Hundreds of fishermen have stopped fishing in the Meghna in view of the menace of crocodiles in the river.
On Sunday, fishermen killed a crocodile caught in a net near Hajir Hat in southern coastal Barisal district.
Fishermen yesterday said four other crocodiles were able to flee by cutting the fishing nets.
Mehendiganj sub-district executive officer said that the fishermen killed the crocodile out of fear and ignorance.
Local fish wholesalers said after the incident the fishermen were scared of going to the river. They fear that crocodiles might attack them during fishing.
Fishermen said they have stopped fishing in the Meghna at night due to panic.
An expert said the crocodiles might have lost their way after they came from the creek of the Sundarbans mangrove forest.
Category Archives: U.S. News
Frog Listener Volunteers Answer Call To Help Survey Frogs Across Georgia
Sarah Barlow had a small problem. She had a deep knowledge and interest in frogs and toads, including two wildlife degrees focused on herps and a thesis exploring frogs’ use of restored wetlands.
But the former city of Savannah environmental planner had no place to apply that experience.
“I had all these strong (frog) identification skills that I wasn’t able to use,” Barlow said.
The answer: NAAMP. Developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program is an international study investigating the distribution and relative abundance of amphibians across the continent. NAAMP depends on frog-savvy volunteers who monitor local listening routes three times a year.
Barlow signed up last year. She contacted Georgia NAAMP coordinator John Jensen of the state Department of Natural Resources, practiced her frog-ID skills and passed the required online quiz. She even drove her rural, 10-mile route near Glennville beforehand, checking out the habitat at the set listening sites.
Barlow then squeezed the two hours-plus it took per survey into her already hectic schedule. The result is what she described as “a very relaxing way to spend the evening.”
Considering the fieldwork she did in Louisiana for her thesis, “This was a lot tamer than being in the middle of a bayou on a four-wheeler,” Barlow said laughing. “This was country club frogging!”
Enjoyable and vital. Frogs can serve as sentinels of environmental change. Many frogs and other amphibians are high-priority species in Georgia’s Wildlife Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy that guides DNR efforts to conserve biological diversity. NAAMP monitoring data is analyzed for patterns of amphibian decline, stability or increase on local and wider levels.
Jensen, a senior wildlife biologist with the DNR’s Nongame Conservation Section, said more surveys are needed to pinpoint trends in Georgia. 2011 marks only the fourth year of the state’s involvement. But the immediate payback has included volunteers identifying lesser-known frogs in areas the species had not been documented before, Jensen said.
He’s hoping for more volunteers for 2011. Forty-five of the state’s 73 routes were covered this year. Most of the unassigned routes are in south Georgia.
Jensen suggested would-be volunteers assess their frog identification abilities, then contact him by e-mail, john.jensen@dnr.state.ga.us, or phone at the Nongame Conservation Section office in Forsyth, (478) 994-1438. The first listening window next year opens Jan. 15.
Barlow is now a naturalist at Sandy Creek Nature Center in Athens. She plans to look for a 2011 route closer to home. But she will be putting her frog skills back into play, calling the citizen-powered NAAMP surveys “important work to be done.”
Georgians can help conserve amphibians and other nongame wildlife, native plants and natural habitats through buying a wildlife license plate featuring a bald eagle or a ruby-throated hummingbird. They can also donate to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund through the state income tax checkoff, online at www.georgiawildlife.com (click “Donate the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund”) and in other ways.
Contributions are vital to the Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section. The section receives no state general funds for its mission to help conserve wildlife not legally hunted, fished for or trapped, as well as rare plants and natural habitats in Georgia.
For more information, go to www.georgiawildlife.com/node/338, or call Nongame Conservation Section offices in Social Circle (770-761-3035), Forsyth (478-994-1438) or Brunswick (912-264-7218). State income tax forms are available online at https://etax.dor.ga.gov/.
LEND AN EAR
Hone your skills at one of the following websites, or buy a copy of the CD “Calls of the Wild – Vocalizations of Georgia’s Frogs” from DNR, (478) 994-1438. (The $15.36 cost per CD goes to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund.) ** jcmaerz.myweb.uga.edu/lab/GANAAMP/index.htm ** wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/GAFrog.Toad.html ** www.ugapress.org/index.php (search for “Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia”)
NAAMP NEWCOMERS
Gauge your frog identification skills before volunteering. (Deciphering species when multiple frogs are calling is where it gets a little tricky, Jensen said.) If unsure, first try the public quiz at NAAMP. ** Don’t be daunted. While Georgia has more than 30 frog and toad species, all are not heard on one route. Barlow said she heard, on average, about eight kinds. She advises practicing, plus previewing your route. ** Expect a reward. One, the work helps monitor impacts of habitat change, such as the loss of temporary wetlands. Two, as Barlow said, learning to identify wildlife by sound builds “a greater appreciation of being in the woods.”
The Hattiesburg Zoo mourns an alligator
A longtime resident of the Hattiesburg Zoo has passed away. Gator the alligator died on November eighteenth.
The male alligator weighed eight hundred pounds and lived at the Zoo for more than thirty years. Zoo Administrator, Lori Banchero said Gator came to the Hattiesburg Zoo as a fully grown adult.
She said he had a good, long life because alligators typically live between thirty to fifty years.
“And the zoo staff and myself are all saddened whenever we have a loss of one of our animals here,” said Banchero.
Gator leaves behind his exhibit mate named Little Girl. She is a female alligator. There is no word yet on whether the Zoo plans to find her a new friend.
Wildlife trade brings concerns about human health
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Rodents. Venomous snakes. Green iguanas.
Hundreds of nonnative species enter the U.S. each year as unusual pets. But several of these nonnative species kill native wildlife.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Tuesday that the federal government allows imports of a variety of wildlife, conducting few screenings for disease and permitting most shipments to enter without inspection. A report on wildlife imports by the General Accountability Office this month found “gaps that could allow the introduction of diseases into the United States.”
Several states are considering limits on ownership of some species. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission plans next year to consider ways to control several species, such as tegu lizards, monitors and black spiny-tailed iguanas.
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Man dies in crash after driver avoids alligator
CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Charges are pending in an accident involving a Collier County man who died after another driver swerved to avoid an alligator on the road.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 27-year-old Steven Lee Purdy of Cape Coral died Monday night when his car was struck by another car trying to avoid an alligator crossing the road. Purdy, who was wearing a seat belt, died at the scene. A passenger suffered minor injuries.
The driver of the other car, Lazaro Zarza of Lehigh Acres, and a passenger also suffered minor injuries.
The accident is still under investigation.
Researchers find harmless snakes may benefit from looking like poisonous species
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it can also save your life, especially if you’re a harmless creature that mimics a poisonous one to avoid being eaten. Now, scarlet kingsnakes have shown that even imperfect imitation does the trick. These innocuous reptiles sport the same vivid bands of red, black and yellow as do venomous coral snakes, but in a different order.
The imperfect mimicry may seem like a half-finished job of natural selection, but it isn’t. Bears, coyotes and hawks avoided clay models of both snakes equally, as long as their colored bands were the same size, researchers report in the December issue of the American Naturalist. Kingsnake models with wide yellow bands and thin bands of red and black weren’t as convincing, however; the researchers found them riddled with tooth and claw marks.
Kingsnakes seem to try harder to mimic when there are more coral snakes around, presumably to fool a more discriminating audience.
Fire displaces family of six; pet snake lost
FAIRHAVEN — An early-morning house fire displaced six residents and killed a large pet snake at 68 Howland Road in Fairhaven, according to Fairhaven Fire Department spokesman Wayne Oliveira, reports the New Bedford Standard-Times.
The fire started in the garage and had already spread to the split-level style house when firefighters responded to the 12:46 a.m. call Monday morning. The house is owned by Jeffrey and Louise Sylvia.
“When we got there, the front of the house was already heavily involved in flames,” said Oliveira.
Six family residents, all adults, were able to make it out of the home safely, according to Oliveira, but the family snake did not survive..