Posted in Amphibians, Conservation, Laws, Lizards, Reptiles, Snakes, Turtles, U.S. News
2 Comments
WHILE it may have raised a few eyebrows when parents first noticed the name in the newsletter, the visit to Thirlmere Public School by Deadly Australians recently was actually an educational presentation which focused strongly on student safety.
Deadly Australians is presented by Marc Dorse, a Queensland-based herpetologist and toxicologist who has been visiting Australian schools for more than 20 years.
He gives students the opportunity to handle non-poisonous creatures such as lizards and turtles while teaching them about the venomous and dangerous ones which are found in Australia.
Being located in a semi-rural environment like Thirlmere, principal Steve Lord said the visit was not only a fascinating educational experience to teach the students about some of our intriguing native wildlife, but also a valuable and very practical lesson in safety.
“Luckily we’ve only had one instance of a snake visiting the school, and we took immediate steps to ensure the safety of students, but with summer and the holidays approaching it’s a good time to reinforce safety messages for the children,” he said.
Mr Lord said he would recommend the presentation to all schools to better educate their students about how to deal with potentially dangerous creatures in their environment.
Iringa. A total of 17 crocodiles have been caught at Mtera Dam following concerns about the threat posed by the reptiles.People living near the facility last week asked the government to act after crocodiles and hippos killed and injured several people at the dam in recent weeks. They said those injured included 14 fishermen who depended on the dam for their livelihood.
Police said recently that crocodiles and hippos killed 36 people and injured 34 others in the area in the past year.
The district wildlife officer, Ms Rachel Nhambu, said the government had embarked on an operation to reduce the crocodile population at the dam because the reptiles were a serious threat to local residents, especially those who draw water from the dam and fish at the facility.
“It’s true that crocodile and hippo populations have grown rapidly in recent years to the extent of posing a serious threat to people. That is why we have decided to act. Seventeen crocodiles have so far been removed from the dam,” she said.
Ms Nhambu said the goal was to catch 40 crocodiles before the end of the year, adding that the Natural Resources and Tourism ministry was looking into the possibility of compensating those injured by crocodiles and hippos.
JANESVILLE—The black-throated monitor lizard that has been loose in Janesville since at least Sept. 28 has been caught and is being held at the Rock County Humane Society.
Janesville police used a dog snare to catch the monitor at 5:46 p.m. Wednesday at 613 Williams St., Sgt. Mark Raztlaff said. That is the same yard in which it first was spotted.
Several people reported seeing the monitor in the area of Williams Street and Memorial Avenue last week. At least one person reported seeing it escape into a sewer.
The monitor will be collected and cared for by a local reptile rescue, humane society operations manager Jim Hurley said. The monitor appeared unharmed, although it will require a reptile professional to be sure, he said.
IMPHAL, Oct 6: 28 Assam Rifles Lilong Post has saved a snake bite victim identified as one Sobita Devi, 31, wife of H. Hemanta, VillageArapati who was bitten by a snake while she was working in the paddy fields.
A release has stated that the lady was given anti venom and first aid by the Nursing Staff of 28 AR post saving the life of the person who was in a dire state.
The villagers of Arapati were thank full and grateful to the 28 AR post for providing the timely assistance, care and life saving drugs, the absence of which would have proved lethal to the person’s life, added the release.
A house in Rhode Island caught fire and apart from the occupants of the house there was an 18-foot Burmese python as well, who inhabited the house. The homeowner also had other pets in the form of two dogs and a cat. However he was lucky enough to escape the burning inferno and had also carried his dogs and cat to safety. However the 18-foot Burmese python was stuck in the fire.
Firefighters swung into action and managed to rescue the snake from the burning house. Chief Peter Henrikson said that when they saw the snake, then they were shocked because its midriff was as wide as a Frisbee. He also said that he didn’t even go near the snake, as he suffers from a snake phobia. However his team members were braver and they got the snake to safety.
According to reports the fire started because the exhaust pipe of a wooden stove was resting against a wall.
We’re glad to hear that Tucker the Eastern Box Turtle has found a ride back to his old Kentucky home.
Winter’s coming, and the poor little homeless reptile would probably feel out of sorts north of the Mason-Dixon line when the snow flies.
Not that he’d be stuck in a snow drift or anything. The folks at the Animal Humane Society would have taken care of that.
But still, they felt it best that Tucker head home after he was handed off by a Good Samaritan trucker who found him in the road with a cracked shell. So they put out a call for a ride.
By the afternoon, Tucker was a bona fide media star, and he had a driver: Greg Staffa, a Farmington guy with a serious do-gooder streak who’s known homelessness himself, and who’s really into the whole Twitter thing:
“With foreclosures, job loses and more I think we can all relate to a Turtle Named Tucker. Just a little guy needing a hand to get home,” he says.
And so on Saturday, Tucker and Staffa hit the road for the Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvington, Ky. It’s a good long haul: