Gecko Pollination Problem

An invasive ant on the island of Mauritius is disrupting the nectar-feeding habits of a native Phelsuma gecko, which is integral to the pollination cycle of a rare plant. (News source.)

Garter Protection Controversy

An eco-political group tried to get the USFWS to list the northern Mexico gartersnake as endangered, but financial problems mean the snake will continue as a "candidate" species. (News source.)

Big Croc Hunting

A brief profile here on an Australian couple, first croc hunters, then croc conservations.

Turtle Fights Back, and Other News

A chef in Hong Kong was bitten on the toe by a softshell turtle as it tried to escape. The chef was hospitalized, and the turtle was returned to a cage for later cooking. (News source.)

Profile here on a Florida turtle hunter facing possible restrictions on the trade there. (News source.)

Two Iowa men were charged with poaching turtles. (News source.)

Lizard Research

Robo-lizards help researchers studying the communication of anoles in Puerto Rico. (Eurekalert.)

Researchers are investigating speciation in some isolated Australian desert geckos. (News source.)

Galapagos land iguanas are under threat, as some populations show low genetic diversity. (Eurekalert.)

Turtle Stranding Season

Cold air and warm water make for stunned turtles off Cape Cod... (News source.)

Reptiles More Popular than Dogs?

Apparently, they are... in the UK, at least. (News source.)

Herp Legal News

13 geckos were stolen from a North Carolina man's house. Two have been returned, and four people have been arrested. (News source.)

A former Connecticut man is suing police over a $35 fine given (through alleged illegal entry to his home), where they apparently found a 6-7 foot crocodilian or lizard in a tub. The reptile is unidentified (and disappeared after they initially saw it). Probably was just a big monitor. (News source.)

Gharial Problem

Reintroduction of new gharials to the Chambal is on hold, until biologists can adequately determine why the species is dying off there. (News source.)

Snake Hunting

Notes on a video of some snake hunters in the Mississippi Delta region here.

Pesticides Affect Gators

Chemical pollution is leading to sterilization in alligators, and leads to questions about how much it affects us. (News source.)

Sermons for Sea Turtles

Malaysian mosques are planning to urge Muslims to protect endangered sea turtles and not poach the eggs. (News source.)

Girl Killed by Crocodile

A 14-year old girl in Zambia was killed by a crocodile while washing plates on the lake shore. (News source.)

Egg Thieves Arrested

Three men have been arrested for stealing alligator eggs from a Louisiana gator farm. (News source.)

Pygmy Rattler Bite

An interesting letter to the editor from a Florida parent documenting the events of his son's bite by a pygmy rattlesnake here.

He Seeks to Inspire...

(News source)

Pro-Coqui

A commentary here pro-Coqui in the Hawaiian frog wars.

Snake Farm Fire

The Texas Snake Farm (New Braunfels) had a fire go through an animal house near the main building. (News source.)

Croc vs Zebra

Photo essay here.

Turtle Seizure

87 painted turtles were confiscated when they were shipped into the European Union without proper paperwork, where they require a permit. (News source.)

More Crocodilian News

A Florida man was given three years probation for poaching a small alligator. (News source.)

A Malaysian man freed himself twice from an attacking crocodile. (News source.)

Crocodile Debate

Was the crocodile that killed a man in Australia three years ago caught-and-relocated? A whistleblower says yes, and suggests that a similar occurrence led to the death of a tourist not long ago. (News source.) The Director-General of the EPA says this is a false accusation. (News source.)

Snakebite in the Bush

A lone camper in the Australian bush had to call in for medical assistance after being bitten by a brown snake. He was able to direct rescuers using his GPS. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Medicine

A sea turtle attacked by dogs had to have a flipper amputated due to the injuries. (News source.)

Monitors Saved

Two separate raids by Malaysian officials saved 7,093 clouded monitor lizards from the illegal food trade. Not sure what they did with the lizards... (News source.)

Exotic Animal Farming: Vietnam

An article here discussing the rise of exotic animal farming in Vietnam, including snake farms. (News source.)

Amphibian Decline Controversy

An evaluation of the models for amphibian decline suggests that the current models are not giving the full picture. (Eurekalert.)

Gator Chili

Recipe here.

150-year old Tortoise Returned

A 150-yo desert tortoise, possibly stolen, has been rediscovered in its fenced-in yard. (News source.)

Translocating Geckos

15 Wellington green geckos are being released on the Matiu/Somes Island sanctuary to create a self-sustaining population in a predator-free environment. (News source.)

Croc Farm Needs Rain

An Australian crocodile farm says dry conditions are detrimental to breeding the reptiles, so is hoping for rain. (News source.)

Skink Conservation

Staff and volunteers at an Ontario conservancy are creating habitat areas for the rare (in that area) five-lined skink. (News source.)

Turtles Adjust

Sea turtles are adjusting their nesting dates to warmer climate conditions. (News source.)

New Gecko

French scientists hatched out an egg taken from Vanatua, which turned out to be a new gecko. (News source.)

Frog Fest

The Rayne Frog Festival (Louisiana) is currently underway. (News source.)

Children's Book

A children's book in Australia promotes first aid techniques for snakebites there. (News source.)

Where to Go: Snake Tourism

Visit the festivities of San Domenico of Cocullo in Italy, on the first Thursday in May, where snakes are released on the streets and squares in the village. (News source.)

Probable Croc Attack

A 10-year old girl found dead on West Russell Island (in the Solomons) was apparently killed by a crocodile. Police are investigating. (News source.)

Sea Snakes Drink Freshwater

New research suggests that sea snakes don't drink saltwater, after all. (News source.)

Odd Croc News

A newspaper in India asks why a crocodile park in Kerala with healthy adult crocodiles hasn't had baby crocs born since 1998. (News source.)

A community in Burkina Faso embraces crocodiles as part of their life. (News source.)

Embryo Behavior

Red-eyed treefrog embryos rotate inside their eggs to get more oxygen. (New source.)

Northern Territories Good for Sea Turtles

A report notes that the sandy islands off the NT coast in Australia are important as sea turtle breeding grounds. Six species live in those waters. (News source.)

Snake Stories

A python in Australia was photographed swallowing a cockatoo. (News source.)

Australian beach-goers rescued a sea snake stranded on the sand. (News source.)

After his girlfriend made him a meal, a Kenya man took a nap, only to be woken by a large snake under the bed. His screams brought the neighbors, who killed the snake. The girlfriend's children asked why they killed their mother's pet. The neighbors complained to the landlord. The girlfriend says it wasn't her pet, it must have wandered in. The man went back to his wife. (News source.)

Herp Legality

Officials (in India, I think) seized poached monitor lizards. (News source.)

Indian officials also seized 200 poached tortoises. (News source.)

Malaysian officials seized 10,000 poached turtle eggs. (Well, not poached like that...) (News source.)

A Utah man faces DWR in court over a number of rubber boas that were seized and died in DWR hands. (News source.)

Snakebites: Neglected "Tropical Disease"

A Florida man was bitten by a pygmy rattlesnake. (News source.)

Three snakebites here from Australia.

A copperhead bit a young Texas boy. (News source.)

A young Australian teenager survived a tiger snake bite, when it fortunately didn't envenomate. (News source.)

A new report calls snakebites a "neglected tropical disease," which kills up to 94,000 victims a year. (News source.)

Relocated Croc Dies

A large crocodile relocated by Australian authorities, that ended up haunting a tourism location, has died from eating plastic bags and other trash. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Conservation News

North Carolina has a higher than average number of loggerhead sea turtle nests this year. (News source.)

An article here on a rehabilitated green sea turtle released in California waters.

Vietnam Croc Business

"Four CITES-licensed enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City exported 24,000 crocodiles in the first ten months of 2008" ... "The amount includes 13,000 live crocodiles and nearly 20,000 sets of crocodile skin." ... "Major markets for crocodile exports are Japan, Singapore, France, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and China." (News source.)

Coquis on Kailua

The small invasive frog has now been found on Kailua in Hawaii. (News source.)