Tag archives for snakes
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As bird populations plummet worldwide, will Earth become the Planet of the Spiders? Research on Guam, a 30-mile-long U.S. island in the Pacific, found that arachnid populations increased as much as 40-fold in the wake of insect-eating birds being eaten into oblivion by invasive brown treesnakes.
Eighteen smooth green snakes bred in captivity were released into the northern Illinois prairie a few dozen miles from Chicago today.
BioBlitz Poetic Inventory: Garter Snake
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on August 24, 2012 
While volunteers and researchers record the science of the many species found at this year’s BioBlitz, writers across Colorado are putting down a record of their own as well.
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Pythons sometimes have eyes too big for their stomachs—read about some particularly epic snake meals that went bust.
During the recent BioBlitz in the Saguaro National park, Arizona, we met two members of the Tucson Herpetological Society: Robert Villa and Hanna Strauss. The Tucson Herp Society is dedicated to conservation, education and research concerning the amphibians and reptiles of Arizona and Mexico. Villa and Strauss were at the BioBlitz with two species of…
USGS herpetologist Cecil Schwalbe is a popular scientist at the Saguaro National Park BioBlitz. He demonstrates some of the charismatic reptiles found in the park, including a venomous lizard, a snake-eating snake, and a tortoise that survives the desert drought by holding in its pee and poop.
By Jordan Schaul As flooding continues to cripple Eastern Australia and take lives, I wonder what impact this natural disaster has had on the human-wildlife interface. The floods have now damaged and forced the evacuation of skyscrapers in Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city, but the untold destruction of rural areas and small towns and the…
Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth
Posted by Ford Cochran on November 24, 2010 A new study of venomous reptile fossils sheds light on the evolution of snake fangs. By Hans-Dieter Sues Venom is a highly effective means to subdue and kill prey before eating it, as well as a great defense against predators. Furthermore, studies have shown that some snake toxins can also help in breaking down proteins…
Fluffy, a gigantic and gentle reticulated python at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, died last night due to an apparent tumor, the zoo said in a news statement accompanying these photos. “The eighteen-year-old snake was 24 feet (7.3 meters) long and 300 pounds (136 kilograms) and held the title of longest snake by Guinness World…
Wildlife Kingpin Jailed
Posted by Bryan Christy on September 7, 2010 On Monday, September 6, the world’s most notorious wildlife dealer, Anson Wong of Malaysia, was sentenced to prison after a lock on his suitcase containing legally protected snakes broke on an airport conveyor belt. From the island of Penang, Wong operates one of the world’s largest legal reptile supply companies, which he has used in…
Adding to the crushing evidence of global species decline is a new study by an international group of scientists that snakes may now also be in retreat. The disappearance of such top predators may have serious consequences for the functioning of many ecosystems, scientists warn. Newly published data from the UK, France, Italy and Nigeria provides…
Editor’s note: The letter published on this page is a response by professional breeders of pythons to ongoing coverage and debate of the issue of whether or not the U.S. climate –now or in future–could make parts of the United States suitable habitat for exotic constrictor snakes. The larger issue at stake is whether or not…
By Willie Drye for NatGeo News Watch Teenager Elizabeth Bearden says it’s hard to explain why she’s so fond of the giant Burmese pythons her parents raise at their home in Landon, South Carolina. She describes how she got to know Daisy, an 18-foot, 230-pound python. “At first, with Daisy, I was scared,” she…
By Willie Drye for NatGeo News Watch Greg Graziani thinks Burmese pythons are “fascinating animals” that shouldn’t be in the wilds of South Florida. “They’re beautiful animals,” Graziani said of the non-poisonous snakes that can grow to 14 feet or longer. “If I could take them all to Southeast Asia, I would, but I can’t…
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will propose to list the Burmese python and eight other large constrictor snakes that threaten the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said this week. Salazar made the announcement at the Port of New York, which serves…
By Dr. Susan Haseltine Associate Director for Biology, U.S. Geological Survey This letter is written in response to your blog post of 07 December 2009 [Justification for Congressional python ban unscientific, researchers say] , regarding a press release issued by a reptile-trade organization and an accompanying letter by a group of veterinarians and other scientists.…
Biologists and veterinarians are urging the U.S. Congress to hold off on a ban on trade in pythons and other large exotic snakes until research into how much of a threat they pose to U.S. ecosystems has been thoroughly reviewed by independent scientists. In a letter to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary (full text at…
Concerned that the headline-grabbing news of nonnative giant snakes invading Florida’s Everglades and possibly more of the U.S. is becoming politcized and ignoring science, the United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK) is speaking out. Several people have written to NatGeo News Watch in response to our early posts, Congress weighs ban on importation of…
Prompt action is needed at the federal level to limit the number of invasive pythons released into the wild, South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Deputy Executive Director George Horne said in written testimony to the U.S. Congress today. The House of Representatives Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security is considering a Bill that…
In the latest crackdown on nonnative giant pet snakes in Florida, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) investigators have confiscated an 11-foot, albino Burmese python living uncaged in a private residence. Photo courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission Acting on a tip that a Crestview resident had a “large snake” that had escaped before,…
Five giant non-native snake species would pose high risks to the health of ecosystems in the United States should they become established in the country, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said today. A 300-page report prepared by the agency details the risks of nine non-native boa, anaconda and python species that are invasive or potentially…
A second species of python–the African rock python–has been found to be breeding in the Florida wild, National Geographic News reports today. “Already squeezed by the invasion of the giant Burmese python, Florida now faces what one scientist calls one of the U.S. state’s “worst nightmares,” writes NG News editor Chrstine Dell’Amore. “Africa’s largest snake–the…
Pythons in Florida Everglades: Is the Snake Invasion Only Beginning?
Posted by Stuart Pimm on September 6, 2009 Pythons have invaded the Everglades, where they flourish in warm, wet habitat that has an abundant buffet of native species to feast on. The giant snakes were imported to North America as pets, but released or escaped into Florida’s wetlands they are proliferating, challenging alligators for the top of the food chain, and potentially positioning themselves to…
Hunted to near extinction by the invasive brown tree snake on the Pacific Ocean Island Guam, the Micronesian kingfisher exists today only in captivity. The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago was excited to announce today that the world population of this bird was boosted with a successful hatching on June 2. Photo of Micronesian kingfisher…
Snakes have bodies and methods of locomotion perfect for situations where limbs would be a disadvantage. They can glide in and out of rubble, penetrate crevices, and navigate situations that most other animals would find impassable. This is what makes them so attractive to robot engineers, who envisage many applications for agile and stealthy “snake…
