Giant snakes commonly attacked modern hunter-gatherers in Philippines. Skin of female python killed by Agta Negrito men.
Photo by: J. Headland. Humans have an ambivalent relationship with snakes. The Natural History of the World’s Rarest Viper, the Aruba Island Rattlesnake. Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Occasionally I like to highlight animals that, while not suitable as pets, are none-the-less of great interest to reptile enthusiasts. The Aruba Island Rattlesnake, Crotalus unicolor, native to a place known more for its resorts than for reptiles, is one such beast…from diet to range to appearance, it is most unique. Please Note: I’ve had the good fortune of working with Aruba Island Rattlesnakes at the Bronx and Staten Island Zoos.
Turtle embryos speed up development to hatch in the safety of a group. Australian freshwater turtle embryos can sense how developed other babies are in their eggs and then speed up their own growth to hatch with the most advanced of their siblings, according to new research.
This inter-egg awareness and subsequent metabolic acceleration means that freshwater turtles (Emydura macquarii) that would otherwise hatch when the nest has been largely abandoned, and would therefore be easy prey, instead enter the world in the relative safety of a peer group. The paper, “Embryonic communication in the nest: metabolic responses of reptilian embryos to developmental rates of siblings”, was written by a trio of University of Western Sydney scientists and is published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Co-author Dr. Ricky Spencer said that the research team had known from previous research that some eggs were hatching before full term. Turtle eggs communicate to hatch together - life - 30 November 2011. Scientists confirm ancient Egyptian knowledge: Nile crocodile is two species. Nile crocodile in Madagascar.
Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Training helps canines curb curiosity about rattlesnakes. Rattlesnake awareness for dogs Wildlife biologist Kevin Brennan and his dog Unkus were loping around Lake Hemet a few years ago when Unkus spotted something moving in the bushes.
He followed his snout into the foliage, then leapt back. A rattlesnake sprang at the dog's face. Are we having fun yet? Snake fails to amuse children at park. By Rich Shulman As a parent, I know that young children will cry about anything.
But you have to wonder, isn't the natural fear of snakes a good thing? Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images Arab Israeli children pose with a pet snake at an amusement park in the northern Israeli city of Acre on August 31 as Muslims celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. Rapid venom evolution in pit vipers may be defensive; Marsupials that prey on venomous snakes also evolve rapidly. Research published recently in PLoS ONE delivers new insight about rapid toxin evolution in venomous snakes: pitvipers such as rattlesnakes may be engaged in an arms race with opossums, a group of snake-eating American marsupials.
Although some mammals have long been known to eat venomous snakes, this fact has not been factored into previous explanations for the rapid evolution of snake venom. Instead, snake venom is usually seen as a feeding, or trophic, adaptation. But new molecular research on snake-eating opossums by researchers affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History suggests that predators factor into the rapid evolution of snake venom. "Snake venom toxins evolve incredibly rapidly," says Robert Voss, curator in the Department of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History.
Several groups of mammals are known for their ability to eat venomous snakes, including hedgehogs, mongooses, and some opossums. The National Science Foundation funded this research. Puerto Rican Anoles Out-Think Birds in Cognitive Testing. Ras Al Khaimah’s reptile menace claims a life. For residents of Ras Al Khaimah, they are under attack.
A rodent and reptile infestation has people pretty much wringing their hands in despair. The situation has only been exacerbated with the death of a 40-year-old Indian in Ras Al Khaimah due to a snake bit. This despite the victim, T Prabhakaran, undergoing anti-venom treatment at Sakhr Hospital. Encounter: Malabar Pit Viper. San Diego Wedding Photographer. Follow me on Twitter / Be my friend on Facebook So I grew up a little different than most people.
This turtle briefly ruled the world after the dinosaurs were wiped out. Climate change threatens endangered freshwater turtle. Arthur Rosenfeld: Saving a Living Treasure of Asia. China has emerged as the world's largest market for smuggled endangered animal species.
Just as some of our own environmental transgressions are born of the Western notion of man's hegemony over the natural world, China's destruction of its natural heritage is rooted in social and cultural mores that include the role of animal parts in traditional Chinese medicine. The freedom to spend currency abroad and the rise of the Chinese middle class have, despite government avowals to the contrary, increased trade on protected and threatened species worldwide.
Tigers, rhinos, and bears are some of the most publicized and emblematic victims of smuggling and butchery, but there is another, nearly silent extinction epidemic underway in Asia -- the decimation of Asian turtles. Included among these is the Giant Asian Forest Tortoise, Manouria emys, which occurs as far south as the Indonesian Island of Sumatra, and as far north as the Chinese border with Burma. Separate species of tortoise makes a name for itself in Arizona, Mexico. Galapagos Islands give Central High students 'amazing' lessons. Verbs not appropriate for snake as subject. « previous post | next post » Luke Yeomans (pictured) had a king cobra sanctuary in Nottingham, England, and planned to open it to the public this weekend, but instead one of his cobras killed him on Wednesday with a single bite, a hefty injection of neurotoxic and cardiotoxic venom that gave him a heart attack. Sadly, the linguistic signs that he would be killed this way were already present in the record, quite clear in something he had said.
UJR Presents The End of Seaway Serpentarium Saga And More 07-01 by Danny Mendez. 13-year-old drives snakebite victim to help. A 13-year-old boy became a hero when he helped save the life of his friend after a fishing outing lead to an encounter with a rattlesnake. Brandon Koch, 13, and Alex Anderson, 18, couldn't get the fish to bite Saturday evening in Boxelder Creek, a place where the two have spent evenings fishing together before. After a few hours, the two had decided to call it a day and pack up. On the walk back to the car, Anderson was bitten on his foot by a rattlesnake. The snake hit one of Anderson's main arteries, causing him severe pain and putting him quickly into critical condition.
By the time the two reached the car, Anderson was having trouble breathing, and he began to vomit. JFK Turtle Update: Pilots Patiently Wait For Turtles To Pass. Turtle Behavior - More Than Just Basking. When people ask me what I do on day to day basis, they’re often surprised to hear that a lot of it is purely observational. I am by the turtle enclosures making notes on their behaviors. The general response is always “How active can turtles be?” But I think the truth will surprise many. A good understanding of animal behavior is an important part of any conservation program. By watching them on a daily basis under various conditions, I can get a sense of what’s normal and what isn’t. HealthyState.org – Florida Health News. Developing A Global Antidote For Snake Bites: 100,000 People Die From Snake Bites Each Year.
The world’s leading authorities on snake bite recently assembled in Melbourne to launch a Global Snake Bite Initiative aimed at raising the profile and developing practical solutions to prevent and treat what is one of the world’s most neglected tropical conditions. Globally snake bite affects the lives of some 4.5 million people every year, and conservative estimates suggest that at least 100,000 people die from snake bite, and another 250,000 are permanently disabled.
Many of the victims come from the world’s poorest nations, and a disproportionate number are young adults or children – an imbalance which has major socio-economic implications. The meeting - part of the Inaugural Conference on Global Issues in Clinical Toxinology - aims to catalyse a fundamental change in the way that snake bite is dealt with internationally. “Indeed although the snake is the symbol of medicine, globally, medicine seems to have forgotten about snake bite”. The Global Burden of Snakebite: A Literature Analysis and Modelling Based on Regional Estimates of Envenoming and Deaths. Abstract Background Envenoming resulting from snakebites is an important public health problem in many tropical and subtropical countries. Few attempts have been made to quantify the burden, and recent estimates all suffer from the lack of an objective and reproducible methodology. In an attempt to provide an accurate, up-to-date estimate of the scale of the global problem, we developed a new method to estimate the disease burden due to snakebites.
Methods and Findings The global estimates were based on regional estimates that were, in turn, derived from data available for countries within a defined region. Cannibalistic rattlesnakes eat dead offspring - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience. Every mom knows that pregnancy and birth really sap your energy. Close encounters with the Father of Death : Tetrapod Zoology. Not two, not three, but FOUR anacondas : Tetrapod Zoology. Side-stabbing stiletto snakes : Tetrapod Zoology. It goes without saying that most predatory animals need to open their mouths when they want to stab or bite potential prey items. Dragons kill Indonesian fisherman.
A Venomous Tale: How Lizards Can Shed Their Tail When Predators Attack. Observatory - Snakes' Locomotion Appears a Matter of Scales. Severed Lizard Tail Has a Mind of Its Own. Cobra Venom Erases Arthritis Symptoms. Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) in the Andaman Islands. Running Out of Snake Venom! Guide Launched To Solve Antivenom Shortage. Photo via lucaboldrini69 via Flickr CC. How King Cobra Maintains Its Reign.
Secrets of spitting cobras revealed - Technology & science - Science - DiscoveryNews.com. Spitting cobras spew blinding venom toward the eyes and face of victims with surprising accuracy, and now researchers know how they do it. Arboreal alligator lizards - yes, really : Tetrapod Zoology. Evolution’s Most Effective Killer: Snake Venom.
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