cobras, at the land revenue office in Harraiya town on Tuesday.
Many of the frightened villagers and officials ran out of the office, while others climbed on top of tables.
No-one was bitten or injured but the snakes are yet to be caught.
Plot of land
Mr Hakkul is usually called in whenever a snake is spotted in the area and he has saved many lives over the years, local journalist Mazhar Azad told the BBC.
Mr Hakkul has petitioned various government offices over the years demanding a plot of land where he can "conserve" his snakes.
Mr Azad said Mr Hakkul had even petitioned the president.
Read more here ...
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Save the Snakes: One Man's Mission (Via Herp Digest)
Save the Snakes: One Man's Mission
Editor - Scoop just posted it on the net where I found it.
By Grace Smith, 9/24/11 The Scoop, Celebrates rural life in Stone Mills, Ontario and beyond...
Snakes have been around for over 100 million years, but today, they are threatened by none other than human beings. We have come to fear our slithering friends, lashing out at what is unknown, and our actions may completely stamp out their entire existence.
But not if Matt Ellerbeck has anything to say about it.
Ellerbeck, or the Snake Man as he is known, is a snake advocate and conservationist. His mission is "to help contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered snake species and declining snake populations. And to help bring an end to immense cruelty and abuse that snakes often face."
Ellerbeck, who is a native of the area, grew up around snakes. He was never taught to fear or hate them like many people have and that has made all the difference.
As a child, he spent all of his summers at his grandparents' cottage, prowling around marshes, ponds, swamps and forests. This is where he first became acquainted with his favourite reptile: snakes, and his interest grew.
Over the years, he has encountered and observed thousands of snakes but he soon discovered that people did not share his interest: "I learned quickly that many people harbour a fear and hatred of these animals and this concerned me. When I heard people say negative things about snakes, I would defend them."
Ellerbeck's interest in snakes only grew as the years passed. "As I got older, my passion and concern for snakes never waned and in 2004, I approached the local conservation authority about developing a snake conservation outreach program." The objective of this program was to educate people about the true nature of snakes as an effort to help alleviate the hatred and persecution that snakes often receive: "So many myths and misconceptions surround snakes and this misinformation certainly contributes to people's ill feelings towards them."
Plainly, people need to be taught.
Ellerbeck does this by providing people with much needed information about snakes. To get his point across, he uses the media, social networking sites, fact sheets and educational presentations.
I was given the opportunity to attend one of Ellerbeck's presentations at Desert Lake Family Resort-where he has been giving presentations regularly since September 2005-and I wasn't disappointed. Ellerbeck's presentation was quite informative, entertaining and enlightening. He spoke passionately, acting as a voice for his silent friends. He touched on many topics during his presentation: myths and misconceptions concerning snakes, how the media has misconstrued the way we view snakes, how humans are endangering the lives of snakes everywhere and what we can do to save them. And not only did Ellerbeck use facts to support his words, he showed us. He used live snakes in his presentation as a way of proving that snakes are gentle, docile creatures that have been given an undeserved, bad reputation. He even encouraged us to pet the snakes.
Ellerbeck does not promote keeping snakes as pets; however the snakes in his presentations have all been rescued from homes where they were neglected or even abused. Though he is breaking his own rule, Ellerbeck uses these snakes for the greater good of all snakes, and it worked. I came into the presentation slightly fearful and very weary, but walked away, after even petting some of the snakes-something I thought I'd never do-very informed and not afraid.
But I shouldn't have been surprised. He has given hundreds of educational presentations on snakes to thousands of people over the years at many different locations, including: St. Lawrence Islands National Park, the Green Up Environmental Festivals, King's Town Private School, Ernestown Secondary School, St. Lawrence College, Queen's University, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Desert Lake Family Resort.
After all, Ellerbeck's work has earned him several honours: he was presented with a special honorarium from the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority to recognize his dedication to snake conservation, he was nominated for a Green Globe Award from the Commerce and Engineering Environment Conference, he was named a Visionary by Within Kingston Magazine and he has been described as "so full of enthusiasm, he looks like he will burst at any moment" by the South Frontenac Natural Environment Committee.
Ellerbeck has appeared in media in Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Montreal and Manitoba. This includes television, radio, newspapers and magazines. He has also been featured in American media in many different states and internationally in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Ellerbeck runs numerous online campaigns about snakes to raise awareness. He has also taken in many snakes from neglectful homes and cared for them. These include: anacondas, a Burmese python, a reticulated python, boa constrictors, Amazon tree boas, rear fanged colubrids, several cobras and many more.
And all of this is done in the name of snakes. But you might ask: why should we save the snakes? The answer is simply - snakes are beneficial animals to have around.
Many snakes' diets consist of insects and rodents. When snake populations decline, the populations of these prey increase, often causing problems for humans, such as: rodent and insect infestations, destroyed crops and spread of unwanted diseases. Snakes keep the number of insects and rodents in check and they do it naturally-without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides. Also, snakes help save millions of lives every year. Snake venoms are used to treat many serious health problems like cancers, heart and stroke disease, Parkinson's and many more.
Snakes are our friends, but they are disappearing fast and it is our fault. All of Ontario's 16 snake species are in decline and over half are federally listed as a Species At Risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
Snakes are dying off as a direct result of human beings. Threats such as habitat destruction and road mortality contribute to the loss of snakes, but the largest threat is the deliberate and malicious killings done by fearful people. Unfortunately this fear is undeserved. Many people believe that snakes are aggressive and poisonous. However, this is not true. Snakes are shy and timid and will try to avoid conflict at all costs. They will not make unprovoked attacks on people.
If humans come into contact with a snake, the snake's first instinct is to flee to shelter. If it can't do this, it may stay perfectly still to try to blend into its surroundings. And even if it is captured, it still may not resort to biting. It may hiss, make mock strikes with a closed mouth or flail around to try and escape. Snake bites on humans usually only happen when someone is deliberately provoking or harming a snake and they bite in self-defence, and even then they don't usually inject venom. This is no different than any other animal, including cats and dogs.
So how can you save the snakes?
If you see a snake on the road, help it across. Walking towards it will likely cause it to slither away.
Do not buy snake products of any kind.
Do not use rat poison.
Do not use erosion netting or any similar netting and traps.
Do not catch snakes from the wild for pets.
Do not release captive or exotic snakes into the wild.
Do not support snake charmers or "side show" snake handlers
When out in natural areas that snakes frequent, be respectful.
Properly dispose of garbage and recycle.
Do not pick up, handle or capture snakes in the wild, observe only.
Send out positive messages about snakes to people. Keep others informed.
Do what you can to save the snakes. People everywhere are ignorant to the truth about them, but you can help Matt Ellerbeck on his quest to change all of that; "My mission is to educate and inspire people to want to protect snakes and become their stewards."
If we all follow in his example, the world will be a better place in which snakes
everywhere will not have to fear for their lives and we will know better than to fear them.
If you would like to contact Matt Ellerbeck, you may email him at mattellerbeck@live.com or visit his website, www.the-snake-man.com.
By Grace Smith, 9/24/11 The Scoop, Celebrates rural life in Stone Mills, Ontario and beyond...
Snakes have been around for over 100 million years, but today, they are threatened by none other than human beings. We have come to fear our slithering friends, lashing out at what is unknown, and our actions may completely stamp out their entire existence.
But not if Matt Ellerbeck has anything to say about it.
Ellerbeck, or the Snake Man as he is known, is a snake advocate and conservationist. His mission is "to help contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered snake species and declining snake populations. And to help bring an end to immense cruelty and abuse that snakes often face."
Ellerbeck, who is a native of the area, grew up around snakes. He was never taught to fear or hate them like many people have and that has made all the difference.
As a child, he spent all of his summers at his grandparents' cottage, prowling around marshes, ponds, swamps and forests. This is where he first became acquainted with his favourite reptile: snakes, and his interest grew.
Over the years, he has encountered and observed thousands of snakes but he soon discovered that people did not share his interest: "I learned quickly that many people harbour a fear and hatred of these animals and this concerned me. When I heard people say negative things about snakes, I would defend them."
Ellerbeck's interest in snakes only grew as the years passed. "As I got older, my passion and concern for snakes never waned and in 2004, I approached the local conservation authority about developing a snake conservation outreach program." The objective of this program was to educate people about the true nature of snakes as an effort to help alleviate the hatred and persecution that snakes often receive: "So many myths and misconceptions surround snakes and this misinformation certainly contributes to people's ill feelings towards them."
Plainly, people need to be taught.
Ellerbeck does this by providing people with much needed information about snakes. To get his point across, he uses the media, social networking sites, fact sheets and educational presentations.
I was given the opportunity to attend one of Ellerbeck's presentations at Desert Lake Family Resort-where he has been giving presentations regularly since September 2005-and I wasn't disappointed. Ellerbeck's presentation was quite informative, entertaining and enlightening. He spoke passionately, acting as a voice for his silent friends. He touched on many topics during his presentation: myths and misconceptions concerning snakes, how the media has misconstrued the way we view snakes, how humans are endangering the lives of snakes everywhere and what we can do to save them. And not only did Ellerbeck use facts to support his words, he showed us. He used live snakes in his presentation as a way of proving that snakes are gentle, docile creatures that have been given an undeserved, bad reputation. He even encouraged us to pet the snakes.
Ellerbeck does not promote keeping snakes as pets; however the snakes in his presentations have all been rescued from homes where they were neglected or even abused. Though he is breaking his own rule, Ellerbeck uses these snakes for the greater good of all snakes, and it worked. I came into the presentation slightly fearful and very weary, but walked away, after even petting some of the snakes-something I thought I'd never do-very informed and not afraid.
But I shouldn't have been surprised. He has given hundreds of educational presentations on snakes to thousands of people over the years at many different locations, including: St. Lawrence Islands National Park, the Green Up Environmental Festivals, King's Town Private School, Ernestown Secondary School, St. Lawrence College, Queen's University, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Desert Lake Family Resort.
After all, Ellerbeck's work has earned him several honours: he was presented with a special honorarium from the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority to recognize his dedication to snake conservation, he was nominated for a Green Globe Award from the Commerce and Engineering Environment Conference, he was named a Visionary by Within Kingston Magazine and he has been described as "so full of enthusiasm, he looks like he will burst at any moment" by the South Frontenac Natural Environment Committee.
Ellerbeck has appeared in media in Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Montreal and Manitoba. This includes television, radio, newspapers and magazines. He has also been featured in American media in many different states and internationally in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Ellerbeck runs numerous online campaigns about snakes to raise awareness. He has also taken in many snakes from neglectful homes and cared for them. These include: anacondas, a Burmese python, a reticulated python, boa constrictors, Amazon tree boas, rear fanged colubrids, several cobras and many more.
And all of this is done in the name of snakes. But you might ask: why should we save the snakes? The answer is simply - snakes are beneficial animals to have around.
Many snakes' diets consist of insects and rodents. When snake populations decline, the populations of these prey increase, often causing problems for humans, such as: rodent and insect infestations, destroyed crops and spread of unwanted diseases. Snakes keep the number of insects and rodents in check and they do it naturally-without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides. Also, snakes help save millions of lives every year. Snake venoms are used to treat many serious health problems like cancers, heart and stroke disease, Parkinson's and many more.
Snakes are our friends, but they are disappearing fast and it is our fault. All of Ontario's 16 snake species are in decline and over half are federally listed as a Species At Risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
Snakes are dying off as a direct result of human beings. Threats such as habitat destruction and road mortality contribute to the loss of snakes, but the largest threat is the deliberate and malicious killings done by fearful people. Unfortunately this fear is undeserved. Many people believe that snakes are aggressive and poisonous. However, this is not true. Snakes are shy and timid and will try to avoid conflict at all costs. They will not make unprovoked attacks on people.
If humans come into contact with a snake, the snake's first instinct is to flee to shelter. If it can't do this, it may stay perfectly still to try to blend into its surroundings. And even if it is captured, it still may not resort to biting. It may hiss, make mock strikes with a closed mouth or flail around to try and escape. Snake bites on humans usually only happen when someone is deliberately provoking or harming a snake and they bite in self-defence, and even then they don't usually inject venom. This is no different than any other animal, including cats and dogs.
So how can you save the snakes?
If you see a snake on the road, help it across. Walking towards it will likely cause it to slither away.
Do not buy snake products of any kind.
Do not use rat poison.
Do not use erosion netting or any similar netting and traps.
Do not catch snakes from the wild for pets.
Do not release captive or exotic snakes into the wild.
Do not support snake charmers or "side show" snake handlers
When out in natural areas that snakes frequent, be respectful.
Properly dispose of garbage and recycle.
Do not pick up, handle or capture snakes in the wild, observe only.
Send out positive messages about snakes to people. Keep others informed.
Do what you can to save the snakes. People everywhere are ignorant to the truth about them, but you can help Matt Ellerbeck on his quest to change all of that; "My mission is to educate and inspire people to want to protect snakes and become their stewards."
If we all follow in his example, the world will be a better place in which snakes
everywhere will not have to fear for their lives and we will know better than to fear them.
If you would like to contact Matt Ellerbeck, you may email him at mattellerbeck@live.com
or visit his website, www.the-snake-man.com.
Editor - Scoop just posted it on the net where I found it.
By Grace Smith, 9/24/11 The Scoop, Celebrates rural life in Stone Mills, Ontario and beyond...
Snakes have been around for over 100 million years, but today, they are threatened by none other than human beings. We have come to fear our slithering friends, lashing out at what is unknown, and our actions may completely stamp out their entire existence.
But not if Matt Ellerbeck has anything to say about it.
Ellerbeck, or the Snake Man as he is known, is a snake advocate and conservationist. His mission is "to help contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered snake species and declining snake populations. And to help bring an end to immense cruelty and abuse that snakes often face."
Ellerbeck, who is a native of the area, grew up around snakes. He was never taught to fear or hate them like many people have and that has made all the difference.
As a child, he spent all of his summers at his grandparents' cottage, prowling around marshes, ponds, swamps and forests. This is where he first became acquainted with his favourite reptile: snakes, and his interest grew.
Over the years, he has encountered and observed thousands of snakes but he soon discovered that people did not share his interest: "I learned quickly that many people harbour a fear and hatred of these animals and this concerned me. When I heard people say negative things about snakes, I would defend them."
Ellerbeck's interest in snakes only grew as the years passed. "As I got older, my passion and concern for snakes never waned and in 2004, I approached the local conservation authority about developing a snake conservation outreach program." The objective of this program was to educate people about the true nature of snakes as an effort to help alleviate the hatred and persecution that snakes often receive: "So many myths and misconceptions surround snakes and this misinformation certainly contributes to people's ill feelings towards them."
Plainly, people need to be taught.
Ellerbeck does this by providing people with much needed information about snakes. To get his point across, he uses the media, social networking sites, fact sheets and educational presentations.
I was given the opportunity to attend one of Ellerbeck's presentations at Desert Lake Family Resort-where he has been giving presentations regularly since September 2005-and I wasn't disappointed. Ellerbeck's presentation was quite informative, entertaining and enlightening. He spoke passionately, acting as a voice for his silent friends. He touched on many topics during his presentation: myths and misconceptions concerning snakes, how the media has misconstrued the way we view snakes, how humans are endangering the lives of snakes everywhere and what we can do to save them. And not only did Ellerbeck use facts to support his words, he showed us. He used live snakes in his presentation as a way of proving that snakes are gentle, docile creatures that have been given an undeserved, bad reputation. He even encouraged us to pet the snakes.
Ellerbeck does not promote keeping snakes as pets; however the snakes in his presentations have all been rescued from homes where they were neglected or even abused. Though he is breaking his own rule, Ellerbeck uses these snakes for the greater good of all snakes, and it worked. I came into the presentation slightly fearful and very weary, but walked away, after even petting some of the snakes-something I thought I'd never do-very informed and not afraid.
But I shouldn't have been surprised. He has given hundreds of educational presentations on snakes to thousands of people over the years at many different locations, including: St. Lawrence Islands National Park, the Green Up Environmental Festivals, King's Town Private School, Ernestown Secondary School, St. Lawrence College, Queen's University, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Desert Lake Family Resort.
After all, Ellerbeck's work has earned him several honours: he was presented with a special honorarium from the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority to recognize his dedication to snake conservation, he was nominated for a Green Globe Award from the Commerce and Engineering Environment Conference, he was named a Visionary by Within Kingston Magazine and he has been described as "so full of enthusiasm, he looks like he will burst at any moment" by the South Frontenac Natural Environment Committee.
Ellerbeck has appeared in media in Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Montreal and Manitoba. This includes television, radio, newspapers and magazines. He has also been featured in American media in many different states and internationally in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Ellerbeck runs numerous online campaigns about snakes to raise awareness. He has also taken in many snakes from neglectful homes and cared for them. These include: anacondas, a Burmese python, a reticulated python, boa constrictors, Amazon tree boas, rear fanged colubrids, several cobras and many more.
And all of this is done in the name of snakes. But you might ask: why should we save the snakes? The answer is simply - snakes are beneficial animals to have around.
Many snakes' diets consist of insects and rodents. When snake populations decline, the populations of these prey increase, often causing problems for humans, such as: rodent and insect infestations, destroyed crops and spread of unwanted diseases. Snakes keep the number of insects and rodents in check and they do it naturally-without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides. Also, snakes help save millions of lives every year. Snake venoms are used to treat many serious health problems like cancers, heart and stroke disease, Parkinson's and many more.
Snakes are our friends, but they are disappearing fast and it is our fault. All of Ontario's 16 snake species are in decline and over half are federally listed as a Species At Risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
Snakes are dying off as a direct result of human beings. Threats such as habitat destruction and road mortality contribute to the loss of snakes, but the largest threat is the deliberate and malicious killings done by fearful people. Unfortunately this fear is undeserved. Many people believe that snakes are aggressive and poisonous. However, this is not true. Snakes are shy and timid and will try to avoid conflict at all costs. They will not make unprovoked attacks on people.
If humans come into contact with a snake, the snake's first instinct is to flee to shelter. If it can't do this, it may stay perfectly still to try to blend into its surroundings. And even if it is captured, it still may not resort to biting. It may hiss, make mock strikes with a closed mouth or flail around to try and escape. Snake bites on humans usually only happen when someone is deliberately provoking or harming a snake and they bite in self-defence, and even then they don't usually inject venom. This is no different than any other animal, including cats and dogs.
So how can you save the snakes?
If you see a snake on the road, help it across. Walking towards it will likely cause it to slither away.
Do not buy snake products of any kind.
Do not use rat poison.
Do not use erosion netting or any similar netting and traps.
Do not catch snakes from the wild for pets.
Do not release captive or exotic snakes into the wild.
Do not support snake charmers or "side show" snake handlers
When out in natural areas that snakes frequent, be respectful.
Properly dispose of garbage and recycle.
Do not pick up, handle or capture snakes in the wild, observe only.
Send out positive messages about snakes to people. Keep others informed.
Do what you can to save the snakes. People everywhere are ignorant to the truth about them, but you can help Matt Ellerbeck on his quest to change all of that; "My mission is to educate and inspire people to want to protect snakes and become their stewards."
If we all follow in his example, the world will be a better place in which snakes
everywhere will not have to fear for their lives and we will know better than to fear them.
If you would like to contact Matt Ellerbeck, you may email him at mattellerbeck@live.com or visit his website, www.the-snake-man.com.
By Grace Smith, 9/24/11 The Scoop, Celebrates rural life in Stone Mills, Ontario and beyond...
Snakes have been around for over 100 million years, but today, they are threatened by none other than human beings. We have come to fear our slithering friends, lashing out at what is unknown, and our actions may completely stamp out their entire existence.
But not if Matt Ellerbeck has anything to say about it.
Ellerbeck, or the Snake Man as he is known, is a snake advocate and conservationist. His mission is "to help contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered snake species and declining snake populations. And to help bring an end to immense cruelty and abuse that snakes often face."
Ellerbeck, who is a native of the area, grew up around snakes. He was never taught to fear or hate them like many people have and that has made all the difference.
As a child, he spent all of his summers at his grandparents' cottage, prowling around marshes, ponds, swamps and forests. This is where he first became acquainted with his favourite reptile: snakes, and his interest grew.
Over the years, he has encountered and observed thousands of snakes but he soon discovered that people did not share his interest: "I learned quickly that many people harbour a fear and hatred of these animals and this concerned me. When I heard people say negative things about snakes, I would defend them."
Ellerbeck's interest in snakes only grew as the years passed. "As I got older, my passion and concern for snakes never waned and in 2004, I approached the local conservation authority about developing a snake conservation outreach program." The objective of this program was to educate people about the true nature of snakes as an effort to help alleviate the hatred and persecution that snakes often receive: "So many myths and misconceptions surround snakes and this misinformation certainly contributes to people's ill feelings towards them."
Plainly, people need to be taught.
Ellerbeck does this by providing people with much needed information about snakes. To get his point across, he uses the media, social networking sites, fact sheets and educational presentations.
I was given the opportunity to attend one of Ellerbeck's presentations at Desert Lake Family Resort-where he has been giving presentations regularly since September 2005-and I wasn't disappointed. Ellerbeck's presentation was quite informative, entertaining and enlightening. He spoke passionately, acting as a voice for his silent friends. He touched on many topics during his presentation: myths and misconceptions concerning snakes, how the media has misconstrued the way we view snakes, how humans are endangering the lives of snakes everywhere and what we can do to save them. And not only did Ellerbeck use facts to support his words, he showed us. He used live snakes in his presentation as a way of proving that snakes are gentle, docile creatures that have been given an undeserved, bad reputation. He even encouraged us to pet the snakes.
Ellerbeck does not promote keeping snakes as pets; however the snakes in his presentations have all been rescued from homes where they were neglected or even abused. Though he is breaking his own rule, Ellerbeck uses these snakes for the greater good of all snakes, and it worked. I came into the presentation slightly fearful and very weary, but walked away, after even petting some of the snakes-something I thought I'd never do-very informed and not afraid.
But I shouldn't have been surprised. He has given hundreds of educational presentations on snakes to thousands of people over the years at many different locations, including: St. Lawrence Islands National Park, the Green Up Environmental Festivals, King's Town Private School, Ernestown Secondary School, St. Lawrence College, Queen's University, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Desert Lake Family Resort.
After all, Ellerbeck's work has earned him several honours: he was presented with a special honorarium from the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority to recognize his dedication to snake conservation, he was nominated for a Green Globe Award from the Commerce and Engineering Environment Conference, he was named a Visionary by Within Kingston Magazine and he has been described as "so full of enthusiasm, he looks like he will burst at any moment" by the South Frontenac Natural Environment Committee.
Ellerbeck has appeared in media in Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Montreal and Manitoba. This includes television, radio, newspapers and magazines. He has also been featured in American media in many different states and internationally in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Ellerbeck runs numerous online campaigns about snakes to raise awareness. He has also taken in many snakes from neglectful homes and cared for them. These include: anacondas, a Burmese python, a reticulated python, boa constrictors, Amazon tree boas, rear fanged colubrids, several cobras and many more.
And all of this is done in the name of snakes. But you might ask: why should we save the snakes? The answer is simply - snakes are beneficial animals to have around.
Many snakes' diets consist of insects and rodents. When snake populations decline, the populations of these prey increase, often causing problems for humans, such as: rodent and insect infestations, destroyed crops and spread of unwanted diseases. Snakes keep the number of insects and rodents in check and they do it naturally-without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides. Also, snakes help save millions of lives every year. Snake venoms are used to treat many serious health problems like cancers, heart and stroke disease, Parkinson's and many more.
Snakes are our friends, but they are disappearing fast and it is our fault. All of Ontario's 16 snake species are in decline and over half are federally listed as a Species At Risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
Snakes are dying off as a direct result of human beings. Threats such as habitat destruction and road mortality contribute to the loss of snakes, but the largest threat is the deliberate and malicious killings done by fearful people. Unfortunately this fear is undeserved. Many people believe that snakes are aggressive and poisonous. However, this is not true. Snakes are shy and timid and will try to avoid conflict at all costs. They will not make unprovoked attacks on people.
If humans come into contact with a snake, the snake's first instinct is to flee to shelter. If it can't do this, it may stay perfectly still to try to blend into its surroundings. And even if it is captured, it still may not resort to biting. It may hiss, make mock strikes with a closed mouth or flail around to try and escape. Snake bites on humans usually only happen when someone is deliberately provoking or harming a snake and they bite in self-defence, and even then they don't usually inject venom. This is no different than any other animal, including cats and dogs.
So how can you save the snakes?
If you see a snake on the road, help it across. Walking towards it will likely cause it to slither away.
Do not buy snake products of any kind.
Do not use rat poison.
Do not use erosion netting or any similar netting and traps.
Do not catch snakes from the wild for pets.
Do not release captive or exotic snakes into the wild.
Do not support snake charmers or "side show" snake handlers
When out in natural areas that snakes frequent, be respectful.
Properly dispose of garbage and recycle.
Do not pick up, handle or capture snakes in the wild, observe only.
Send out positive messages about snakes to people. Keep others informed.
Do what you can to save the snakes. People everywhere are ignorant to the truth about them, but you can help Matt Ellerbeck on his quest to change all of that; "My mission is to educate and inspire people to want to protect snakes and become their stewards."
If we all follow in his example, the world will be a better place in which snakes
everywhere will not have to fear for their lives and we will know better than to fear them.
If you would like to contact Matt Ellerbeck, you may email him at mattellerbeck@live.com
or visit his website, www.the-snake-man.com.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Man withdraws snake from cash machine
A Spanish man had a shock when he went to withdraw some money - and a snake came slithering out of the cash machine.
The man had stopped to get some cash from a branch of the Caja Madrid bank in Llodio, Alava, at 8am on his way to work.
The middle-aged man managed to grab hold of his money despite the snake attempting to attack him, reports Euro Weekly News.
He then alerted the police, who arrived on the scene, and with the help of the bank manager, discovered that the snake was trapped by the mechanism of the cash point.
The manager activated it from the inside, freeing the snake, which was put in a box and taken to a shelter.
Police say they have not ruled out the possibility that someone may have put it there for a prank.
However, they say that it is a rural area so it's possible the snake got there of its own accord.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Man_withdraws_snake_from_cash_machine
The man had stopped to get some cash from a branch of the Caja Madrid bank in Llodio, Alava, at 8am on his way to work.
The middle-aged man managed to grab hold of his money despite the snake attempting to attack him, reports Euro Weekly News.
He then alerted the police, who arrived on the scene, and with the help of the bank manager, discovered that the snake was trapped by the mechanism of the cash point.
The manager activated it from the inside, freeing the snake, which was put in a box and taken to a shelter.
Police say they have not ruled out the possibility that someone may have put it there for a prank.
However, they say that it is a rural area so it's possible the snake got there of its own accord.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Man_withdraws_snake_from_cash_machine
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Hanoi village conserves snake business (Via Herp Digest)
SÀI GÒN GIAI PHONG (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) 8/22/11 Legend has it that during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong of Vietnam, (1072-1127 A.D.), a brave man named Hoang killed a treacherous sea serpent and rescued a princess in a fierce combat. He refused all rewards offered by the King, but instead wished to establish prosperous hamlets, west of the kingdom.
When he died, villagers in the hamlets began worshiping him as their Patron Saint and developed businesses based on snakes to honor his victory over the sea serpent.
Le Mat villagers learnt how to cook snakes into many delicacy dishes such as baked snakes dipped in pepper and salt dip-sauce, fried snakes with onion and garlic and crispy mince snake meat. Such delicacies of Le Mat village have become so popular that hundreds of foreign and domestic visitors now patronize the village every day.
Today the village is developing its eco-tourism along with its traditional snake business in order to preserve the ancient customs of the village and also present them to the world, said Truong Ba Huan, head of the management committee of Le Mat village.
Despite rapid urbanization, Le Mat villagers preserve their traditional lifestyle by living in ancient Vietnamese style village communal houses, maintain water wells and conserve old banyan trees and their traditional snake business which gives this village its own unique charm.
When he died, villagers in the hamlets began worshiping him as their Patron Saint and developed businesses based on snakes to honor his victory over the sea serpent.
Le Mat villagers learnt how to cook snakes into many delicacy dishes such as baked snakes dipped in pepper and salt dip-sauce, fried snakes with onion and garlic and crispy mince snake meat. Such delicacies of Le Mat village have become so popular that hundreds of foreign and domestic visitors now patronize the village every day.
Today the village is developing its eco-tourism along with its traditional snake business in order to preserve the ancient customs of the village and also present them to the world, said Truong Ba Huan, head of the management committee of Le Mat village.
Despite rapid urbanization, Le Mat villagers preserve their traditional lifestyle by living in ancient Vietnamese style village communal houses, maintain water wells and conserve old banyan trees and their traditional snake business which gives this village its own unique charm.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Huge snake found in engine during MOT
A British mechanic got the shock of his life during a routine inspection - he lifted the bonnet of a customer's car and found a five-foot long boa constrictor nestling underneath.
The five-inch thick snake was curled up in a space in the engine bay of a blue MINI Cooper. The car was about to undergo an MOT test at Carringtons of Oxford.
Mechanic Wayne Hunt, said: "We immediately called the RSPCA to collect the snake, since it didn't belong to the customer and we had no idea who owned it.
"We also wanted to make sure we didn't harm the reptile in removing it, as we're more used to working on brakes than snakes!"
According to the RSPCA the snake looked thinner than a normal sized boa constrictor, which suggests that it had been nestled under the bonnet for a while.
It's thought to be the first incident of its kind in the UK, and no-one knows where the snake came from.
Mark Nichol
The five-inch thick snake was curled up in a space in the engine bay of a blue MINI Cooper. The car was about to undergo an MOT test at Carringtons of Oxford.
Mechanic Wayne Hunt, said: "We immediately called the RSPCA to collect the snake, since it didn't belong to the customer and we had no idea who owned it.
"We also wanted to make sure we didn't harm the reptile in removing it, as we're more used to working on brakes than snakes!"
According to the RSPCA the snake looked thinner than a normal sized boa constrictor, which suggests that it had been nestled under the bonnet for a while.
It's thought to be the first incident of its kind in the UK, and no-one knows where the snake came from.
Mark Nichol
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Snake Knocks Out Ballwinites' Electricity
A dastardly reptile took out power for more than 14,000 people around Ballwin and more throughout St. Louis County on Thursday.
More than 14,000 customers around Ballwin lost their electrical power Thursday morning, the Ameren Missouri website reported, but the culprit behind the outage wasn't weather nor construction.
"(It was) Mother Nature seeking revenge or whatever you want to call it, but a snake got into one of our substations," said Kent Martin, spokesman for Ameren Missouri. “It’s that time of year and they’re looking for food, so they’ll climb trees hoping to get in and try to make a nest.”
Martin said the snake, or "what was left of it," was found inside a transformer at a substation outside Marshall, ultimately causing an outage for about 25,000 people throughout West St. Louis County.
"It's a little bit different, but like I said, critters can find a way," Martin said. "We put down snake repellent—you name it. But they find a way in."
Martin said the restoration process for the vast majority of affected customers took about 31 minutes.
“We’re down to very few right now.”
Martin said that included a relatively small number of customers around Affton and Webster Groves as of about 11:15 a.m. At that time, crews still were on site at the substation making the necessary repairs, Martin said.
By Chase Castle
http://ballwin-ellisville.patch.com/articles/ameren-substation-shorted-by-snake#photo-6913967
More than 14,000 customers around Ballwin lost their electrical power Thursday morning, the Ameren Missouri website reported, but the culprit behind the outage wasn't weather nor construction.
"(It was) Mother Nature seeking revenge or whatever you want to call it, but a snake got into one of our substations," said Kent Martin, spokesman for Ameren Missouri. “It’s that time of year and they’re looking for food, so they’ll climb trees hoping to get in and try to make a nest.”
Martin said the snake, or "what was left of it," was found inside a transformer at a substation outside Marshall, ultimately causing an outage for about 25,000 people throughout West St. Louis County.
"It's a little bit different, but like I said, critters can find a way," Martin said. "We put down snake repellent—you name it. But they find a way in."
Martin said the restoration process for the vast majority of affected customers took about 31 minutes.
“We’re down to very few right now.”
Martin said that included a relatively small number of customers around Affton and Webster Groves as of about 11:15 a.m. At that time, crews still were on site at the substation making the necessary repairs, Martin said.
By Chase Castle
http://ballwin-ellisville.patch.com/articles/ameren-substation-shorted-by-snake#photo-6913967
Sunday, July 3, 2011
'Hungry' escaped snake found under kitchen sink
A missing boa constrictor that sparked a police hunt has been found – under the kitchen sink at its owner's home.
6:00AM BST 01 Jul 2011
Families were warned to keep their children and pets indoors after the deadly 7.5ft female snake, named Diva, went missing yesterday from its owner's home in Broom Crescent, Ipswich.
The snake was said to be "hungry and unfriendly", having not been fed for three weeks. Owner Abbigayle Harding, 27, said she feared her seven-year-old pet had escaped to find a mate because it was breeding season for boa constrictors.
She said the snake had broken a lock on her tank to get out.
Police said that they could not "rule out a danger to the public'' and that, although Diva was not venomous, she might bite if approached.
The snake normally eats small mammals but residents were warned that, when hungry, she could climb trees and pounce on her prey.
A nearby primary school banned its pupils from playing on its field, which was just 30 yards from the house.
The snake was found this afternoon, safe and well in the kitchen at Ms Harding's house.
Ms Harding told the BBC that she had an "inkling" that the snake could still have been in the house.
She used a dead rat to tempt Diva out from her hiding place under the kitchen sink, and said that she would be fitting two locks on the snake's tank to make sure that she did not escape again.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Chinese village bites into snake business (Via HerpDigest)
Chinese village bites into snake business
By Royston Chan and Aly Song Royston Chan And Aly Song - Sun Jun 19, 9:12 pm ET
ZISIQIAO VILLAGE, China (Reuters Life!) - This sleepy village nestled in the heart of vast farmland in China's eastern Zhejiang province hides a deadly secret.
A step into the homes of any of the farming families here brings visitors eye-to-eye with thousands of some of the world's most feared creatures -- snakes, many of them poisonous.
Cobras, vipers and pythons are everywhere in Zisiqiao, aptly known as the snake village, where the reptiles are deliberately raised for use as food and in traditional medicine, bringing in millions of dollars to a village that otherwise would rely solely on farming.
"As the number one snake village in China, it's impossible for us to raise only one kind of snake," said Yang Hongchang, the 60-year-old farmer who introduced snake breeding to the village decades ago.
"We are researching many kinds of snakes and the methods of breeding them."
In 1985, Yang started selling snakes he caught around the area to animal vendors. He soon began to worry that the wild snakes would run out and thus began researching on how to breed snakes at home.
Within three years, he had made a fortune -- and many other villagers decided to emulate his success.
Today, more than three million snakes are bred in the village every year by the 160 farming families.
Snakes are renowned for their medicinal properties in traditional Chinese medicine and are commonly drunk as soup or wine to boost the person's immunity.
Yang has now started his own company to make his business more formal and build a brand, and also to conduct research and development for his products, which range from dried snake to snake wine and snake powder.
"Our original breeding method has been approved and recognised by the province and the county. They see us as the corporation working with the farming families," Yang said.
"So the company researches on the snakes and they hand them over to the farms for breeding. They said this model was working very well."
The original breeding method was simply putting males and females together, but now meticulous research is done on how the snakes breed, how to select good females, investigation into their diet, and how to incubate eggs so survival rates rise.
With rising demand for snake products from restaurants and medicine halls due both to rising wealth and a government push for breeding the animals to be used in traditional medicine, Zisiqiao villagers are now boasting a annual income of hundreds of thousands of yuan per year.
Yang Xiubang, 46, has been raising snakes in his home for more than twenty years and said his annual income has been steadily rising.
"The demand for traditional Chinese medicine is quite high in China," he said.
"After we finish producing the dried snake, most of them are sent to medicine factories. This also includes snake livers and snake gallbladders."
Yang added snake products from the village are currently being exported globally to countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea.
Closer to home, snake products from the village are sold in the bustling Zhejiang city of Hangzhou, where the Hangzhou Woai Company offers a plethora of goods including snake powders.
"Each part of the snake is treasured," said store manager Gao Chenchang.
"China has a strong snake culture, there are a lot of people -- like in Guangzhou -- who like to eat snakes."
With such a special product, Zisiqiao's million dollar business is the envy of other rural communities. But Yang Hongchang said competition is stiff from other breeders who are rearing snakes on a larger scale than his village.
In addition, rearing the snakes comes with obvious risks.
The snake farmers said they had been bitten, some by deadly snakes, and were saved only by injection of anti-venom medicine.
Yang Wenfu, 55, gave up rearing species of venomous vipers after being bitten by one of them earlier in his career.
"After that, I no longer dared to raise vipers. I am still scared today," he said, adding that his arm grew hugely swollen after the bite.
"Life is valuable and making money is secondary."
(Additional reporting by Reuters Television Shanghai; editing by Elaine Lies)
By Royston Chan and Aly Song Royston Chan And Aly Song - Sun Jun 19, 9:12 pm ET
ZISIQIAO VILLAGE, China (Reuters Life!) - This sleepy village nestled in the heart of vast farmland in China's eastern Zhejiang province hides a deadly secret.
A step into the homes of any of the farming families here brings visitors eye-to-eye with thousands of some of the world's most feared creatures -- snakes, many of them poisonous.
Cobras, vipers and pythons are everywhere in Zisiqiao, aptly known as the snake village, where the reptiles are deliberately raised for use as food and in traditional medicine, bringing in millions of dollars to a village that otherwise would rely solely on farming.
"As the number one snake village in China, it's impossible for us to raise only one kind of snake," said Yang Hongchang, the 60-year-old farmer who introduced snake breeding to the village decades ago.
"We are researching many kinds of snakes and the methods of breeding them."
In 1985, Yang started selling snakes he caught around the area to animal vendors. He soon began to worry that the wild snakes would run out and thus began researching on how to breed snakes at home.
Within three years, he had made a fortune -- and many other villagers decided to emulate his success.
Today, more than three million snakes are bred in the village every year by the 160 farming families.
Snakes are renowned for their medicinal properties in traditional Chinese medicine and are commonly drunk as soup or wine to boost the person's immunity.
Yang has now started his own company to make his business more formal and build a brand, and also to conduct research and development for his products, which range from dried snake to snake wine and snake powder.
"Our original breeding method has been approved and recognised by the province and the county. They see us as the corporation working with the farming families," Yang said.
"So the company researches on the snakes and they hand them over to the farms for breeding. They said this model was working very well."
The original breeding method was simply putting males and females together, but now meticulous research is done on how the snakes breed, how to select good females, investigation into their diet, and how to incubate eggs so survival rates rise.
With rising demand for snake products from restaurants and medicine halls due both to rising wealth and a government push for breeding the animals to be used in traditional medicine, Zisiqiao villagers are now boasting a annual income of hundreds of thousands of yuan per year.
Yang Xiubang, 46, has been raising snakes in his home for more than twenty years and said his annual income has been steadily rising.
"The demand for traditional Chinese medicine is quite high in China," he said.
"After we finish producing the dried snake, most of them are sent to medicine factories. This also includes snake livers and snake gallbladders."
Yang added snake products from the village are currently being exported globally to countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea.
Closer to home, snake products from the village are sold in the bustling Zhejiang city of Hangzhou, where the Hangzhou Woai Company offers a plethora of goods including snake powders.
"Each part of the snake is treasured," said store manager Gao Chenchang.
"China has a strong snake culture, there are a lot of people -- like in Guangzhou -- who like to eat snakes."
With such a special product, Zisiqiao's million dollar business is the envy of other rural communities. But Yang Hongchang said competition is stiff from other breeders who are rearing snakes on a larger scale than his village.
In addition, rearing the snakes comes with obvious risks.
The snake farmers said they had been bitten, some by deadly snakes, and were saved only by injection of anti-venom medicine.
Yang Wenfu, 55, gave up rearing species of venomous vipers after being bitten by one of them earlier in his career.
"After that, I no longer dared to raise vipers. I am still scared today," he said, adding that his arm grew hugely swollen after the bite.
"Life is valuable and making money is secondary."
(Additional reporting by Reuters Television Shanghai; editing by Elaine Lies)
Bill Haast, a Man Charmed by Snakes, Dies at 100 (Via HerpDigest)
Bill Haast, a Man Charmed by Snakes, Dies at 100
By Douglas Martin, NYTimes, on-line 6/17/11 in print 6/18/11
An eastern diamondback rattlesnake left one hand looking like a claw. A Malayan pit viper mangled an index finger. A cottonmouth bit a finger, which instantly turned black, prompting his wife to snip off the fingertip with garden clippers.
Mr. Haast was bitten at least 173 times by poisonous snakes, about 20 times almost fatally. It was all in a day's work for probably the best-known snake handler in the country, a scientist-cum-showman who made enough money from milking toxic goo from slithery serpents to buy a cherry-red Rolls-Royce convertible.
A secret of his success was the immunity he had built up by injecting himself every day for more than 60 years with a mix of venoms from 32 snake species. He suspected the inoculations might have explained his extraordinarily good health, but he was reluctant to make that claim, he said, until he reached 100.
Mr. Haast, who was director of the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories, a snake-venom producer near Punta Gorda, Fla., died of natural causes on Wednesday at his home in southwest Florida, his wife, Nancy, said. He was 100.
Mr. Haast's story was good enough in its day to land him in Walter Winchell's syndicated column, on "The Tonight Show" and, hardly surprising, in Ripley's Believe It or Not attractions. His original Miami Serpentarium, south of Miami on South Dixie Highway, attracted 50,000 tourists a year for four decades.
Outside was a 35-foot-high concrete statue of a giant cobra, forked tongue flicking menacingly. Inside, Mr. Haast, the self-proclaimed "Snakeman," entertained paying customers by using his hands to grab snakes below their heads and force their teeth into soft plastic. Venom would then drain into test tubes fastened to the plastic. He did this 100 or so times a day.
The serpentarium was more than just another roadside attraction. The price of a gram of freeze-dried venom from exotic snakes, requiring 100 or more extractions to accumulate, could exceed $5,000. The substance is an essential ingredient in making a serum to treat snakebite victims. It has also shown promise as a medicinal ingredient.
Mr. Haast and a Miami doctor treated more than 6,000 people with a snake-venom serum that they and their patients contended was effective against multiple sclerosis and arthritis. After the CBS News program "60 Minutes" did a report on the subject in December 1979, interest in the serum surged. But in 1980 the Food and Drug Administration banned the product as useless after saying that numerous deficiencies had been found in Mr. Haast's manufacturing process. Nevertheless, researchers have continued to work on drugs made from venom in the hope of using it to treat cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases.
Mr. Haast himself indisputably saved lives. He flew around the world to donate his antibody-rich blood to 21 different snakebite victims. Venezuela made him an honorary citizen after he went deep into the jungle to give a boy a pint of blood.
The favor was returned in 1989 when, according to The Associated Press, the White House used secret connections to spirit a rare serum out of Iran to treat Mr. Haast as he fought to recover from a bite by a Pakistani pit viper. (Different venoms require different antidotes.)
William E. Haast was born on Dec. 30, 1910, in Paterson, N.J. He caught his first garter snake at 7 at a nearby canal. His first serious snake bite came at age 12, when he was bitten by a timber rattlesnake at Boy Scout camp. The same year, a copperhead's bite put him in the hospital for a week. When young Bill brought his first poisonous snake home to the family apartment, his mother left home for three days, he said. She finally agreed to let him keep a snake or two in cages.
"The snake would bite the mouse," he said in an interview with The Miami Herald in 1984. "The mouse would die. I found it intriguing."
He bought his first exotic snake, a diamondback rattler, from a catalog. Noticing that it had come from Florida, he knew then, he said, that Florida was his destiny. After dropping out of school at 16, he joined a roadside snake show that made its way to Florida in the late 1920s.
The snake attraction soon failed during the Depression, so Mr. Haast went to work for a bootlegger in the Everglades, where he was pleased to find plenty of snakes. The bootlegger was arrested, and Mr. Haast found his way to an airline mechanics school.
Finding a job as a flight engineer with Pan American World Airways, he began traveling around the world. That gave him a chance to use his toolbox to smuggle snakes, including his first cobra.
Mr. Haast's dream of a first-class snake farm came true when he opened his Miami serpentarium in 1947. His near-fatal snakebites became legend in the news media, particularly after the total passed 100 in the mid-1960s.
His first wife, Ann, divorced him over his snake obsession. His second, Clarita, and third, Nancy, pitched in enthusiastically.
Besides his wife, the former Nancy Harrell, he is survived by two daughters, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Mr. Haast closed the serpentarium in 1984 after a 6-year-old boy fell into his crocodile pit and was fatally mauled. He moved his venom-gathering operation to Utah. Six years later, he returned to Florida and opened the facility in Punta Gorda, where he raised and milked snakes but did not resume his snake show.
For all the time he spent with snakes, Mr. Haast harbored no illusions that they liked him.
"You could have a snake for 30 years and the second you leave his cage door cracked, he's gone," he told Outside magazine in 1997. "And they'll never come to you unless you're holding a mouse in your teeth."
By Douglas Martin, NYTimes, on-line 6/17/11 in print 6/18/11
An eastern diamondback rattlesnake left one hand looking like a claw. A Malayan pit viper mangled an index finger. A cottonmouth bit a finger, which instantly turned black, prompting his wife to snip off the fingertip with garden clippers.
Mr. Haast was bitten at least 173 times by poisonous snakes, about 20 times almost fatally. It was all in a day's work for probably the best-known snake handler in the country, a scientist-cum-showman who made enough money from milking toxic goo from slithery serpents to buy a cherry-red Rolls-Royce convertible.
A secret of his success was the immunity he had built up by injecting himself every day for more than 60 years with a mix of venoms from 32 snake species. He suspected the inoculations might have explained his extraordinarily good health, but he was reluctant to make that claim, he said, until he reached 100.
Mr. Haast, who was director of the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories, a snake-venom producer near Punta Gorda, Fla., died of natural causes on Wednesday at his home in southwest Florida, his wife, Nancy, said. He was 100.
Mr. Haast's story was good enough in its day to land him in Walter Winchell's syndicated column, on "The Tonight Show" and, hardly surprising, in Ripley's Believe It or Not attractions. His original Miami Serpentarium, south of Miami on South Dixie Highway, attracted 50,000 tourists a year for four decades.
Outside was a 35-foot-high concrete statue of a giant cobra, forked tongue flicking menacingly. Inside, Mr. Haast, the self-proclaimed "Snakeman," entertained paying customers by using his hands to grab snakes below their heads and force their teeth into soft plastic. Venom would then drain into test tubes fastened to the plastic. He did this 100 or so times a day.
The serpentarium was more than just another roadside attraction. The price of a gram of freeze-dried venom from exotic snakes, requiring 100 or more extractions to accumulate, could exceed $5,000. The substance is an essential ingredient in making a serum to treat snakebite victims. It has also shown promise as a medicinal ingredient.
Mr. Haast and a Miami doctor treated more than 6,000 people with a snake-venom serum that they and their patients contended was effective against multiple sclerosis and arthritis. After the CBS News program "60 Minutes" did a report on the subject in December 1979, interest in the serum surged. But in 1980 the Food and Drug Administration banned the product as useless after saying that numerous deficiencies had been found in Mr. Haast's manufacturing process. Nevertheless, researchers have continued to work on drugs made from venom in the hope of using it to treat cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases.
Mr. Haast himself indisputably saved lives. He flew around the world to donate his antibody-rich blood to 21 different snakebite victims. Venezuela made him an honorary citizen after he went deep into the jungle to give a boy a pint of blood.
The favor was returned in 1989 when, according to The Associated Press, the White House used secret connections to spirit a rare serum out of Iran to treat Mr. Haast as he fought to recover from a bite by a Pakistani pit viper. (Different venoms require different antidotes.)
William E. Haast was born on Dec. 30, 1910, in Paterson, N.J. He caught his first garter snake at 7 at a nearby canal. His first serious snake bite came at age 12, when he was bitten by a timber rattlesnake at Boy Scout camp. The same year, a copperhead's bite put him in the hospital for a week. When young Bill brought his first poisonous snake home to the family apartment, his mother left home for three days, he said. She finally agreed to let him keep a snake or two in cages.
"The snake would bite the mouse," he said in an interview with The Miami Herald in 1984. "The mouse would die. I found it intriguing."
He bought his first exotic snake, a diamondback rattler, from a catalog. Noticing that it had come from Florida, he knew then, he said, that Florida was his destiny. After dropping out of school at 16, he joined a roadside snake show that made its way to Florida in the late 1920s.
The snake attraction soon failed during the Depression, so Mr. Haast went to work for a bootlegger in the Everglades, where he was pleased to find plenty of snakes. The bootlegger was arrested, and Mr. Haast found his way to an airline mechanics school.
Finding a job as a flight engineer with Pan American World Airways, he began traveling around the world. That gave him a chance to use his toolbox to smuggle snakes, including his first cobra.
Mr. Haast's dream of a first-class snake farm came true when he opened his Miami serpentarium in 1947. His near-fatal snakebites became legend in the news media, particularly after the total passed 100 in the mid-1960s.
His first wife, Ann, divorced him over his snake obsession. His second, Clarita, and third, Nancy, pitched in enthusiastically.
Besides his wife, the former Nancy Harrell, he is survived by two daughters, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Mr. Haast closed the serpentarium in 1984 after a 6-year-old boy fell into his crocodile pit and was fatally mauled. He moved his venom-gathering operation to Utah. Six years later, he returned to Florida and opened the facility in Punta Gorda, where he raised and milked snakes but did not resume his snake show.
For all the time he spent with snakes, Mr. Haast harbored no illusions that they liked him.
"You could have a snake for 30 years and the second you leave his cage door cracked, he's gone," he told Outside magazine in 1997. "And they'll never come to you unless you're holding a mouse in your teeth."
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Legless in Seattle
Security scan finds live snake in backpack at Seattle courthouse
SEATTLE -- Security screeners at the King County Courthouse in Seattle got quite the surprise when when a man put his backpack through the x-ray machine last Friday.
Sgt. John Urquhart with the King County Sheriff's Office said as the bag moved through the machine, what should pop up on the monitor but a snake coiled up inside the backpack?
A live snake.
The screener told a uniformed court marshal, who asked the man if he had "a pet" in his backpack. The man said he did and he was told by the court marshal, in no uncertain terms, that no pets were allowed in the courthouse.
The man left in a huff, and, as Urquhart put it, "the courthouse rats breathed a sigh of relief... as did many of us 'snake haters' as well!'"
http://www.kboi2.com/news/offbeat/124086389.html
SEATTLE -- Security screeners at the King County Courthouse in Seattle got quite the surprise when when a man put his backpack through the x-ray machine last Friday.
Sgt. John Urquhart with the King County Sheriff's Office said as the bag moved through the machine, what should pop up on the monitor but a snake coiled up inside the backpack?
A live snake.
The screener told a uniformed court marshal, who asked the man if he had "a pet" in his backpack. The man said he did and he was told by the court marshal, in no uncertain terms, that no pets were allowed in the courthouse.
The man left in a huff, and, as Urquhart put it, "the courthouse rats breathed a sigh of relief... as did many of us 'snake haters' as well!'"
http://www.kboi2.com/news/offbeat/124086389.html
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Foreclosing on a Bunch of Snakes
by Al Lewis
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Commentary: Oh, serpents! Thought you said it had servants
They say there are snake pits on Wall Street.
Chase has learned there are snake pits on Main Street too.
Last year, the J.P. Morgan Chase banking unit foreclosed on a home near Rexburg, Idaho, that is infested with garter snakes.
They slide through the yard, the crawl space, the walls, the ceilings, even across the floors. Sure, they're harmless, but there are perhaps thousands of them. They give off malodorous secretions when alarmed, and can even leave the well water tasting a bit like the way they smell.
Two families have fled the house in scenes reminiscent of horror-film classics. One turned to a local TV station in 2006 to document the infestation, complaining of not being able to sleep at night. The video is still available on YouTube and is doing absolutely nothing for sales. Watch the video on snakes in the house.
The next family appeared on TV's "Animal Planet" earlier this year. They said they were told the previous owners came up with the snake story to explain why they stopped paying their mortgage. But, it turns out, the story was true.
Search "Idaho snake house" on the Internet and several intriguing posts emerge. Zillow.com offers a sales description that mentions "a large kitchen with center island," but nothing about snakes on the kitchen floor.
The house, built in 1920 and remodeled about five years ago, has somehow become a hibernaculum, where snakes gather en masse for winter. It's so famously infested that Chase has taken it off the market.
Earlier this year, the five-bedroom home at 675 W. 5000 North was listed for $109,200. That's about $66,000 below its market value. But somehow there were no takers, even in a region known for its Snake River.
Chase is now in the unenviable position of having to be delicate with snakes that continue to live in the home despite a defaulted mortgage. Once a house has been featured on "Animal Planet," you can't just burn it down or otherwise slaughter its reptilian residents. You have to be nice to snakes. It's just good business.
"We have contracted to have the snakes trapped and released," said Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot, a Chase spokeswoman in Seattle.
"We plan to seal the foundation and install a barrier around the foundation to help prevent future access," she said. "A report will be issued by the contractor to be provided to any potential buyers."
Possible buyers might include some guy with a flute and a turban, or maybe a slippery salesman looking to replenish his line of proprietary oil. More likely, though, Chase is going to be stuck with the Idaho snake house for a long time.
Protesters recently appeared in Ohio at the annual meeting of Chase's parent, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., to complain about the company's foreclosure practices. There have been similar protests at all major banks, as if these institutions actually love foreclosing on homes.
Banks currently have about 1.9 million homes on their books or in foreclosure proceedings, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate market researcher.
Imagine all the disrepair, the pet-fouled carpets, the mold, the bugs, the rats and the snakes.
Foreclosures have slowed in recent months, but that trend is largely attributed to legal delays, including banks' dubious use of "robo-signers" on court documents.
Yes, major banks have major problems. But they're still swamped with more foreclosures than they can handle, and Americans are still slithering away from their homes like it's not a snake-like thing to do.
The Mortgage Bankers Association recently reported that about 8.3% of homeowners missed at least one mortgage payment in the January-March quarter. In a healthy market, that figure holds at about 1.1%.
Foreclosed homes made up 28% of all U.S. home sales in the quarter, according to RealtyTrac. And 2011 is on track to be another record year, with about 1.2 million foreclosures expected. This dashes any hope for a housing market recovery any time soon.
The snakes are just starting to awaken at the Idaho snake house. Chase can't chase them out just yet.
"Hopefully, in a few weeks," Donahoe-Wilmot said. "The contractor feels there is not yet enough activity to perform the capture."
http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/112850/idaho-foreclosure-snake-home
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Commentary: Oh, serpents! Thought you said it had servants
They say there are snake pits on Wall Street.
Chase has learned there are snake pits on Main Street too.
Last year, the J.P. Morgan Chase banking unit foreclosed on a home near Rexburg, Idaho, that is infested with garter snakes.
They slide through the yard, the crawl space, the walls, the ceilings, even across the floors. Sure, they're harmless, but there are perhaps thousands of them. They give off malodorous secretions when alarmed, and can even leave the well water tasting a bit like the way they smell.
Two families have fled the house in scenes reminiscent of horror-film classics. One turned to a local TV station in 2006 to document the infestation, complaining of not being able to sleep at night. The video is still available on YouTube and is doing absolutely nothing for sales. Watch the video on snakes in the house.
The next family appeared on TV's "Animal Planet" earlier this year. They said they were told the previous owners came up with the snake story to explain why they stopped paying their mortgage. But, it turns out, the story was true.
Search "Idaho snake house" on the Internet and several intriguing posts emerge. Zillow.com offers a sales description that mentions "a large kitchen with center island," but nothing about snakes on the kitchen floor.
The house, built in 1920 and remodeled about five years ago, has somehow become a hibernaculum, where snakes gather en masse for winter. It's so famously infested that Chase has taken it off the market.
Earlier this year, the five-bedroom home at 675 W. 5000 North was listed for $109,200. That's about $66,000 below its market value. But somehow there were no takers, even in a region known for its Snake River.
Chase is now in the unenviable position of having to be delicate with snakes that continue to live in the home despite a defaulted mortgage. Once a house has been featured on "Animal Planet," you can't just burn it down or otherwise slaughter its reptilian residents. You have to be nice to snakes. It's just good business.
"We have contracted to have the snakes trapped and released," said Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot, a Chase spokeswoman in Seattle.
"We plan to seal the foundation and install a barrier around the foundation to help prevent future access," she said. "A report will be issued by the contractor to be provided to any potential buyers."
Possible buyers might include some guy with a flute and a turban, or maybe a slippery salesman looking to replenish his line of proprietary oil. More likely, though, Chase is going to be stuck with the Idaho snake house for a long time.
Protesters recently appeared in Ohio at the annual meeting of Chase's parent, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., to complain about the company's foreclosure practices. There have been similar protests at all major banks, as if these institutions actually love foreclosing on homes.
Banks currently have about 1.9 million homes on their books or in foreclosure proceedings, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate market researcher.
Imagine all the disrepair, the pet-fouled carpets, the mold, the bugs, the rats and the snakes.
Foreclosures have slowed in recent months, but that trend is largely attributed to legal delays, including banks' dubious use of "robo-signers" on court documents.
Yes, major banks have major problems. But they're still swamped with more foreclosures than they can handle, and Americans are still slithering away from their homes like it's not a snake-like thing to do.
The Mortgage Bankers Association recently reported that about 8.3% of homeowners missed at least one mortgage payment in the January-March quarter. In a healthy market, that figure holds at about 1.1%.
Foreclosed homes made up 28% of all U.S. home sales in the quarter, according to RealtyTrac. And 2011 is on track to be another record year, with about 1.2 million foreclosures expected. This dashes any hope for a housing market recovery any time soon.
The snakes are just starting to awaken at the Idaho snake house. Chase can't chase them out just yet.
"Hopefully, in a few weeks," Donahoe-Wilmot said. "The contractor feels there is not yet enough activity to perform the capture."
http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/112850/idaho-foreclosure-snake-home
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Gunman Barricades Himself on Farm Full of Snakes
By Kyle Munzenrieder, Thu., Mar. 31 2011
At Tom Crutchfield's Reptile Farm in Homestead, you can find deadly creatures such as Chinese bamboo vipers, Mojave rattlesnakes, black Pakistan cobras, and, apparently, right now, a man with a gun. Yes, according to reports, a man has barricaded himself inside a building on the property after shooting another man.
Reports are sparse, but the Miami-Dade Police Department's Special Response Team has arrived at 35000 SW 212nd Ave. to deal with the gunman. The site is listed online as the address of the Tom Crutchfield Reptile Farm, and CBSMiami says video shot from a helicopter shows the property is dotted with numerous cages and sheds.
The farm's Facebook page, which lists its address in Homestead, was updated Monday.
WSVN reports the incident was set off after an altercation between two men on the property. One man was lightly grazed by a bullet and is expected to recover. The other guy is now boarded up in a building on the property.
This is the real-life sequel to Snakes on a Plane we've been waiting for: Snakes on a Farm, But With Guns!
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/03/gun_man_barricades_himself_in.php
At Tom Crutchfield's Reptile Farm in Homestead, you can find deadly creatures such as Chinese bamboo vipers, Mojave rattlesnakes, black Pakistan cobras, and, apparently, right now, a man with a gun. Yes, according to reports, a man has barricaded himself inside a building on the property after shooting another man.
Reports are sparse, but the Miami-Dade Police Department's Special Response Team has arrived at 35000 SW 212nd Ave. to deal with the gunman. The site is listed online as the address of the Tom Crutchfield Reptile Farm, and CBSMiami says video shot from a helicopter shows the property is dotted with numerous cages and sheds.
The farm's Facebook page, which lists its address in Homestead, was updated Monday.
WSVN reports the incident was set off after an altercation between two men on the property. One man was lightly grazed by a bullet and is expected to recover. The other guy is now boarded up in a building on the property.
This is the real-life sequel to Snakes on a Plane we've been waiting for: Snakes on a Farm, But With Guns!
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/03/gun_man_barricades_himself_in.php
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The monster of Billings Dam
 |
| The plate warns: Warning. Anaconda. Traffic Interrupted. Photo: Ernesto Rodrigues/AE |
São Paulo state – In the metropolitan area of Grajau, Parque Residencial Lagos (Residential Park Lakes), on the banks of the Billings reservoir a snake more than 5 meters in length is scaring the 1,2 thousands of families living on site. The monster, an "Anaconda", better known in English as "Anaconda"(probably a Eunectes murinus) is considered one of the largest and most robust amid all snakes in the world.
For now, she only managed to attack animals from small to medium size, such as capybaras, chickens and ducks, but nothing prevents that she can to capture a human being, especially the smaller, such as children and adolescents.
President of the Association of Friends of the Park, Mrs. Vera Lucia baseline, 61 years (in 2011) account: This is a monster. It sticks his head out of the water and then, dives, lifting gigantic tail. Even a dog, she eaten. In the main pier of the park, a plate that was placed warns – Danger: Anaconda. Herself Basali identified the animal: I was born in Mato Grosso. This snake appears there only in the Amazon ... (but this is the anaconda pilgrim of Grajaú ...).
For unknown reasons, far from its original environment, the Anaconda found a home in Billings Dam and nobody knows how the animal got there. Amid the mystery surrounding the origin of the creature, have appeared different versions of its presence in the area.
The tongue of the people puts the blame on an unidentified Japanese. He would have taken the snake to Grajaú and began to create it. Finally, he decided to put it in the pond. The time of appearance of the snake in the water is also controversial: the majority says that it appeared about 20 days but Mrs. Janet Marques da Silva, 53, says: There is talk on this snake since 2003. Mrs. Silva believes that the snake has even some offspring: Ten, at least, the oldest to have about ten years now.
The young marketer Elanes Santos Moreira, 16, was almost a victim of the monster. Even alerted he gone to fish in the Dam. He reports: Suddenly, it appeared, put his head above water. I felt blood to fled of my face.
Mrs. Basali even tells that tried to photograph the creature but complains of fatigue, because of the vigil, day and night. Still not got the picture and describe: She's too ugly. His head has the size of a ball handball. Informed, the firemen were on standby to try to capture the animal. But the beast is unpredictable and only with a patient ambush, will can surprise the creature. Let us follow the case and await a flagrant photo of the monster of the Billings Reservoir.
SOURCE: SAMPAIO, Paulo. Grajaú tem também seu monstro do lago Ness.IN Estadão/SP, published in 05/01/2011
[http://www.estadao.com.br/estadaodehoje/20110501/not_imp713261,0.php]
[http://www.estadao.com.br/estadaodehoje/20110501/not_imp713261,0.php]
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Male snake choose to 'abandon food source than losing their penis'
Male snake choose to 'abandon food source than losing their penis'
By ANI ANI - Tue, Apr 19, 2011 4:00 PM IST
Melbourne, April 19 (ANI): A new research has suggested that fight or flee Snakes on a small Taiwanese island would rather abandon a food source than risk losing their twin penis.
In their study of the kukrisnake (Oligodon formosanus), the team of Australian and Taiwanese researchers claimed to have documented for the first time a case of snakes being territorial.
They observed that male snakes usually found the nests first; but then females would arrive and turf them out. However, if a second female arrived, after an initial combat they would often share the resource.
Why they behave like this comes down to a combination of dentition (they aren't called the 'kukri' snake for nothing), aggressive-defensive behaviour and the male's sex organs.
"The kukrisnakes, with these very large blade like teeth, make a huge slashing wound. It's a really nasty bite," the ABC Science quoted co-author of the study, Rick Shine of University of Sydney, as saying.
"[They] also have a defence display where they lift the back part of their body and they wave their tail around," added Shine.
Shine said this behaviour is quite common in snakes and is designed to confuse birds or other predatory animals.
"The male [kukrisankes] actually take it further and evert their hemipenis (twin penis) and wave them around," he said.
"This is a bad idea if there's an aggressive snake with very large teeth, that's going to slash away at the first thing you poke towards her. A good bite in that part of their anatomy, and their evolutionary fitness has probably come to an end," he added.
So when confronted, the male snakes abandon the eggs rather than risk cutting short their reproductivity.
"This is a spectacular example of how little we know about the private lives of animals and the way evolutionary processes can throw up exceptions to almost any rule that we come up with," said Shine.
The study has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)
By ANI ANI - Tue, Apr 19, 2011 4:00 PM IST
Melbourne, April 19 (ANI): A new research has suggested that fight or flee Snakes on a small Taiwanese island would rather abandon a food source than risk losing their twin penis.
In their study of the kukrisnake (Oligodon formosanus), the team of Australian and Taiwanese researchers claimed to have documented for the first time a case of snakes being territorial.
They observed that male snakes usually found the nests first; but then females would arrive and turf them out. However, if a second female arrived, after an initial combat they would often share the resource.
Why they behave like this comes down to a combination of dentition (they aren't called the 'kukri' snake for nothing), aggressive-defensive behaviour and the male's sex organs.
"The kukrisnakes, with these very large blade like teeth, make a huge slashing wound. It's a really nasty bite," the ABC Science quoted co-author of the study, Rick Shine of University of Sydney, as saying.
"[They] also have a defence display where they lift the back part of their body and they wave their tail around," added Shine.
Shine said this behaviour is quite common in snakes and is designed to confuse birds or other predatory animals.
"The male [kukrisankes] actually take it further and evert their hemipenis (twin penis) and wave them around," he said.
"This is a bad idea if there's an aggressive snake with very large teeth, that's going to slash away at the first thing you poke towards her. A good bite in that part of their anatomy, and their evolutionary fitness has probably come to an end," he added.
So when confronted, the male snakes abandon the eggs rather than risk cutting short their reproductivity.
"This is a spectacular example of how little we know about the private lives of animals and the way evolutionary processes can throw up exceptions to almost any rule that we come up with," said Shine.
The study has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)
Future of Asian snakes at stake (Via Herp Digest)
Future of Asian snakes at stake- Some 60 experts representing close to 20 governments and international and national organizations met to consider conservation priorities and management and enforcement needs related to the trade of snakes.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Press Release - TRAFFIC in CITES, Herpetological
A crucial meeting that could decide the future of Asia's traded snake species takes place this week in Guangzhou, China. Some 60 experts representing close to 20 governments and international and national organizations are meeting to consider conservation priorities and management and enforcement needs related to the trade of snakes. They will focus on the markets and commercial trade in snakes originating in East, South, and South-east Asia. Asian snakes are consumed locally and in neighbouring countries for food, traditional medicines and for their skins. They are also sold as pets and found in expensive luxury leather goods and accessories in the boutiques of Europe and North America.
Their skins are often processed in various countries of re-export along the way. According to a wildlife trade policy review conducted in Viet Nam, the income from snake breeding is three to five times higher than the income generated by vegetable and crop cultivation, and dozens of times higher than the income from pig and cattle breeding. TRAFFIC has previously raised concern over the international exports of Oriental Rat Snakes Ptyas mucosus from Indonesia, after investigations revealed large numbers were harvested and traded outside of existing government regulations.
TRAFFIC found government-set quotas were being widely-flouted, leading to over-harvesting and illegal trade; and with no marking of skins taking place, it was impossible to track them through the trade chain to point of export. "TRAFFIC welcomes the current spotlight on the international trade in Asian snakes, which is placing many species on the conservation danger list," said Dr William Schaedla, Director of TRAFFIC South-east Asia.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Press Release - TRAFFIC in CITES, Herpetological
A crucial meeting that could decide the future of Asia's traded snake species takes place this week in Guangzhou, China. Some 60 experts representing close to 20 governments and international and national organizations are meeting to consider conservation priorities and management and enforcement needs related to the trade of snakes. They will focus on the markets and commercial trade in snakes originating in East, South, and South-east Asia. Asian snakes are consumed locally and in neighbouring countries for food, traditional medicines and for their skins. They are also sold as pets and found in expensive luxury leather goods and accessories in the boutiques of Europe and North America.
Their skins are often processed in various countries of re-export along the way. According to a wildlife trade policy review conducted in Viet Nam, the income from snake breeding is three to five times higher than the income generated by vegetable and crop cultivation, and dozens of times higher than the income from pig and cattle breeding. TRAFFIC has previously raised concern over the international exports of Oriental Rat Snakes Ptyas mucosus from Indonesia, after investigations revealed large numbers were harvested and traded outside of existing government regulations.
TRAFFIC found government-set quotas were being widely-flouted, leading to over-harvesting and illegal trade; and with no marking of skins taking place, it was impossible to track them through the trade chain to point of export. "TRAFFIC welcomes the current spotlight on the international trade in Asian snakes, which is placing many species on the conservation danger list," said Dr William Schaedla, Director of TRAFFIC South-east Asia.
"Snakes are clearly vital to natural ecosystems and to the economy of the region-it is in Asia's interests to ensure snakes have a sustainable future."
The global trade in snakes involves snake species from many different countries, with specimens taken from the wild or bred in captivity.
However, populations of some snakes have declined significantly through a combination of unsustainable use and habitat loss.
Of the 3,315 snake species globally recognized, one third occur in Asia, many of them endemic to particular countries: Indonesia has 128 endemic snake species, India 112, China 54, Papua New Guinea 42, Sri Lanka 41, and the Philippines 32. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulates international trade in 130 snake species, 45 of them found in range States in the Asian countries attending the workshop. John Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES, stated: "the global trade in snakes is an industry of considerable socio-economic importance for rural populations in several Asian countries.
Of the 3,315 snake species globally recognized, one third occur in Asia, many of them endemic to particular countries: Indonesia has 128 endemic snake species, India 112, China 54, Papua New Guinea 42, Sri Lanka 41, and the Philippines 32. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulates international trade in 130 snake species, 45 of them found in range States in the Asian countries attending the workshop. John Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES, stated: "the global trade in snakes is an industry of considerable socio-economic importance for rural populations in several Asian countries.
"CITES is the main international tool to regulate effectively international snake trade in many of these species. "The recommendations coming out of this meeting will be critical in addressing the wildlife conservation, sustainable use and livelihood aspects of such trade, and putting forward expert recommendations to CITES governing bodies for future directions."
The technical workshop runs until 14th April under the leadership of CITES and brings together government experts, members of the CITES Animals Committee and organizations including IUCN and several of its Species Survival Commission specialist groups, TRAFFIC, WCS, UNCTAD-BioTrade, the China Wildlife Conservation Association and China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Article originally appeared on TRAFFIC (http://www.traffic.org)
Article originally appeared on TRAFFIC (http://www.traffic.org)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Girl recovering after snake bite
pa.press.net, Updated: 24/04/2011 03:24
A nine-year-old girl is recovering in hospital after being bitten by a snake.
Tyler Butcher was walking with her family in the New Forest, Hampshire, on Friday when she was bitten by an 18-inch-long adder.
Her father, Kenny Butcher, called 999 and she was taken to the intensive care unit at Southampton General Hospital.
Mr Butcher said his daughter was in "absolute agony" as her leg went black as she suffered an allergic reaction to the bite.
He said that doctors decided to give her antivenom as the bruising got worse and she was transferred to a general ward.
Mr Butcher told Sky News: "We went up to the New Forest for a walk with some friends, we were literally walking back to the car when my daughter gave out a yelp.
"I thought she had stood on a nettle but when I looked down I saw the snake slithering away and saw the puncture marks on her foot.
"She literally lifted her leg off the the ground, standing on one leg, you can tell when your children are in pain and she was in absolute agony."
He said that he dialled 999 and she was taken by ambulance to hospital.
Praising the emergency services and the medical staff, he added: "They didn't mess around, they were absolutely first class."
http://news.uk.msn.com//uk/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=157158427
A nine-year-old girl is recovering in hospital after being bitten by a snake.
Tyler Butcher was walking with her family in the New Forest, Hampshire, on Friday when she was bitten by an 18-inch-long adder.
Her father, Kenny Butcher, called 999 and she was taken to the intensive care unit at Southampton General Hospital.
Mr Butcher said his daughter was in "absolute agony" as her leg went black as she suffered an allergic reaction to the bite.
He said that doctors decided to give her antivenom as the bruising got worse and she was transferred to a general ward.
Mr Butcher told Sky News: "We went up to the New Forest for a walk with some friends, we were literally walking back to the car when my daughter gave out a yelp.
"I thought she had stood on a nettle but when I looked down I saw the snake slithering away and saw the puncture marks on her foot.
"She literally lifted her leg off the the ground, standing on one leg, you can tell when your children are in pain and she was in absolute agony."
He said that he dialled 999 and she was taken by ambulance to hospital.
Praising the emergency services and the medical staff, he added: "They didn't mess around, they were absolutely first class."
http://news.uk.msn.com//uk/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=157158427
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Illinois Residents Report Large Snake on the Loose
Posted: Monday, April 18th
BUSH -- People in Bush are begging for help after reports began circulating that there is a large snake on the loose in their neighborhood.
The animal was first spotted about a week ago Residents believe it is a boa constrictor or a python, possibly someone's pet that was released into the wild. Experts say that's not necessarily the case.
"It's the whole talk of town. Every body's scared to death. Afraid to let their kids out or their dogs," said Bush resident Lester Taylor.
"The kids are always inside. They are never let out here by themselves," Misty Gurley told News Three.
Residents say the snake is preying on animals in their neighborhood, and they want it caught before it kills again.
Most of the reported snake sightings have been in an area near 6th Street. Rumors circulated that the animal killed a large German Shepard-mix dog that lived at one home.
Lester Taylor says he spotted the snake in the alley behind his house. He describes it as about 6 inches in diameter and 12 feet long.
Taylor tried to trap the animal.
"I got a stick I pick up trash with, it has a nail in it," he said, "I poked the snake in the tail and was trying to hold it until somebody come to help me. He just ripped it out and went on in the tree."
Neighbors contacted Hurst police for help. Chief Ron Harvel spent several hours looking for the animal in the alley that runs behind 6th St. Harvel did see a snake. He calls it dark brown in color.
"The snake I saw was not a python, was not an anaconda, was not a boa constrictor," Harvel said.
Neighbors snapped two pictures of the animal. SIU ecologist Brooke Talley and Department of Natural Resources Herpetologist Scott Ballard analyzed them. Both insist the snake in the photos is not an exotic reptile
"It's not a boa or a python. What we actually have is a black rat snake, and those get really large, they go to five or six feet," Talley said.
Black rat snakes are common in Illinois. Talley says they are not dangerous to humans or pets.
She explains it's possible someone released a pet boa or python into the wild. But even then, she says it's unlikely that it killed a dog, cat or even ducks
"That would not happen," she said, "That's way too big for what they would prefer to eat."
Some people think that a neighbor released two pet snakes. Police tell News Three they don't have any reports of missing snakes. Authorities recommed that if you see the snake, call 911 right away and they'll come check it out.
Experts also encourage residents to leave the animal alone. Some of the people that live near the area where the snake has been spotted set up traps in their yards. Talley explains that this time of year is breeding season for snakes. The reptiles more active during that time, and that's likely why people have spotted them.
By: Emily Finnegan
efinnegan@wsiltv.com
http://www.wsiltv.com/p/news_details.php?newsID=12928&type=top
(Via Chad Arment)
BUSH -- People in Bush are begging for help after reports began circulating that there is a large snake on the loose in their neighborhood.
The animal was first spotted about a week ago Residents believe it is a boa constrictor or a python, possibly someone's pet that was released into the wild. Experts say that's not necessarily the case.
"It's the whole talk of town. Every body's scared to death. Afraid to let their kids out or their dogs," said Bush resident Lester Taylor.
"The kids are always inside. They are never let out here by themselves," Misty Gurley told News Three.
Residents say the snake is preying on animals in their neighborhood, and they want it caught before it kills again.
Most of the reported snake sightings have been in an area near 6th Street. Rumors circulated that the animal killed a large German Shepard-mix dog that lived at one home.
Lester Taylor says he spotted the snake in the alley behind his house. He describes it as about 6 inches in diameter and 12 feet long.
Taylor tried to trap the animal.
"I got a stick I pick up trash with, it has a nail in it," he said, "I poked the snake in the tail and was trying to hold it until somebody come to help me. He just ripped it out and went on in the tree."
Neighbors contacted Hurst police for help. Chief Ron Harvel spent several hours looking for the animal in the alley that runs behind 6th St. Harvel did see a snake. He calls it dark brown in color.
"The snake I saw was not a python, was not an anaconda, was not a boa constrictor," Harvel said.
Neighbors snapped two pictures of the animal. SIU ecologist Brooke Talley and Department of Natural Resources Herpetologist Scott Ballard analyzed them. Both insist the snake in the photos is not an exotic reptile
"It's not a boa or a python. What we actually have is a black rat snake, and those get really large, they go to five or six feet," Talley said.
Black rat snakes are common in Illinois. Talley says they are not dangerous to humans or pets.
She explains it's possible someone released a pet boa or python into the wild. But even then, she says it's unlikely that it killed a dog, cat or even ducks
"That would not happen," she said, "That's way too big for what they would prefer to eat."
Some people think that a neighbor released two pet snakes. Police tell News Three they don't have any reports of missing snakes. Authorities recommed that if you see the snake, call 911 right away and they'll come check it out.
Experts also encourage residents to leave the animal alone. Some of the people that live near the area where the snake has been spotted set up traps in their yards. Talley explains that this time of year is breeding season for snakes. The reptiles more active during that time, and that's likely why people have spotted them.
By: Emily Finnegan
efinnegan@wsiltv.com
http://www.wsiltv.com/p/news_details.php?newsID=12928&type=top
(Via Chad Arment)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Experts DNA test England's adders to help halt decline
28 March 2011
Ecologists are running DNA tests on adders to check their genetic diversity amid fears the UK's only venomous snake is vanishing from the wild.
A recent study found that numbers of the reptile had declined since 2007.
Conservationists believe inbreeding in small, isolated populations could lead to a further decrease in numbers.
Experts from Natural England, the Zoological Society of London and Oxford University are taking swabs from the reptiles at 16 sites across England.
Ecologist Nigel Hand has already carried out health checks and collected DNA samples from five snakes at a Surrey Wildlife Trust site and 27 adders from an area in Norfolk.
Once captured, the reptiles are placed in a plastic tube to measure their length and protect the handler from their bite.
A swab is taken and they are marked before they are released back into the wild.
The DNA is then analysed to see whether larger or smaller populations have different levels of genetic variety.
Jim Foster, of Natural England, said: "With around a third of adder populations now restricted to isolated pockets of habitat, and with only a handful of snakes per sites, they could be especially vulnerable."
It is estimated that there are 1,000 populations of adder in the country with some groups made up of fewer than 10 adults.
Mr Foster said the tests would also help them understand why some adders had been found with abnormalities including malformed scales and missing eyes.
He added: "In the longer term, the last resort option is whether we should move animals between populations, artificially encouraging them to mix."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-12878563
Ecologists are running DNA tests on adders to check their genetic diversity amid fears the UK's only venomous snake is vanishing from the wild.
A recent study found that numbers of the reptile had declined since 2007.
Conservationists believe inbreeding in small, isolated populations could lead to a further decrease in numbers.
Experts from Natural England, the Zoological Society of London and Oxford University are taking swabs from the reptiles at 16 sites across England.
Ecologist Nigel Hand has already carried out health checks and collected DNA samples from five snakes at a Surrey Wildlife Trust site and 27 adders from an area in Norfolk.
Once captured, the reptiles are placed in a plastic tube to measure their length and protect the handler from their bite.
A swab is taken and they are marked before they are released back into the wild.
The DNA is then analysed to see whether larger or smaller populations have different levels of genetic variety.
Jim Foster, of Natural England, said: "With around a third of adder populations now restricted to isolated pockets of habitat, and with only a handful of snakes per sites, they could be especially vulnerable."
It is estimated that there are 1,000 populations of adder in the country with some groups made up of fewer than 10 adults.
Mr Foster said the tests would also help them understand why some adders had been found with abnormalities including malformed scales and missing eyes.
He added: "In the longer term, the last resort option is whether we should move animals between populations, artificially encouraging them to mix."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-12878563
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