Ball Python Joke

Saw this on Facebook and thought I should Share it.

18 fooot Burmese Python removed from Everglades National Park



(Credit: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Snakes/Information-News/National-Park-Service-Personel-Remove-18-foot-
Burmese-Python-From-Everglades-National-Park-Trending/)

The Burmese Python is an invasive species in the Everglades National Park and they are removed from the park and surrounding areas on a normal basis and destroyed humanly.

One of the more recent pythons removed was a large 18 foot 3 inch female Burmese Python. This animal has been getting a lot of press because it is the second longest snake removed from the wild in the state of Florida, with the largest being 18 feet 7 inches.

Both of these snake are quite impressive considering the longest Burmese python ever confirmed was 18 feet 10 inches named  "baby" and was owned by  Louis Daddono. Mr Daddono published a scientific article titled "The Corrected Lengths of Two Well-known Giant Pythons and the Establishment of a New Maximum Length Record for Burmese Pythons, Python bivittatus " In which he argued that 18 feet 10 inches should now be considered the current maximum length of the Burmese python.

Sources:
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/18-foot-long-burmese-python-found-and-caught-florida

The Corrected Lengths of Two Well-known Giant Pythons and the Establishment of a New Maximum Length Record for Burmese Pythons, Python bivittatus
By David G. Barker , Stephen L. Barten, DVM , Jonas P. Ehrsam and Louis Daddono

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Snakes/Information-News/National-Park-Service-Personel-Remove-18-foot-Burmese-Python-From-Everglades-National-Park-Trending/

Large Burmese python killed in Warren county



Credit: http://fox2now.com/2015/07/28/warren-county-man-kills-a-nearly-15-foot-python-in-his-yard/



 

On July 28th a large Burmese python measuring 14 feet 7 inches and weighted 160 pounds was killed in Warren county Missouri.

Neighbors claim small animals such as chickens and dogs had  gone missing in recent weeks and blame the large snake for eating them.

The animal is a possible released pet that became to large for the owner to take care of.

The snake was killed was shot with a shotgun twice.


Source:
http://fox2now.com/2015/07/28/warren-county-man-kills-a-nearly-15-foot-python-in-his-yard/

Monocled Cobra kills 18 year old man in Texas

 

(Credit: Wikimedia)

On july 16 a Monocled Cobra is believed to have bitten and killed its owner who was found dead in his truck. Two pucture marks where found on his wrist.

The following day the snake was confirmed as dead as it was run over by a car.


Sources
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Texas-Police-Looking-For-Monocled-Cobra-That-Apparently-Killed-its-Keeper-Trending/
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Snakes/Information-News/Monocled-Cobra-Found-Near-Texas-Hardware-Store-Trending/

Large Sanke kills and consumes Crocodle

I thought this video was interesting and thought I should share. This video shows a large Scrub python killing and eating a Fresh water crocodile.

Source:
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/amazing-photographs-video-snake-devouring-crocodile

First Alligator attack in 8 years which causes a human death

(source: Anthony Baker)

On July 4th it was reported that a man in Orange county, Texas a man and a women where swimming in a bayou and they where attacked by a large American Alligator.

They where swimming in the bayou despite warning signs confirming the presence of alligators in the area and according those in the area the an shouted "F-ck the Alligators" in reply to a warning of the large animals.

The next thing witness recount is of the man being grabbed by a large alligator.

On July 6th a large Alligator was found in Orange county dead after it had been illegally killed. It was confirmed to be the same animals which killed the Orange county man 2 days before.

The animal was 11.2 feet and was large enough to kill an adult man.

Sources:
http://wfla.com/2015/07/04/23002/
http://www.12newsnow.com/story/29484672/large-alligator-killed-in-same-area-where-gator-killed-a-man-last-week
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/f6b0a67f701571b4bb9ed1140832a835.htm
Video at this link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/f6b0a67f701571b4bb9ed1140832a835.htm

Alligator attacks and eats a dog in Florida

(Credit: Wikimedia)

A 8 foot American Alligator killed and consumed a dog in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Although the owner attempted to save the dog the alligator got away with the family pet.

Although this is very sad to hear it seems wildlife officers are taking the proper prepstive on this with one officer saying "I can't punish an alligator for being an alligator...That's just an alligator being its normal self." and saying "People just need to understand that we are a national wildlife refuge, and first and foremost, we are there for the wildlife."

The officers do hand out a flyer called "A guide to living with Alligators" (linked below) This includes safety tips when dealing with alligators

Sources
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/07/01/dog-eaten-alligator-st-marks-refuge/29554797/

A guide to living with Alligators:
http://welcometonorthwestflorida.com/pdf/faimlysupport1.pdf

First Alligator attack on a human this year

The first alligator attack on a human happen late last month in Texas. A 13 year old boy was bitten on the arm and leg by a alligator in the 6 foot to 8 foot range. Luckily his father was present and was able to help fight the animal off, but was also injured during the attack.

Sources
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/father-grandfather-save-boy-in-texas-alligator-attack/
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0629/Dad-of-the-year-Father-saves-13-year-old-son-from-alligator-video

New post coming

Sorry about the two month lay off, but post will be coming in the coming days and weeks!

Until then here is a video of a tortoise attacking a cat!

There are 23 species of Crocodillians! Wait there is another?

Credit: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2011/09/14/nile-crocodile-is-actually-two-species-and-the-egyptians-knew-it/

I grow up loving crocodilians. Growing up I learned there where 23 species of Crocodilians. That's why this discovery is so exciting to me. In 2011 it was announced that the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) was in fact two different species. They are the Nile Crocodile as we traditionally think of them. The Nile Crocodile is often assumed to be the second largest crocodile species of the planet growing up to 18 feet and perhaps weighting nearly 1 ton.

However this study discovered a population of crocodile living in west Africa. The researchers named this species the West African crocodile (Crocodylus suchus). Its believed that this West African Crocodile to quite different from the Nile crocodile, who the study says shares a lot of his genetic information with new world crocodiles rather than this fellow African Crocodile.

Sources
http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Crocodylus&species=suchus
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110914/full/news.2011.535.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/06/0617_020618_croc.html
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2011/09/14/nile-crocodile-is-actually-two-species-and-the-egyptians-knew-it/

Fun Tortoise video



 

I saw this video on the Smithsonian channel on Facebook and had to share it.

 

Source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWYCoBiTnA0

10,000 Reptiles!

Credit: http://phys.org/news/2014-08-reptile-database-surpasses-species.html

2014 was a  big year for those keep up with reptiles as the 10,000th reptile was described for the first time a small lizard named Cyrtodactylus Vilaphogi. This lizard was found in the nation of Laos. Now with over 10,000 species this means that reptiles out number mammals who only have about 7,000 species.

Break down of the order Reptilia
Crocodilians: 24 Species
Lizards: over 6,000 Species
Snakes: over 3,400 species
Turtles: over 300 species
Worm Lizards: over 180 species
Tuatara: 2 species

Source
http://phys.org/news/2014-08-reptile-database-surpasses-species.html

Crocs enjoy the occasional salad

Credit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130821124333.htm

In a study looking at the dietary habits of 18 species of Crocodilians, it was found that 13 species of crocodilians d consume fruits on a regular basis. Although there isn't lot of data on how crocodilians process carbohydrates to get nutritional value out of the meal, they study assumes that the do or they wound not consume the fruit.

This study shows us how amazingly adaptive crocodilians are to their environment!

Source
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130821124333.htm

Gomek

Credit: Wikimedia

As a follow up to my last post on Maximo, I wanted to post some info on Gomek. Gomek was the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) kept at St Augustine Alligator Farm before they got Maximo.

At nearly 18 feet long and one ton in weight Gomek was one of the largest crocodiles to ever be exhibited in a zoo in the world, let alone America. Gomek was a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) caught by George Craig. Mr. Craig is the same man who caught Cassius.

Gomek lived at St Augustine Alligator Farm until 1997 when de died of a heart attack at the age of 60 to 80 years old. After his death he was stuffed and placed on display for the world to see!!

Next time your in the area go see what remains of this amazing animal.

Wikipedia article on Gomek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomek

St Augustine Alligator Farm website
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/gomekforever.html

Maximo!



Photo taken by Anthony Baker at St Augustine Alligator Farm

As a person who loves crocodilians St Augustine Alligator Farm is one of my favorite places on earth! If you are ever in the area St Augustine Alligator Farm is an amazing zoo where you can see all 24 species of crocodilians.

However their saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), Maximo, is a great animal. At 15' 3" long and weighting over 1,200 pounds he is a very impressive sight to behold! Below are a series of links both to videos online of Maximo and links to St Augustine Alligator Farm website.

Videos of Maximo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKrZLbHhQz4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S57vYKhV40A

St Augustine Alligator Farm website
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/maximo.html

Seized pet American Alligater

(Credit: Photo taken by Anthony Baker at St. Augustine Alligator Farm)

A pet American Alligator was seized 6 months ago from a home in California, when the owner failed to have the proper permit for the animal. The family owned the animal for 30 years wen it was seized. A couple of days ago the pet Alligator, named Chopper, died in state custody.

 

 

I a have few mixed feelings about captive crocodilians, but it seems this family took great care of this animal for decides. In any event no matter what side you come down on the debate it is a sad outcome for the animal.  



Source:

http://abc7.com/pets/alligator-dies-after-being-taken-from-rancho-cucamonga-owner-by-fish-and-wildlife/557337/

Update: Galapagos Tortoises on Pinzón Island!

(Credit: Wikimedia)

On 1/27/2015 I posted an article about the return of baby Galapagos Tortoises on the Pinzón Island. In another article I found (which I have linked to in the sources section) they was a population survey done on the Pinzón Island which shows great growth in the population. In 1959,they estimated there where 100 to 200 adult Tortoises. Today there is an estimated over 500 Tortoises on the Pinzón Island. This is a great considering these animals take 40 years to reach sexual maturity, however not all of these tortoises were born on the island, but where released.

Sources:
http://www.galapagos.org/blog/pinzon-tortoise-survey-part1/
http://www.galapagos.org/blog/pinzon-tortoise-survey-part2/

Playing Crocs!!!

Credit: Vladimir Dinets

Based on an article titled "Play behavior in crocodilians" published in Animal Behavior and Cognition by Vladimir Dinets crocodiles have been shown to display play behavior.

The article suggest that crocodilians exhibit three different types of play behavior: play with objects, social play and locomotor play. This comes as a surprise to me as I have heard other accounts by croc experts who believed that crocodiles do not play. This study suggest that crocodiles can play with one another and even play with objects such as balls.

Although this study suggests crocodiles do exhibit play behavior the author does mention

"Even though these observations of apparent play behavior are mostly singular and, if taken separately, allow for alternative explanations (some of which are mentioned in Results section), combined they present strong evidence that play might be a more regular part of crocodilian behavioral repertoire than currently recognized."

So it seems more studies and observations will have to be performed before the argument is closed.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150210212044.htm

Crocodiles eat poachers!

(Credit: Wikimedia)

 

Tourist in Zimbabwe came upon a pretty nasty site when they where touring the Zambezi river as the found a group of crocodiles consuming a human body.

 

The person is believed to be from Zambia and to have died during gun fight with other poachers and not the crocodiles. However the crocodiles most likely took the opportunity to eat when they found the body.

 

Sources

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/british-tourists-crocodiles-eating-human-legs-report-article-1.2154532

Supersize Crocs (Documentary)







I wanted to share this "Nature" documentary looks at Giant Crocodiles around the world. It also features Romulus Whitaker founder of the Crocodile Trust Bank in India.

 

It looks at how big the large crocodilians can grow.

Nature link
Buy the DVD from nature

Gator on a golf course!!!

Credit: http://www.wptv.com/news/state/massive-gator-spotted-on-florida-golf-course

 

I thought I would share this as I saw it everywhere on mainstream news outlets. This photo was taken in Florida. This kind of surprised me that this made the rounds on the news networks because in Florida there are over 1 million Alligators and they are often quite common on golf courses (which often have lakes), but it is a news article about alligators in major news networks and that cant be all bad.

Source

http://www.wptv.com/news/state/massive-gator-spotted-on-florida-golf-course

Saltwater crocodiles killed in the Northern Territory, Australia

Credit: http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/slain-saltwater-crocodiles-found-mutilated-at-dundee-beach/comments-fnk0b1zt-1227247283102

Over the past year 10 crocodiles have been found killed in the Northern Territory in Australia. These killings are illegal and appear to have been done for trophy hunting.

Although the killings themselves are sad, the comments section on the "NT News" article are even worse with people saying things like "That's two down, only 89,998 left to go. Oh My God, they call this illegal" and "Good. Kill some more."

These animals where not nuisance animals and therefore their was no justification for these killings. Hopefully these animal will one day get the respect they deserve.

Source
http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/slain-saltwater-crocodiles-found-mutilated-at-dundee-beach/comments-fnk0b1zt-1227247283102

New postings

I know I didn't make any post during the month of February. This is because school got in the way on me reading a lot of articles, however I have taken to it recently to writing post and scheduling them to come out in the future just so there are new postings on a regular basis. I have deicded to make the new posting pop up on Fridays, so look forward to a new post every Friday until May (I have them written up to that point).

To hold you over to this Friday here is a photo of a Galapagos Tortoise.


Credit: Photo taken by Anthony Baker at St Augustine Alligator Florida

Why would someone do this?

Credit: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Turtles-Tortoises/Information-News/Man-Faces-6-Months-in-Jail-For-Standing-on-Galapagos-Tortoise/

Someone posted to twitter an image of themselves standing on a Galapagos Tortoise!!

These animals are very endangered and it is very sad that someone would do this just to post it to a social network site. According to the article this man could face up to 6 months in jail for standing on this beautiful animal.

Original article
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Turtles-Tortoises/Information-News/Man-Faces-6-Months-in-Jail-For-Standing-on-Galapagos-Tortoise/

Virgin birth in the Reticulated Python

(http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141023-virgin-birth-pythons-snakes-animals-science/)

The Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) the world longest snake, with a recorded length of 6.95 meters (22' 9") in the published literature being the longest I am aware of, has displayed parthenogenesis for the first time.

Parthenogenesis, or asexual reproduction, has been recorded in other large predators, such as sharks and even other snakes.

Thelma, an 11 year old snake calls the Louisville zoo home where in 2012 she gave had 6 eggs which produced offspring.

Reticulated python article

Cassius the largest crocodile in the World

(http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/cassius-the-crocodile-takes-guinness-world-records-title-as-biggest-in-captivity/story-e6frfku0-1226137909434)


 

Often when people talk about the larger species of crocodilians such as the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), or the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) it is often asked how big is the largest crocodile in the world?

Meet Cassius a Saltwater Crocodile living in Australia. Measuring 5.48 meters (17' 11") he holds the record of the largest confirmed crocodile in the world.

Article on Cassius
Another article on Cassius

Galapagos Tortoises on Pinzón Island!

(Image from Wikimedia)

https://www.thedodo.com/galapagos-tortoises-spotted-945526940.html

Saw this really neat article a few days ago and knew I wanted it to be the first thing I shared.

The Galapagos Tortoises takes decades to reach sexual maturity which makes breeding programs very slow in the best cases, and not productive in the worse.

As the article points out rats where introduced on the island when they started to predate on eggs and hatchlings. Now after the rats have been killed off the Tortoises are once again able to breed and lay their eggs.

Although breeding programs are great, nothing beats giving animals a natural environment to live and breed.

Introduction

This blog is going to be an informal place where I talk about Herpetology (The study of reptiles and amphibians). This will include scientific articles, fun news stories, and maybe a few fun videos or pictures about reptiles. So look forward to reading posts about crocodiles, turtles, snakes and lizards!

I will also talk about reptile keeping (as I have a few).

Who am I? I am an undergraduate student in my senior year looking to go into a grad program that allows me study crocodilians.