Famous Reptiles

MIAMI, July 28 (Reuters) - Two invasive species, the American bullfrog and the brown tree snake, cost the world an estimated $16 billion between 1986 and 2020 by causing problems ranging from crop damage to power outages, according to a study published on Thursday. The brown-and-green frog known as lithobates catesbeianus that can weigh over 2 pounds (0.9 kilos), had the greatest impact in Europe, according to research published in Scientific Reports. The brown tree snake, or boiga irregularis, has multiplied uncontrollably on Pacific islands including Guam and the Marianna Islands, where the species was introduced by U.S. troops in World War II, said researcher Ismael Soto. FILE PHOTO - An American Bullfrog is seen in a mating pond at the Jurong Frog Farm in Singapore December 11, 2008. REUTERS/Tan Choon Huat Read More The snakes have at times been so abundant that they caused power outages by crawling on electrical equipment, he said. This signals the need for investment controlling...

Red deer from the Isle of Rum in Scotland prefer a life of solitude in their advancing years, according to a study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution. A team of researchers from the University of Oxford and Edinburgh, UK, found that wild red deer become less sociable with age. "We found that deer's social networks shrink as they grow old and begin associating less with others. This 'social ageing' appears to be driven by older individuals choosing to live in more isolated locations and engaging with fewer other deer within these sparser areas," said author Dr. Greg Albery, Department of Biology, University of Oxford. Understanding how animals change their social behaviour throughout life is useful for research explaining the consequences of getting older, as much of it also applies to humans. The team used social network analysis methods on a 4...

Pennsylvania police shot and killed a 15-foot snake Wednesday as it was strangling a man in his home in an Allentown suburb. Emergency personnel responded to a call Wednesday afternoon about a 28-year-old man who was in cardiac arrest with a snake wrapped tightly around his throat. When police arrived at the home in Fogelsville, they found the man, who was identified by police only as the pet snake's owner, lying unresponsive on the floor, Lt. Peter Nickischer, with the Upper Macungie Township, told The Washington Post. The "very large, very thick" snake had wrapped its midsection around his neck — and its eyes were on the officers, he said. Nickischer said one of the officers fired a single shot, striking the snake in the head. The reptile then released its grip and slithered away, allowing the officers to pull its owner to safety, he said. The snake died. Nickischer said paramedics provided "lifesaving measures" on the man before rushing him to a hospital for ...

A local reptile expert is urging people not to keep alligators as pets, this after a two-foot-long gator was seen roaming the streets of Kenosha on Tuesday. "Most of the time, people are not prepared to take care of them," WPS Reptiles owner Bill Stewart told Wisconsin's Morning News. "(The gators) end up ditched or abandoned." "They're not taken care of properly." The gator, named Chomper, was found near 22nd Ave and 24th Street on Tuesday. It is in good condition and well cared for, according to Stewart. Police returned the reptile to the owner, who plans to reinforce its cage. "Gators are smart," Stewart explained. "They'll play with toys and problem solve. They're smarter than we've given them credit for in the past."

I have always had a thing about snakes. As a child I had a pet snake, and they are kind of cool pets. Mine was a hognose. They have this ability to flatten their head out like a cobra when scared. I remember mine would do this when a car would drive by. I thought all snakes were friendly like mine, so I tried to pick a snake up out of the yard once. He promptly bit my thumb. I had to take my free hand to open its mouth and get him off. Thankfully, it was a garter snake and not something that could hurt me. As an adult it seems as though I rarely see snakes. It's not that they are not out there, I just don't see them. As a hiker and trail runner that is not a good thing. A few weeks ago, my wife, Lori, and I were hiking the Rudolph Trail system off Mill Creek Road. The wonderful system has around 10 miles of trails that travel across a rugged area with steep hills and several streams. Over the years I have seen herds of deer, wild turkeys, hundreds of squirrels a...

From NIH Research Matters Aging rates vary widely across animal species. Understanding how species evolved to age at different rates can provide insight into how much aging might be altered in humans. One way to examine this is to compare aging rates and longevity across many species in the wild. Previous such comparisons have focused on birds and mammals. Although some of the longest-lived vertebrate species are reptiles or amphibians, there have been few comparisons of aging among them. In a new study, a team of more than 100 researchers compiled datasets on aging and longevity collected from reptiles and amphibians in the wild. The data included 107 populations representing 77 species. The team examined this data as well as corresponding data on birds and mammals. This allowed them to test several different hypotheses about aging. The results of the study, which was funded in part by NIH, appeared in Science on June 23, 2022. One hypothesis predicts that c...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] 6 unusual animals that make great pets for kids    The Star Online

The main threat to gopher tortoises is the same one faced by hundreds of other species around the world: habitat loss. One of their favorite habitats, longleaf pine forest, once covered 90 million acres unbroken from Virginia to Florida to Texas. Less than 5% of original longleaf pine forest remains today. The longleaf pine ecosystem includes old-growth forest, open pine stands, well-drained sandy soils, plenty of low grasses and vegetation to eat and room to move around. Unfortunately for the gopher tortoise, this habitat is also very desirable for people, especially in Florida. Development, urban sprawl, agricultural conversion and fire suppression drastically reduced and fragmented gopher tortoise habitat and made intact forests overgrown and unsuitable for tortoises.

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Where to find the venomous and non-venomous snakes of California    KTXL FOX 40 Sacramento

An enormous Indian cobra has been recorded slowly eating a five-foot Russell's viper, stretching open its jaws to consume the creature head first, and whole. The Wildlife SOS-GSPCA team were called to Madhu Farm, in Kalali, India, where the six-foot Indian Cobra was videoed eating its gargantuan five-foot viper dinner after a fight between the two snakes. The team carefully removed the cobra from the farmhouse and released it back into its natural environment. Wildlife SOS is a non-profit charity that rescues and rehabilitates wildlife across India. Stock image: an Indian cobra with its hood displayed. iStock / Getty Images Plus Snakes are one of the leading causes of death in India, with an average of 58,000 people dying from snake bites per year, and an estimated 1.2 million snakebite deaths occurring between 2000 and 2019. Raj Bhavsar, Project Coordinator at Wildlife SOS and President of GSPCA, said in a statement: "The situation could have gone the other direction as...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] New enterprises pop up around Lebanon    lebanonlocalnews.com

Lavander Albino KEEPING ball pythons as pets, especially for first-time snake owners, is actually easier than most people think.  Very recently, I visited my high school classmate to check out his unique serpentine collection.  Kiddo and a Butter Enchi Pastel (three-gene snake) "It's called a ball python (Python regius) because of its tendency to curl into a ball (especially when stressed or startled)," said Kiddo Yap, who began his ball python collection, 3K Exotics Ball Pythons, just last October 2020. 3K is derived from his name and his two kids, Kix and Kae.  From just 4 ball pythons, he now has a total of 80 ball pythons, including those he personally bred.  Chocolate Fire Orange Dream (three-gene snake) "I got amazed with the endless possibilities that you can produce by breeding them," he said.    Ball pythons are perfect as pets as they don't grow too big or too long. From snout to v...

Skip to content Top Navigation Close this dialog window Explore Southern Living Profile Menu Close Sign in Close this dialog window View image Biologists Release 25 Threatened Eastern Indigo Snakes in Alabama Forest this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.

A 52-foot-long model of a female megalodon, seen at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. Image credit: Nicholas Pyenson / Smithsonian Institution. The megalodon – aka megatooth shark, Otodus megalodon  – was a mighty beast that once roamed the ancient oceans. They were larger than any other predatory sharks at the time, reaching a whopping 16 meters (52 feet). For comparison, the current biggest predatory fish in the ocean are female whale sharks, averaging 4.5 meters (15 feet).  Unfortunately for them (but fortunately for many marine animals), the megalodon went extinct 3.6 million years ago. In a new study published in Science Advances , scientists revealed that the megalodon occupied the highest trophic level (the position of an organism in a food web) than any other ocean predator, living or extinct.  But why is determining the trophic level of extinct animals important? "Trophic level is a fundamental characteristic of animals – ...

Jonathan the Seychelles giant tortoise recently turned 190 years old, claiming the title of "Oldest Living Land Animal" from Tu'i Malila, a tortoise that died in 1965. However, both were practically youngsters compared to Adwaita, an Aldabra giant tortoise. Based on unconfirmed reports, Adwaita was born at the peak of the Little Ice Age and died at the ripe old age of 255 in the year 2006 after a crack in his shell led to an infection. Tortoises aren't the only cold-blooded animal blessed with a curiously long lifespan. The tuatara, a lizard-like reptile with a line of spikes running down the length of its spine, can live well over a century, and the blind cave salamander, an amphibian with nearly translucent skin and very poor eyesight, can live past 70.  "Anecdotal evidence exists that some reptiles and amphibians age slowly and have long lifespans, but until now no one has actually studied this on a large scale across numerous species in the wild,...