January 1990
Plastics recycling comes to Chicago. The Chicago Park
District requests that you bring empty milk, water or soda
pop bottles to any of their field houses or the North Park
Village recycling center. Donors should wash the bottles and
remove caps and rings. The plastic will be recycled into plastic
play materials for use by the Park District throughout
Chicago.
A $50,000 fine was ordered by a judge against a suburban
developer for filling in a wetland during construction of
luxury housing in Hoffman Estates, IL. This ruling is the
first fine in the 6-state Great Lakes region for destroying a
wetland, under amendments to the Clean Water Act in 1987.
Large stretches of Amazonian rain forest have been
chopped down by Peruvian coca growers. At the same time,
millions of gallons of toxic chemicals used in the production
of coca paste have been dumped into the headwaters of
Amazonian rivers. Growers also use large amounts of
fertilizers and herbicides including paraquat and Agent
Orange. Coca growers have invaded two national parks and two
national forests and have destroyed well over 500,000 acres
of natural vegetation. Coca leaf is currently the largest crop
under cultivation in the Peruvian Amazon. Marcelow T.
Buenaventura, a forest engineer, wrote recently in Medio
Ambiente (a Peruvian environmental magazine), "Many species
of fish, amphibians, aquatic reptiles and crustaceans have
already completely disappeared from the rivers and streams."
The area of damage from coca production in Peru alone is roughly
twice the area of the state of Rhode Island.
The Caribbean Conservation Corporation will receive two
grants totalling $675,000 from the U.S. Agency for
International Development in support of its activities at
Tortuguero, Costa Rica. $250,000 will go to developing a
visitor center, providing guides to lead tourists on the
nesting beaches, and assisting local residents to develop
tourist enterprises catering to natural history. $100,000
will go toward the development of a comprehensive zoning
plan, insuring compatibility of future development with the
unique natural resources of Tortuguero. The Research Station
will also be overhauled.
The Tortoise Survival Project is currently the only
organization exclusively concerned with the conservation and
captive breeding of rare and endangered North African tortoises.
They report that more than 1 million tortoises were
removed from the wild in Morocco alone and exported to
Britain between 1967 and 1981. Similar numbers were exported
to other European countries. The average survival of
wild-caught tortoises in captivity was less than 12 months.
The most disturbing finding of the T.S.P. has been that many
endemic species groups are already extremely vulnerable and
that some may even now be so depleted as to be in immediate
danger. They have published a booklet "Terrestrial Chelonia;
incubation of eggs and care of hatchlings," available from
T.S.P. for $12 U.S. To receive more information
about this valuable effort, send an international
reply coupon (from your local Post Office) to The Tortoise
Trust, BM Tortoise, London, WC1N 3XX.
The Reptile Breeding Foundation in Picton, Ontario, Canada
is in severe financial difficulty. Those who have followed
Thomas Huff's work with various herptiles may wish to
contact the Foundation now in its time of need. They sell
many reptile related products (t-shirts, cards, etc.) which
proceeds benefit the Foundation as well as gratefully
accepting any and all cash donations. Some of
their breeding successes include: Bengal monitors, Round
Island day geckos, frog-eyed geckos, and Jamaican boas.
Overall, they work with 500 reptiles and amphibians from 85
species and are one of the few institutions dealing solely
with the management and breeding of herpetofauna.
Articles and artwork concerning herpetofauna are being
sought by both the Louisiana Herpetological Society and the Gopher Tortoise Council. Incidentally, the C.H.S. is always interested in receiving articles by its members for publication in the Bulletin.
A southern Florida newspaper reports "Big bass go for
live salamanders. The newest bait to hit the ... market is
the live salamander or "water dog." They report that
Charlie Rhodes and Carl Lowrance, owners of A & R
Distributors are importing huge numbers of animals native to
North Dakota into Florida for their use as live bait.
This Christmas it seemed that every store had a display
of "Grow-a-Frog kits." The tadpoles in these kits will grow
to be our old buddy, Xenopus, and the distributors claim
that all their stock is laboratory raised. I would hope
these kits might awaken an interest in natural history for
many youngsters otherwise divorced from nature, but I fear
that they will also make it more likely that Xenopus
individuals will be released in North American habitats. The
clawed frog is a voracious feeder and should not under any
circumstances be released from captivity.
Also I
received a copy of Cane Toads: An Unnatural History in my
stocking last week. This slim but thoroughly illustrated
book documents the release and spread of Bufo marinus in
Australia. In 1935, the toads were captured from a Hawaiian
population and released in sugar cane fields in Australia in
a misguided effort to reduce cane beetles. Unfortunately,
nobody noticed that the beetles flew and the toads could not.
The toads are now widespread in Queensland and if little
else, should serve to remind us not to introduce animals
where they do not belong.
Increasing demand for health potions has spurred a jump
in frog and snake imports to South Korea. Some Korean men
believe snake soup and frog meat build stamina.
New York City Department of Parks has a "Beast of the
Month Club." In November, snakes were featured in a program
titled "really reptiles" led by herpetologist Jim Rogers.
Commissioner Henry Stern played a tune on a flute to attempt
to charm a 12-foot long python out of her sack. The python
reportedly cooperated. The New York Times recently
wrote warmly about Commissioner Stern saying, "You've led seven
million New Yorkers on one fine nature hike...Who can forget
that you coined the word "arboricide" for tree
murderers...You are truly a commissioner for all species."
Mr. Stern also named Kermit the Frog as official parks
spokesfrog.
TEDs continued... The Sport Fishing Institute recently
published an article in their Bulletin titled "Wanton
waste: must it continue?" from which the following quotes
were taken. "The relatively recent development of dumping
carcasses [of pollock and cod] in the Bering Sea is obscene,
but it pales when compared to the waste that has been going
on for years in the shrimp trawling industry, particularly in
the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic...During the past 10
years, finfish bycatch by shrimp trawlers in Texas waters
alone ranged from a low of 328 million pounds to a high of
977 million pounds each year...The commercial fishing and
shrimping industries must be held accountable for wasted
bycatch...A bright ray of hope for the conservation of
fishery resources is the Bush Administration's choice to head
National Marine Fisheries Service... Dr. William W. Fox, Jr.
has the training and experience to bring conservation to the
forefront."
Also the most recent newsletter of the Marine Mammal
Stranding Center in Brigantine, NJ reports on sea turtles
found, dead and alive, along a short section of coast in that
state. From June to September, 18 leatherback and loggerhead
sea turtles washed up on these beaches. The causes of their
deaths include: perforated intestines, hits by boat
propellers, and entanglement by fishing line. Seven Kemp's
ridley turtles were recovered, 6 from the Salem Nuclear
Power Station. Three of the 6 were alive and were tagged
and released. The others suffocated in the intake valve
before MMSC could rescue them. The seventh ridley was found
dead and partially decomposed on Sandy Hook, N.J.
U.S. Representative Gene Taylor of Texas introduced
legislation to create a hatchery for endangered sea turtles.
He said "this would up the number of turtles out there and
when the population is increased, they will no longer be an
endangered species. And when they are no longer an
endangered species, the TEDs will no longer be needed." His
bill would authorize up to $4 million for building facilities
and more than $2 million for a three-year implementation,
research and monitoring program. He said a likely place for
the hatchery would be Ship Island. Suzenne Lewis, a management assistant for the Gulf Islands
National Seashore system, which includes Ship Island, said
she had not heard of the legislation and would need to check
the National Park Service's regulations as to how and if it
could be done. Charles Oravetz, chief of the Protected
Species Branch of the National Marine Fisheries Service
Southeast Region said, "I don't think it will work," and
pointed out that the only other hatchery in the U.S., located
near Galveston, TX, has been in operation for about 12 years
and has not proven to increase the population of the Kemp's
Ridley. Taylor said, "this is something that we feel will
please environmentalists and free the shrimpers from the
requirement of using the costly, dangerous, ineffective
[TEDs] devices." Taylor said he would prefer having
legislation requiring TEDs repealed but that past
congressional efforts to do that "have all failed." Taylor's
bill is being considered by the Merchant Marine and Fisheries
Committee in January, 1990.
Biologist James Perran Ross, PhD, senior author of the
publication, The Status of Kemp's Ridley reports that
drowning in shrimp trawls is the largest identifiable cause of
death for this species. You can get a copy of this report
from the Center for Marine Conservation, 1725 DeSales Street,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 for $5.00 postpaid.
Plans by Consolidated Rail Corporation of Philadelphia,
PA to expand its rail terminal near Westboro, Massachusetts
have been stalled by the 4-inch yellow spotted turtle.
Conrail needs a zoning variance as well as permission to pave
portions of a wetland from the Westboro Conservation
Commission. Conrail has hired 2 zoologists to study the
turtle and its habits. Conrail plans to "mitigate"
this wetland by building a new wet habitat and moving the
turtles there before proceeding with the $20 million
expansion. Permits will also be required from the State
Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of
Engineers.
The state of Florida Department of Environmental
Regulation is working on a proposal for a research project to
determine the amount of mercury gas, possibly from
incinerators and power plants, in the air over that state.
Mercury has been found in Florida wildlife, including fish,
at levels exceeding the federal health limit of one part per
million. The discovery of mercury in alligators pushed state
officials to ban hunting in western Dade and Broward counties
during the 1989 gator season. Incinerators burn trash, often
including car and flashlight batteries which contain mercury
along with regular household garbage which can include all
kinds of paints, chemicals and other toxics. Six
waste-to-energy incinerators are now in operation in Florida
and 3 are under construction.
Gopher tortoises in the way of a new school site are
being moved even though finding new homes for tortoises in
southeast Florida is becoming nearly impossible. Game
official Mark Robinson said, "Gopher tortoises are very
adaptable animals, but there are so few large tracts of
undeveloped land left here." Florida legislation barring the
capture or possession of gophers without a permit went into
effect on July 1, 1988. About 100 permits were issued to
people who had kept gopher tortoises as pets before the rules
went into effect.
The turtle egg poacher who was caught with 1,088 eggs
from Riviera Beach in May, 1988 was sentenced to 2 years in
prison. It is believed to be the longest prison sentence
imposed under the Endangered Species Act, according to the
U.S. Attorney, Dexter Lehtinen's press release. The
defendant, James Bivins, 37, of West Palm Beach also pleaded
guilty to taking 818 green and loggerhead sea turtle eggs
from 17 nests on Jupiter Island Beach in August, 1988. He
also had a 1973 turtle egg theft case on his record. After
Bivins' second arrest, he agreed to cooperate with Florida
Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission officers as an informant
and cease his nest raids. Upon his third arrest,
state game officers abandoned him as an informant
and requested the U.S. attorney to prosecute. Bivins filed
an appeal to the concurrent fine of $109,300. His attorney
wrote in the appeal brief, "An egg, according to the facts of
nature that an egg becomes a life when it is hatched is not a
turtle...Hence the universal question: which came first, the
chicken or the egg?" Prosecutors and wildlife officials say
the argument is a new one to them, but ridiculous
nonetheless. The appeal to the three-judge Circuit Court is
set for January 18th for oral arguments.
Less than half of the alligator eggs taken by Florida
state workers for hatching in captivity produced live young,
but University of Florida researchers were unable to explain
the low rate. Franklin Percival, associate professor of
wildlife sciences said, "over the last 8 years, we've
documented a population crash at Lake Apopka...only...9
percent [hatched]...it's bad, and we don't know why."
Congratulations to Charles Beck and his staff at the
reptile house at Memphis Zoo on their successful hatching of
Gila monsters in October. The two scaly bundles of joy
measure about 4 inches each and will grow to about 20 inches.
The Nature Conservancy has agreed to buy land for a
15,000 to 60,000 acre preserve near Searchlight, Nevada for
the endangered desert tortoise. Such a facility could ease
tensions between developers and environmentalists.
A new activity guide from the National Wildlife
Federation, "Tropical Treasures," helps educators teach
children about tropical rain forests.
For those turtle enthusiasts who may not have seen a
recent advertisement in the C.H.S. Bulletin, please be
advised that the Chicago Turtle Club is alive and well and
publishing regularly. They also meet monthly and summaries of
their meetings are included in their newsletter. For more
information, contact Lisa Koester.
The 6th Grade Class of Caldwell Elementary School,
Caldwell, Kansas 67022 requested that the C.H.S. ask its
members for help. It seems some grown-ups in Caldwell have
been putting down the class for a project which became a
state initiative to have the ornate box turtle named their
state's official reptile. However, some latecoming adult
"boosters" in Caldwell are saying that they want their
community to be known for more than box turtles. Some
sickies are letting it be known to the students how they like
to "pop" turtles they find sunning on roadways with their car
tires. One insensitive lout took to wearing a t-shirt with
the kids' box turtle on it, but with a red slash drawn
through the turtle. A support group, "Friends of the Ornate
Box Turtle," which includes parents of the class, the
teacher, Larry Miller, and other adults are demanding that
the troublemakers stop harrassing the children. Perhaps
Caldwell shouldn't be known as the "Ornate Box Turtle Capital
of the World." Perhaps it should be known as the adult bully
capital instead. Please send letters of support to the class
at the above address. They will be turned over, en masse, to
the local paper - so be polite, please.
Wierd snakes stories... A baby Burmese python was
snakenapped from a Valparaiso, Indiana pet shop. It is
valued at $150 by the shop's owner who would like it back.
Anybody with information about this theft can contact Matt
Morris, Valparaiso Pet and Hobby, 18 North Washington Street,
Valparaiso, IN. ... A man in Nashville, TN is being forced to
sell his 6.5 foot python and his 3.5 foot baby
reticulated python by his fiancee. He said, "She can't stand
them. They give her the creeps." ... A 5-foot rattlesnake
was photographed wrapped around the steering wheel of a car
in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Apparently, the car (and snake) owner
leaves his pet in the vehicle to deter car thieves. ...
Chicago Police say it should no longer be necessary to
continue searching for the 7-foot python which escaped on the
south side this fall. Police Lt. Frank Trigg said that they
python probably couldn't survive the below freezing
temperatures presently being suffered by Chicago residents.
He did note that stranger things have happened and that his
officers are still aware that the snake may be coiled up in
some warm basement or other area.
A big thank you to all who contributed articles and
clippings this month. Again, it is very important to have
the date and the publication in which each and every single
clipping appeared. I have had to not use some interesting
items since I had no way of knowing when or where they first
appeared. Without the contributions of so many of our
members, this column wouldn't be possible. You can
join the ranks of these wonderful folks.
February 1990
Omitted because it was a membership report and survey for the CHS.
March 1990
You can't please everybody... We recently received yet
another letter from a particularly correspondent member who
lives in California. He writes, "Ms. Beltz ... and I are far
from being friends: I have been highly critical of the
thoughtless naivete and fadish[sic] group-think that pose as moral
righteousness in her column; her replies have been equally
uncomplimentary." At the risk of being even less appreciated
by this person, I would like to say that anyone who would
like to spend the 10 hours or so a month that this column
takes to prepare and write is perfectly welcome to spread
their own brand of "naivete and faddish group-think" to the
members of the Society. In the three years that I have been
writing this column, I have received hate mail from only one
member (yup, same one). Quite frankly, I am tired of the
whole affair. There are a few regular clipping contributors,
and a few irregulars. Other than those - nobody seems to
know that I even do this. I talk with members at meetings
and amateur symposia who don't even mention this column.
Perhaps they've never read the "by-line" or don't connect
this column with their Membership Secretary. Believe it or
not, I have a life outside the Society although the amount of
time I spend on C.H.S. rivals the 40 hours a week I spend at
my job, and I could really use a few constructive letters
instead of the never ending stream of unjustified
criticism I receive from this member. Otherwise, I will burn
out (as has so often been predicted) and stop. If this
column means something to you - now is the time to write me
or send a clipping or something. On to the clippings . . .
Moral righteousness, part 2. The Reverend Jesse Jackson,
president and founder of the National Rainbow Coalition and a
new resident of Washington, D.C. was recently quoted
in Greenpeace Magazine (January/February 1990, page 7):
"What does it say about our respect for humanity when we pour
radioactive waste into the ground in South Carolina or dump
toxic garbage into the streams of New Jersey?...If we can
take down the Berlin Wall, we can take down the wall that
prevents us from seeing what must be done to leave our
children a livable world." I would like to commend Dr.
Jackson (with whose positions I have rarely agreed) for his
emergent environmental consciousness. Now, if we can just
persuade our "environmental President" George Bush to put his
action where his words have been we may accomplish something
good for us all during the next three years.
More on frog crossings. Playboy Magazine, February
1990 describes on the frog signs previously mentioned in this
column. Scott Schultz, the mayor of Stevens Point, WI, said
that they believe that they are the only municipality in the
U.S. with an official frog-crossing zone. "The frogs kept
getting trapped along the curb and swept down the storm
drains, so we put in frog ramps and warning signs." At the
top of the post is a picture of four leaping frogs to warn
motorists. At the bottom is a tiny picture of a car - to
warn frogs. The city sells frog crossing tee-shirts. Send
$11.00 U.S. to City Hall, Frog Shirt, 1515 Strongs Avenue,
Stevens Point, WI 54481. Specify size from small to x-large.
Thanks to Giovanni and the folks at Pacific Northwest
Herpetological Society for this item. I don't read or drool
Playboy and would have missed this item!
Exotic pets banned by Jeffersonville, Indiana include any
"poisonous reptile or other animal not ordinarily
domesticated by man." As of now, it is illegal to keep,
maintain, trade, possess or control such animals as lions,
tigers, bears, leopards, wolves, and monkeys. Turtles are
not considered exotic. A local pet store has promised to
seek a restraining order to keep the ordinance from going
into effect. Supporters of the ordinance argue that allowing
the sale of wild animals is detrimental to many wild and
possibly endangered species. (from The Associated Press,
Jeffersonville, Indiana Post Tribune, page B7, November 19th,
1989).
Headline punsters have had a lot of fun with Andy
Koffman's attempt to enter his Goliath frogs in the Frog Jump
Jubilee at the Calaveras County Fair in Angels Camp,
California. Selections include: "Where'd ya get those
leapers...some people [are] hopping mad" (Memphis, Tennessee
Commercial Appeal, January 9th, 1990). "California Fish and
Game Department wardens...hopped into the muddy fight over a
Seattle man's plan" (Chicago Sun-Times, January 11th, 1990).
"Croak, a ringer" (Chicago Tribune, January 9th, 1990).
"Weighty competition for a frog jump...Imagine basketball
players 40 or 50 feet tall joining the N.B.A.; that is about
the human parallel of the frogs [he] wants to enter in the
contest..." (The New York Times, January 9th, 1990)
Cane toad licking may be banned in Georgia if a
resolution introduced by Mr. J. Beverly Langford (D) is
passed. He calls upon the General Assembly to look into "the
extreme danger of cane toad licking becoming the designer
drug of choice in today's sophisticated society." The
resolution is a less-than-serious assault on what Mr.
Langford considers an anti-drug fever gripping the Georgia
General Assembly. (Chicago Tribune, February 14, 1990)
Smithsonian magazine published an article about shrimpers
and sea turtles in its December 1989 issue. They also
published five letters to the editor in their February 1990
issue. The best quote of all is from the letter Smithsonian
editors selected to put first. The writer, Jim Mavros of San
Jose, California, first discussed his impression of Louisiana
Governor Edwin Edwards' quote, "Perhaps some species were
meant to disappear," then wrote: "[his] statement contains
more wisdom than he either realized or intended. Some
species were meant to disappear-the weak, the inefficient and
the unadaptable. The species in question is neither the
turtle nor the shrimper. It is the shrimp trawler. Any
fishing method in which 90 percent of the catch is not the
desired species amount to aquatic strip-mining. The best
long-term solution is the banning of the shrimp trawler.
Government monies should be made available to train the
displaced shrimpers in the operation of shrimp ranches."
Larry Coffen of Sugar Land, Texas wrote, "In my opinion the
shrimpers were nothing more than a gang of lawbreaking
bullies." It sure is nice to know that even
non-herpetologists find the shrimp fishing/wasting hard to
tolerate. Sometimes in my faddish group-think and
thoughtless naivete I worry that we are the only voices
crying in the wilderness. Now that national magazines are
publishing concerning this crisis in our oceans, public
outcry from many sectors may stop this incredible waste of
sea life. Also National Geographic Magazine, Volume
176, Number 6, December 1989 in an article about Baja
California by Don Belt mentions the shrimp/waste issue. A
65-year-old fisherman from La Paz, Mexico says the growing
Mexican shrimp fleet "kill everything. They pick out the
shrimp, then shovel the dead fish off the deck - ten tons for
every ton of shrimp. Why waste fish when people are starving
in Mexico?" Also quoted is a fisheries biologist with
CICESE, a Mexican scientific agency in Ensenada, "Their nets
drag along the bottom, plowing up habitat, and nobody knows
how long it [habitat] takes to regenerate."
The real causes of animal extinctions do not include
collecting for the pet trade according to an article by
Robert G. Sprackland, published in the Viviarium in the fall
of 1989. I would be delighted to provide more accurate
publication data, however, the folks at A.F.H. do not print the
date of publication on the bottom of their pages as do most
other magazines and also neither of the people who sent me
copies of the article wrote down when it appeared. Bob
reports that in 1984, 314,820 snakes that were identified as
boa constrictors entered the U.S. Of those, 3,630 were
alive. This is an 0.01 percent of the total imports. The
rest were wallets, shoes, purses and so on. The rest of his
statistics are equally frightening: reticulated pythons,
870,169 imports - 3,050 alive (0.0035% or 1 live per
3,500 leather goods); Burmese pythons 75,456 imports - 5,399
alive (0.07%); water monitors 545,031 imports - 3,610
live (0.006%); Nile monitors 1,066,502 - 988 alive. Also,
certain animals worth a small fortune to particular
collectors were only imported dead: Brazilian caiman 23,912
hides; 176 Indian and 1,056 Timor pythons for shoes.
However, the green iguana is primarily imported for the pet
trade. Of the 37,824 imported in 1984, 97 percent were
alive. Subscriptions to the Vivarium are pricey and it
is not widely available in libraries, so if you want to read
it, you will have to buy it. Individual U.S. rates are
$26.00 per year. Overseas must pay $32.00, and they have
higher prices for Institutions. [Vivarium was eventually bought and closed by "Reptiles" so the contact information has been removed.] Some people complain
that A.F.H. has not published on the schedule it originally
promised. The new managing editor of the Viviarium
assures me that the shakedown period of their publication is
past. He has appointed copy editors and hopes to increase
the amount of conservation information provided, in addition
to their already considerable contribution to herpetoculture.
Brazilian police officers seized more than one half
million alligator skins which were intended for purses and
destroyed them by incineration. Also destroyed were an
unspecified number of other rare-animal-skin goods
(from The Chicago Tribune, January 18th, 1990).
A Japanese man was arrested at the international airport
in Bangkok, Thailand while he was trying to smuggle nearly
300 endangered turtles and lizards to Japan in his suitcases.
98 turtles and 185 water lizards were found tightly packed
and bound to prevent them from making noise. Two turtles and
one lizard had died. The defendant claimed that he had
brought the reptiles from Malaysia and had only stopped in
Bangkok to visit a friend while on route home. A Thai
forestry official said Japan is a major market for wildlife
from southeast Asia and South America. The man was convicted
of possession of endangered wildlife and received a 3 month
suspended sentence and was fined $100.00. No mention was
made of what happened to the animals. (from The Chicago
Tribune, December 28, 1989)
Hand-painted python boots are available right here in
Chicago. Aren't you excited? The "Out of the West" gallery
is offering not only python, but black, white or green lizard boots. (from Crain's Chicago Business, January 8th, 1990).
On the other side of making money from herps, 2 brothers
from the University of Texas at Arlington have turned their
interest in herpetology into a $1 million a year business.
Executive Marketing International specializes in snake hide
boxes, aspen bedding and oasis for pet water supplies. One
of the brothers, Ty Kubin, also illustrated the book
Venomous Snakes of Latin America written by Johnathon
Campbell (from: U, The National College Newspaper, November
1989, pages 12 & 13).
One man's poison is another man's medicine. Researchers
including Dr. Charles W. Myers of the American Museum of
Natural History and Dr. John Daly at the National Institutes
of Health are studying Dendrobatid frog toxins in an effort
to understand nerve and muscle cell functions that play a
central role in a variety of devastating disorders, from
abnormal heart rhythms to Alzheimer's disease. The New York
Times, January 23rd, 1990 reports that the destruction of
Central and South American rain forests threatens this entire
family of frogs. Researchers are rushing to collect and
categorize the many different members of the family before
they are lost forever. Unfortunately, at present, captive
raised Dendrobatids do not manufacture their characteristic
toxins so wild caught individuals must be used. No one is
implying that non-toxic dart frogs become cuisine just yet.
Mystery surrounds the decline of frog and toad
populations worldwide. Michael Tyler of Australia's
University of Adelaide said, "what we've got here is a global
early warning system, and that system is the frog." To date,
the evidence of massive die-offs of earth's amphibian
populations is largely anecdotal, but should not be ignored.
A conference is being held in California this month to begin
discussions of the disappearing amphibian populations. David
Wake, of the University of California at Berkeley recalls
that a decade past, walking through the High Sierras, "used
to be frog heaven. They were so thick on the ground you
would step on them. Now they are almost absent from the
area." Other areas reporting suspicious declines include
Costa Rica, Denmark, Hungary, Ontario, Southern California,
Australia, U.S.S.R., New Zealand and New Guinea. Possible
causes for the decline could include pesticide residues, acid
rain, disappearance of breeding ponds, increased salinity of
wetlands, metal toxin contamination, ultraviolet radiation
increase, or even a worldwide virus. Persons with data,
provable or anecdotal, about this decline are asked to write
brief summaries of their information and send them to this
column from which they will be sent en masse to Dr. Wake.
A tiny loggerhead turtles washed up on the Atlantic coast
of Ireland. Named Fogg the Turtle by his protectors, they
sought to have him taken to an aquarium in Northern Ireland.
Unfortunately, there are no commercial air flights between
the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. So, a helpful
bureaucrat made Fogg a corporal in the Irish Army and put him
on a military flight to the North. Fogg will be returned to
the Caribbean after his recuperation. (from The Chicago
Tribune, January 22nd, 1990, page 10)
Tourism threatens Turkey's turtles reports Jane Howard in
an article in The Guardian, September 19th, 1989. Turkey has
apparently the most important turtle nesting beaches in
Europe. However almost all of those beaches are threatened
by development, tourism, pollution, excavation of sand and
gravel, shrimp fishing and industrial development. A beach
in Dalyan has been designated a special protection area with
a restriction on new building. The turtles at Dalyan are a
tourist attraction in their own right. One free brochure
distributed to visitors quotes a typical turtle saying, "I've
been here for 95,000,000 years, and you?"
Three popular off-road motorcycle races were cancelled
out of concern for endangered desert tortoises. The Federal
Bureau of Land Management said that the Barstow-to Vegas, the
Johnson Valley to Parker, AZ and the Parker 400 will be
denied operating permits. Off-road racers were belligerent.
One was quoted as saying "they are going to go out and do it
anyway." One hundred other desert races were not affected by
this decision (from The Chicago Sun Times, December 24,
1989 and The New York Times, December 17, 1989).
Only 300 to 500 American crocodiles remain, nearly all of
them living in a narrow coastal strip at the tropical tip of
Florida. 7,100 acres have been set aside on Key Largo and
the acquisition and dedication will be complete by the end of
1990. Some crocodiles live on land surrounding the Florida
Power and Light Corporation's Turkey Point nuclear plant
south of Miami (from The Tampa Tribune, January 3rd, 1990).
Satellite tracking devices will be attached to the shells
of midsized loggerhead turtles in an effort to find where
they go and what they do after they are released from their
headstarting pens at the Virginia Marine Science Museum (from
The Roanoke Times and World News, January 18th, 1990).
Seventy-six stunned turtles were rescued in one day from
the cold waters offshore from Canaveral National Seashore in
Florida during the unseasonable cold weather spell in
December. In all 232 turtles had been taken from the ocean
after being found floating helplessly in the water. Some
were taken to Sea World, Disney World and other accredited
marine zoos in the state. Curators said that they recovered
after being warmed and will all be released when the weather
permits. Most of the turtles were young, from 5 to 50 pounds
and were overcome by cold stress in the 50 degree F water
(from The Tampa Tribune, December 28th, 1989).
We received some mail this month including a request for
volunteers from Earthwatch, 680 Mount Auburn Street, Box 403,
Watertown, Massachusetts 02172. Five of their hundreds of
programs will be of especial interest to herpetologists: 1.)
Saving the Leatherback Turtle, led by Mr. Robert Brandner and
Ms. Susan Basford. Volunteers will patrol St. Croix beaches
nightly, weigh, measure and tag female turtles, move
threatened nests to safety, and protect hatchlings from
predators and poachers. 2.) Turtles of Quintana Roo,
Mexico, led by Dr. Hans Herrman is similar to above, but at
long-established beach facilities in Mexico. 3.)
Diamondback Terrapins, led by Dr. J. Whifield Gibbons and
colleagues, will define the population structure
and feeding behavior of terrapins on Kiawah Island, South
Carolina. 4.) South China Sea Islands, led by Dr. James
Lazell, will seek to construct a biogeographical
model for future environmental management policies for
reptiles and mammals of the Hong Kong islands. 5.) Island
Rain Forest in Brazil, led by Drs. Tim Moulton and Bill
Magnusson, will survey the reptiles and
amphibians of Ilha do Cardosa, describing and tagging animals
and recording nest sizes of the broad-nosed caiman. Also
CHS member and turtle lover, Mr. Ben Entwisle is looking for
like minded individuals to go in a group to the Green Turtle
Research Station in Tortuguero, Costa Rica this year. He
writes, "Not everyone has an opportunity to do something
genuinely worthwhile and have a wonderful time and great
experiences simultaneously."
Also from the mailbag is a request from the newly formed
Irish Herpetological Society: "Reptile keeping is very much in
its infancy here in Ireland, but for the benefit of the few
dedicated enthusiasts, we have just set up ... the society.
So far we have had television and radio coverage and we are
beginning to get a good response. With this in mind we plan
to get out our first newsletter in January... We have many
problems in this country, mostly concerned with obtaining
healthy stock from pet stores and we are now travelling to
England to buy direct from British dealers. Looking forward
to hearing from our American counterparts, Yours faithfully,
Ms. Janet Dineen. I feel that it seems appropriate in this
month of March 1990 to reverse the process of the
infamous St. Patrick and drive some snakes back into
Ireland.
Thanks to everyone who contributed clippings and articles
this month. Please, as mentioned at the outset of this
column, take a minute to consider not what the herp society
can do for you - but what you can do for the herp society.
Far too often it is the same 14 or 20 faces doing everything
in C.H.S. This kind of volunteer overload causes burnout,
which is a shame. When this effort ceases to be fun
volunteers cease to want to help. We have a lot of great
ideas to develop, now all we need are great volunteers to develop them! Phil Drajeske has videotaped all our meetings since October, but we need somebody to duplicate these master tapes and distribute copies to other herp societies on request. We need somebody
to take over the refreshments at the general meetings. We
need some bodies to help sell stuff at the meetings. We need
some more bodies for all the other really nifty projects that
we've dreamed up to benefit our members. If you are one of
the very many people who said they would like to volunteer,
how about doing it now?
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