Famous Reptiles

Critters It's Easy to Buy a Snake in Texas. Maybe Too Easy. Almost anyone can walk out of an exotic reptile and pet show with a snake, scorpion, or tarantula. But should you? By Madeleine Aggeler May 16, 2022 3 Snake, basket: Getty How do you put a price on a sunset? Or a warm summer breeze ruffling your hair? A tiny, glittering hummingbird flitting from flower to flower like a living jewel? Some things in life seem...

The Pelican Island Conservation Society celebrated National Wildlife Refuge week with a monthlong version that featured a Bird and Nature Art Show at the Environmental Learning Center. The event highlights and promotes the awareness, conservation and stewardship of all National Wildlife Refuges, but especially our two local ones. Indian River County is home to the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, designated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 as the first NWR in the country. We share the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, a prolific sea turtle nesting area that spans from Wabasso Beach to Melbourne Beach, with Brevard County. Festivities kicked off with the annual Indian River Bird and Nature Art Show in the ELC's Lagoon Room and Tidal Gallery. Tim Glover, PICS president, said the art show helps to promote the nature and wildlife associated with the refuge, "and, hopefully, encourages people to get out and see Pelican Island." Nature lovers satiated their i...

The Guam rail, also known as the ko'ko', has all the architectural grace of a wood-paneled Buick station wagon. Mostly brown, with white longitudinal stripes on its head and a houndstooth pattern around its midsection, it has a crow-sized chassis, tiny wings, and long, chickenish legs. It is narrow in profile, designed for a life of scurrying through the underbrush. The rail cannot fly, and it nests on the ground. This way of life suited the rail fine until humans released brown tree snakes onto its native island of Guam. In the early 1970s, the bird began a "drastic numerical and distributional decline," according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and by 1983, fewer than 100 individual birds remained. In the mid-1980s, Fish and Wildlife and a consortium of zoos gathered up what birds they could find and began breeding them. Guam rails, it soon became clear, are willing captive breeders. In 1989, the agency proposed releasing some of the birds back into the...

In an unassuming plaza off Rural Road in Tempe, snakes slither inside of a neon-lit room while strawberry cheesecake protein shakes are blended in an adjacent space. No, this isn't a Halloween haunted house or a sci-fi reptilian dream. It's Infinity Shakes Snake Cafe. A sign above the door reads "Live Noodsss," and leads into the unusual business. Inside, customers can hang out with snakes with names such as Osaka and Athens. On the drinks menu, protein shake flavors range from Cinnamon Toast Crunch to Fruity Pebbles and Oreo Overload. Owners Alicia Penkey and Elisa Benitez explain that for $20, customers can get a protein shake and a five-minute hold of one of 18 non-venomous snakes. The owners normally assist with the snake-holding, at least until customers get comfortable with the creatures. More involved experiences like snake feeding and snake meditation are available by reservation. Introducing the snakes at Infinity Shakes and Snake Cafe. ...

The boa constrictor after it was found on a canal path near Chasewater. Photo: Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue - Midlands The boa constrictor, which was said to be sunning itself in a bid to try and keep warm, was found on the path in Chasewater, near Cannock, on Thursday. Volunteers from Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue - Midlands were called to collect the snake. The charity is now housing the snake and monitoring its health while waiting to see if anyone comes forward to claim ownership. Founder Lindsay Newell said there's a chance the snake could have escaped, which was found in a spot not near any houses, but nobody has so far come forward. "The lady and gentleman who came across it on the canal path, they were shocked, she said. "I'm not sure what it was doing where it was, it was in the middle of nowhere. "We've had a few offers to rehome it, but we won't do it straight away. Until we know its eating OK. It's now in a vivarium." V...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Loess Bluffs temporarily closes auto tours due to avian flu    KQ2.com

Any animal that wants to prowl at the bottom of a body of water needs the skills to sink. And according to a study in the Journal of Anatomy , Metoposaurus krasiejowensis — a sizable amphibian species from over 200 million years ago — acquired those skills all thanks to their substantial shoulder bones. Sinking to Survive According to the authors of this new study, the temnospondyls were an order of ancient amphibians that adapted to a wide variety of ecosystems and fulfilled a wide variety of ecological functions. "Some researchers believe that modern frogs, toads and salamanders could be descendants of these temnospondyli," says Sudipta Kalita, a study author and a paleontology researcher at the University of Bonn, according to a press release . Among these temnospondyls was a family of temnospondyl amphibians known as the metoposaurids . These big, mostly aquatic amphibians differed from the other families of temnospondyls, in part due to the bulky bones of their shoulde...

While India continues to be the main country of origin for wild-caught star tortoises, Sri Lanka has in recent years become both a prominent source country and transit hub for trafficking networks that move the animals to East and Southeast Asia. In a secretly recorded video, a man is heard confidently saying, "I have 560 pieces of live tortoises of size 5-12 centimetres [2-5 inches] and the tortoises can be sent through India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia as I know helpful people at these airports." This took place inside an opulent shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand's capital, where the supplier met a potential customer. "I also have a small [tortoise] farm in Colombo," he adds. They discuss how to bring live tortoises into the country to sell as pets. The supplier is Wasim Sheriff, alias Mona or Machli, a notorious wildlife trafficker based in India who had somehow managed to evade the authorities for...

Meet Professor Indraneil Das. He likes to go by Neil. He's a Professor at the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation, Universiti of Malaysia Sarawak. His field is herpetology (which means he studies amphibians), and in 2011, he rediscovered the Borneo Rainbow Toad – a species thought to have been extinct since 1924 – in the tall trees of Gunung Penrissen. The discovery of this reclusive rainbow toad caused quite a stir, and not only among herpetologists. It also inspired the designers at G-Shock to create the Frogman Borneo Rainbow Toad Limited Edition, a rare watch created to celebrate the rare amphibian. As we were considering who should review this highly specific piece, we determined that no one in the world is more qualified than the man who has given his life to the rainbow toad – a man without whom we would not even know th...

The rut takes no prisoners. This time of year is when red deer are on the prowl for their mate, meaning that they're way more ornery and agressive than usual, and things can get ugly quick if they feel like another male could pose a potential threat to them or their future mate. And when I say ugly, things can get deadly. Exhibit A… Rafik Lapinski, a Polish photographer, was in the woods on a hunt when he came across a battle to the death between two red deer. It appears that Lapinski began filming on the back end of the fight, and once he zoomed in, it's easy to see that one of the deer had already taken out his opponent, and he was either already dead, or soon to be, as it laid on its side while the other deer finished him off. Towards the end you can even see the younger stags's tongue hanging out of his mouth, most likely the victim of an antler to the vital organs. The video footage and pictures are just further proof of how brutal these creatures can be,...

This snake, believed to be a snow corn snake, was found in Lucan yesterday & taken to Lucan Garda Station where it was looked after for the night before being taken to the National Exotic Animal Sanctuary today. Anyone with info on ownership please contact Lucan GS 01 6667300. pic.twitter.com/qlR8Ezwh2R— Garda Info (@gardainfo) May 8, 2022 May 9 (UPI) -- A large snow corn snake was spotted and captured by police in the Dublin suburb of Lucan. The huge reptile was first transferred to the Lucan Garda Station before it was moved to the National Exotic Animal Sanctuary in Ballivor. Authorities uploaded a photo of the snake laying across a box on Twitter. The snake is long with yellow and white features. Police are asking anyone with info on the snake or its owner to contact them. Recently, animal rescuers in Pennsylvania captured a California kingsnake more than 2,000 miles from its natural habitat. The forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary are searching...