Straight from the Reptiles Down Under news reel.

In the last 60 years, brown tree snakes have become the embodiment of the bad things that can happen when invasive species are introduced in places where they have few predators. Unchecked for many years, the snakes caused the extinction of nearly every native bird species on the Pacific island of Guam. But new research by University of Washington biologists suggests that indirect impacts might be even farther reaching, possibly changing tree distributions and reducing native tree populations, altering already damaged ecosystems even further.

See the original article for the full story.

Original Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/uow-bts080508.php

Australian scientists have come up with a unique way to combat climate change: eat kangaroos and save the world. A study claims that farming and consuming more kangaroos instead of cattle and sheep will reduce carbon gas emissions.

See the original article for the full story.

Original Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article4483757.ece

A cane toad has taken revenge on the only snake that can eat them and survive. The Keelback snake is a known predator of the introduced pest, but as this amazing photo shows the tables have been turned...

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24039130-1702,00.html

ReptilesDownUnder.com has partnered with Australia's leading reptile magazine, Reptiles Australia.
AHC sellers can now choose to have their adverts considered for inclusion in the Classifieds section of the next issue of Reptiles Australia.
If you're a registered seller at AHC, you can update your details and tick the 'Republishing' box at the bottom of the page to take advantage of this new service. Just log in at myAHC and click the 'Edit my details' link.

John Weigel, the director of the Australian Reptile Park at Somersby, has been made a Member of the Order of Australia in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours List. He is being recognised for his "service to the conservation of reptile and amphibian species, to wildlife management, research and education, and to regional tourism in New South Wales".

John may be best known as the author of the book 'Care of Australian reptiles in captivity' and as cofounder of Snake Ranch.

An interview with John is available on the ABC's web site.

John's a good friend of ReptilesDownUnder.com and we wholeheartedly congratulate him on his achievement!

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/09/2269033.htm

I've just added a new 'Herping' section, containing my thoughts and ideas on how to go about finding and photographing reptiles in the wild

The Reptiles as pets section has had a bit of a tidy up.

I've made some fairly significant behind-the-scenes changes to the site over the last week or so. I've migrated all of the site's static content to a content management system I developed. This new system makes it much easier to publish new content, so there will be regular and substantial updates and additions to the site from now on.

As with any major change, there are bound to be hiccups. I think most of them are sorted out, but if you do notice anything strange, please let me know.

We've been making some serious changes to the way in which this site's content is stored, viewed and managed. We started at about midnight and we're still going this afternoon. There will probably be minor disruptions (such as 'Page not found' errors) on the site for today, but we think we've sorted most things out. Please let us know if you find any major problems.

Need to find a Christmas present for that special little reptile freak enthusiast? These A3 wall-mounted calendars feature pictures of reptiles from Queensland's Simpson Desert. Profits from the Ethabuka calendar will be donated to Bush Heritage Australia. See the web site for more info and pics.

Original Source: http://www.reptilesdownunder.com/store/cal.php

The Australian Conservation Foundation have released their Election Scorecard, scoring the major political parties on important environmental issues. Unsurprisingly, the Greens rate highest, closely followed by the democrats. Labour is next, with Family First and the Liberal/National coalition way down the bottom.

Original Source: http://www.acfonline.org.au/articles/news.asp?news_id=1439&eid=1046098

I'm going to Lakefield National Park for a month, to do a spot of herping. I'll be back in July.

From Darren Naish's Tetrapod Zoology blog:

It has always been rumoured that some snakes grow to sizes that exceed the 10 m record generally accepted as the authenticated maximum: this was for a Reticulated python Python reticulatus shot on the Celebes in 1912.

Original Source: http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/05/stupidly_large_snakes_the_stor.php

Just a warning to anyone placing Wanted ads on web sites. People have reported getting emails from overseas (often parts of Africa) offering free animals if they pay for shipping. These are almost certainly scams. At the very least, you won't be able to import reptiles from overseas into Australia.

Original Source: http://www.petsonthenet.co.nz/scam#Pets%20for%20adoption%20etc%20scams

Friends of a reptile enthusiast who died after being bitten by a snake have expressed their shock that a man who knew snakes so well had been killed by a species generally regarded as harmless. Ron Siggins, 37, of Pascoe Vale, died yesterday afternoon after being bitten by a whip snake at Harcourt North, 120km north west of Melbourne. Mr Siggins was collecting scorpions with a friend at Mt Alexander about 2.30 pm when he was bitten on the finger by the snake.

Note from Stewart:
I'm assuming this snake is a little whip snake (Parasuta flagellum). Distribution map:

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/harmless-snake-proves-deadly/2007/04/16/1176575716438.html

Police in Taiwan were forced to shoot a crocodile after it bit off the arm of the zoo veterinarian treating it, an official said on Wednesday. Dramatic television footage showed a police officer firing on the animal to wrest the severed limb from its jaws. Chang Po-yu, 38, from the southern Kaohsiung city's Shou Shan Zoo, was injecting the sick crocodile with anaesthetic when it attacked him.

Original Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/sick-croc-strikes-back/2007/04/12/1175971189283.html

Australian researchers have found a new species of taipan snake slithering in the outback. Similar to the western brown snake, the still unnamed species was discovered during an expedition to a remote region about 200km north-west of Uluru in September last year.

Original Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=253903

There were apparently intermittent problems with the AHC RSS feed, but I was never able to narrow them down. Thanks to regular viewer Rob, I've been able to fix the RSS feed. It looks like every so often an ad would be submitted that had weird characters in it, and that would cause news readers to fail. I've changed the way ads are processed for the RSS feed, so hopefully the problem won't reoccur. Hopefully.

The brief interruption to this site the other day was due to the site running out of bandwidth. Every month the site gets more and more visitors, mainly to the Australian Herpetological Classifieds department. Yesterday (Monday) saw the highest number of adverts (49) submitted to AHC in one day since the new site started back in early 2003. This month (January) has also seen the highest number of ads submitted (600 and still counting) since the site started. For more details on AHC's activity, see our stats page.

To deal with this burst of activity, we've had to make some behind-the-scenes changes. This should result in a 30% decrease in the amount of time it takes to load AHC's search results page. So everyone's a winner!

I guess that's the problem with being so popular! The site exceeded its bandwith allowance, but everything's back to normal now.

Cool Companions has part time employment available.

Animal attendant:
3 days per week cleaning and feeding a variety of animals including mammals, reptiles, birds and marsupials. Older applicants welcomed. Existing experience with venomous snakes is a plus.

Wildlife handler
Weekend work entertaining children at birthday parties with reptiles and games. You need to be fit and physical. Get paid for having fun with kids and critters.
Must be reliable, have own transport and licence, be presentable and clean.

If you are interested email us at Cool Companions - info@coolcompanions.com.au.

Hopefully he's found what he's looking for.

But I'm heading back out snake hunting again tomorrow.

I should make it to Alice Springs today. Hopefully I've seen a thorny devil and a perentie.

I should make it to Tennant Creek tonight.

I should have seen the dinosaur trackways at Lark Quarry today, and I should be in Mt Isa tonight.

I should make it to Winton at some stage today.

I'm looking for snakes.

Wanted - children's party entertainer, experience with "Summer Camp USA" would be an advantage. You need to be clean, well spoken, smart and able to relate to kids from 5 to 15 years old. You have to be able to have fun and have a good knowledge and love of reptiles (and other Australian wildlife).
Send resume to Cool Companions:
PO Box 164
Redbank 4301
www.coolcompanions.com.au

Stewart's back from his overseas trip. He has lots of photos of caimen.

I'm going over to South America for about 6 weeks. I'll also be dropping in on Texas and New Zealand. If I find the IntraWeb you might be able to follow my progress via my blog. Any Texans want to meet me at the airport?

The Australian Herpetological Classifieds section of the site has had some major new features added recently. You can now upload your own picture to display with your ad. There's now a "Swap" category if you just want to trade for some other animals. And in an effort to make it easier to get complete information on your ad, you're now presented with a list of animal common and scientific names when you submit an ad.

Wanted: casual wildlife handlers for two reptile/wildlife displays. One display at Albany Creek shopping centre, the other at Victoria Point shopping centre. Displays run from Monday the 10th of April to Saturday the 15th of April (closed on Good Friday). Hours are normal shopping centre hours, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, plus late night on Thursday.

Applicants need to be clean, well presented, personable, extremely fluent in English, articulate, excellent communicators, tolerant of big snakes, etc.

Two handlers are required at each shopping centre. At least one handler per display will be required to give presentations to the public, three times a day, so basic knowledge of Australian wildlife (or the ability to acquire said knowledge rapidly) is required.

Contact Cool Companions on 3814 0100, or info@coolcompanions.com.au

Tasmania is in the grip of a snake explosion with unprecedented numbers of sightings and rescues from people's homes. Snakes have been found in bathrooms, laundries and even living rooms in suburbs throughout Tasmania. Reptile Rescue, a voluntary organisation which removes snakes from people's homes, is experiencing its busiest summer on record.

Original Source: http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17979789%255E421,00.html

For sale: One snake. Albino. Has two heads. Asking $A205,142 or best offer.

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/meet-thimon-my-thiamesetwin/2006/01/03/1136050427210.html

I've just added an RSS feed for AHC. This means that you can use a news reader to view the latest ads. I've also put up a little AHC statistics page with some interesting(?) information about numbers of ads over time. There's also been an RSS feed for the main Reptiles Down Under site for quite some time.

A man was yesterday bitten by a snake when he toppled off his bike and landed on it. Quick-thinking friends of the cyclist wrapped their mate's wound in an inner tube from his bike tyre. The man, aged in his 20s, was last night recovering in the Austin Hospital.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17682601%255E2862,00.html

I'm back from a research trip to Kenilworth. I had hoped to collect some brown tree snakes for a research project I'm involved in, but we only found a keelback and a cranky carpet snake. i think I've caught up on all email and AHC-related stuff.

I'm off to Kenilworth for a research and collection trip. I'll be back on Thursday, hopefully with some brown tree snakes.

South Australian Herpetology Group - Christmas BBQ

Tuesday 13th December, from 6pm

Armoury Building Lawns
(rear of main building)
South Australian Museum
North Tce, Adelaide

BBQ dinner and drinks provided at minimal cost

Family, friends and Herps all welcome

After his time in the field and just generally being busy, Stewart has finally caught up on all AHC stuff.

...for a spot of bird watching. He'll be back somewhere around Monday the 14th of November, but he'll have a lot of stuff to catch up on. Emails and unmoderated AHC listings will take a while to be processed.

Almost one in three people attacked by crocodiles were drunk at the time, Australia's most comprehensive review of croc attacks reveals. The figures show why it's not a good idea to drink too much if you're in or near water in northern Australia, says zoologist Dr Adam Britton of Wildlife Management International, who has co-authored research showing a 30-fold increase in crocodile attacks over the past three decades.

Original Source: http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1483871.htm

A 3m snake thought to have been living in sewage pipes in a block of flats for three months has been caught on a bathroom floor. The boa constrictor, named Keith, is thought to have been abandoned after the resident was evicted owing £5,500 in rent to his landlord.

Original Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4351490.stm

But he's trying very hard to catch up on emails and stuff.

A dozen baby crocodiles are on the loose after a mass escape from a crocodile farm near Darwin. About 40 young saltwater crocodiles were believed to have fled from a pen at Darwin Crocodile Farm, 40km south of Darwin, on Saturday night.

Original Source: http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,16887112-5001028,00.html

In the past two weeks alone crocodiles have killed two men and mauled a ten-year-old girl in Australia's Northern Territory. Despite the attacks, the national government ruled out a proposed plan to allow crocodile hunting in the territory. The Northern Territory government had put forward the plan in hopes of keeping the reptiles' numbers down. Officials had also hoped to generate revenue from big game hunters for Aborigines, owners of many of the croc habitats in the territory.

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1007_051007_crocodiles.html

The tail of an alligator protruding from the ruptured gut of a python, which had swallowed its foe alive, bore witness to a fierce and unusual battle between two of the deadliest predators in Florida's swamps. US park rangers who photographed the remains of the two huge reptiles in the Everglades National Park say the clash demonstrates the threat to the fragile swamplands posed by a growing population of non-native burmese pythons.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1475680.htm

Like something straight out of a Jules Verne novel, an enormous tentacled creature looms out of the inky blackness of the deep Pacific waters. But this isn't science fiction. A set of extraordinary images captured by Japanese scientists marks the first-ever record of a live giant squid (Architeuthis) in the wild.

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0927_050927_giant_squid.html

Spring has well and truly arrived, and with the warmer weather comes increased snake activity. While humans are aware of the danger of snakes and most know well enough to keep away, inquisitive pets are at a high risk of snake bite. Cats generally take longer than dogs to succumb to the snake's venom and the most obvious sign is that the cat will walk backwards and this may alert the owner that the cat has suffered a snake bite.

Original Source: http://portaugusta.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=425624&y=2005&m=9

Rangers believe that an aggressive crocodile being held in a special holding centre in Townsville could be the animal which dragged Townsville man Barry Jefferies from his canoe in the Lakefield National Park last month. The 5m estuarine crocodile was trapped after it displayed bold and aggressive behaviour towards rangers and police searching for Mr Jefferies' body after the August 20 attack.

Original Source: http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,16660234%255E14787,00.html

A crocodile with a taste for humans is to be the subject of a $20 million movie set in Kakadu National Park. Film-maker Greg McLean says he wrote the film when he was 24 and has spent years trying to find a way to make it.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1463246.htm

Northern Territory researchers are wiring satellite transmitters to crocodiles in Kakadu National Park in an effort to monitor the movements of 25 saltwater crocodiles. Corey Bradshaw from Charles Darwin University says it should help show how crocodiles come to be in areas where they have not been seen before.
"The project is probably just in terms of direct finances pushing sort of $70,000-$100,000 in terms of the equipment and logistics involved," he said.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1462942.htm

They are powerful predators that constrict their prey but female African pythons also have a maternal side unheard of among egg-laying snakes: they spend time with their young after they hatch. The discovery underscores how little we know about the world of snakes and suggests their ways may be far more elaborate than scientists previously thought.

Original Source: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16548740.htm

Environment Minister Ian Campbell has taken the extraordinary step of wrestling crocodiles as part of an inquiry into a proposal to allow overseas tourists to kill the animals and take the skins home with them.
Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin is leading the call for the Government to reject the Northern Territory's push for safari hunts. When Irwin found out about the Northern Territory's plans, he invited Senator Campbell to Australia Zoo in Queensland to learn about crocodile behaviour. Senator Campbell told The Daily Telegraph that he spent two days with the internationally renowned Irwin last month.

Original Source: http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,16566863-5001022,00.html

Nicki Hilliard put crocodile hunter Steve Irwin to shame. The teenager spotted a two-foot alligator while she was swimming. Instead of dashing for the shore, the teenager grabbed the escaped pet reptile by its snout - just like she had seen on TV - dragged it to the bank of the Allegheny River, Pennsylvania, dropped it into a drinks cooler and carried it to the local jail. Nicki said: "I learned how to catch it safely by watching the TV show, Crocodile Hunter. The secret is to grab the animal's snout and hold its mouth closed

Original Source: http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15954520&method=full&siteid=64736&headline=strange-but-true--brave-nicki-socks-a-croc--name_page.html

Northern Territory researchers have achieved outstanding success using ultraviolet black lights - the same as those used in nightclubs - to lure and trap cane toads.

Original Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=100&ObjectID=10343967

Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin proposed a mechanism for biological evolution, previously unrecognized diversity has been discovered among the giant tortoises of the Galápagos (Geochelone nigra), whose distinctiveness was an inspiration in formulating the theory of natural selection. The new taxon (species or sub-species) of Galápagos tortoise was characterized by a team of scientists from Yale.

Original Source: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2005/07/27/new_taxon_of_galapagos_tortoise_identified.html

Graeme Webb, one of the Northern Territory's leading crocodile experts, wants to see a coordinated approach to autopsies of the animals. Cane toads have been blamed for the death of a three-metre salt crocodile found floating in the Adelaide River last week.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1432570.htm

Job Opening: Assistant Supervisor - Department Of Herpetology - Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo)

POSITION OBJECTIVE: Assist in the supervision of World of Reptiles and related facility operations as well as departmental programs

(See Original Source link for more details)

Original Source: http://www.wcs.org/getinvolved/careers/58127

London Zoo, home to some of the worlds most endangered species and now, home to the worlds most endangering species. Dubbed "Homo exhibitionist" eight brave human volunteers have colonised the zoo's Bear Mountain and will be preening and playing during the bank holiday weekend.

Original Source: http://euronews.net/create_html.php?page=detail_info&article=306252&lng=1

A sharp rise in snake-bite deaths has prompted the Chhattisgarh government to order that the reptiles, which are entering people's homes in thousands from nearby forests in one district, be caught. It also directed the setting up of a Snake Knowledge Centre to educate people about the reptiles. The government has ordered the catching of snakes in the largely tribal Jashpur district, which lies in the northern part of the state bordering Bihar. The snakes will be caught in three affected blocks of Pathalgaon, Kansabel and Pharsabahar.

Original Source: http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=news&Story_ID=08258

A Pilbara environmental group has expressed concern over the proposed Pretty Pool housing development in Port Hedland in north-west Western Australia. Last week, WA Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan and the land's traditional owners, the Kariyarra people, agreed to allow the 19 hectare development to go ahead. The Care for Hedland Environmental Association says there is a chance nearby flatback turtle rookeries may be harmed by the development.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1443846.htm

A saltwater crocodile named Sputnik is being tracked by satellite in the remote heart of Australia in a bid to learn more about the deadly creatures. Researchers from New Zealand's Massey University attached a transmitter to the back of the 4.2m (14 feet) male crocodile, which was caught in the Adelaide River about 100 km (62 miles) southeast of the tropical city of Darwin in Australia's outback Northern Territory. They plan to track Sputnik for a year to learn more about the movements of the Crocodylus porosus. Sputnik's journey can also be watched on http://www.croctrack.org.nz/

Original Source: http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2005-08-23T025339Z_01_MCC310351_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-AUSTRALIA-CROCODILE-DC.XML

A human thigh bone has been found close to where Townsville man Barry Jefferies was taken by a crocodile a week ago. Police said today that forensic examination of the bone had also revealed that it had most likely belonged to a male.

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bone-found-at-crocodile-attack-site-is-human/2005/08/23/1124562850730.html

Customs officers say they have foiled an attempt to transport 39 exotic reptiles into Queensland. A 40-year-old Japanese man has been accused of trying to bring the animals in through Brisbane international airport yesterday on a flight from Thailand. The illegal cargo included snakes in shampoo bottles and green tree pythons, iguanas and frilled-neck dragons in speaker boxes and food containers.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1444326.htm

A North Queensland MP has called for safari hunting of big crocodiles to be made legal across the nation's north. Backing a Northern Territory proposal to offer big "salties" to international big-game hunters, Federal Liberal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch said the plan should be expanded to Queensland and Western Australia.
"It should be right across the north," he said. "It is simply good conservation."

Original Source: http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,16326478%255E2765,00.html

Police say the search for a fisherman taken by a crocodile on Cape York in far north Queensland, will be cut back this morning. A final search will be carried out by national parks rangers today in the area of the Lakefield National Park where Barry Jefferies was attacked on Tuesday. The missing man's torn clothing was found on Friday. Police say rangers will continue to monitor the area. Mr Jefferies, 60, and his wife Glenda were fishing from a canoe on a waterhole when a crocodile dragged him into the water. Mrs Jefferies swam to shore and raised the alarm.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1442422.htm

With over 500,000 collisions between cars and deer every year, the cost in lives and money is staggering. While insurers pay over a billion dollars in claims annually, over 200 people are killed. Countless other drivers and passengers suffer injuries and other serious medical complications. Many deer and their young suffer the same fate. By implanting the gene of a special jellyfish into deer, the transgenic NIGHTSAVE deer produced by GENETIATE (patent pending) have fluorescing hair and skin when illuminated by car headlights. The implanted gene has no other effect on the deer, who appear normal in daylight. The NIGHTSAVE project aims to reduce the number of night time deer/auto collisions, saving the lives of both deer and people.

Original Source: http://improbable.typepad.com/improbable_research_whats/2005/08/the_glow_of_saf.html

Internationally renowned snake expert Graeme Gow died at his Territory home yesterday -- less than a week after getting married. He had suffered from cancer for many years.

Original Source: http://www.ntnews.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,16244165%255E13569,00.html

Crude oil and gasoline prices are near an all-time high. But don't despair. One scientist has found an alternative source of energy: pig manure.

Yuanhui Zhang, an agricultural engineering professor at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, has succeeded in turning small batches of hog waste into oil.

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0701_040702_pigoil.html

The evolution of endothermy is a fairly intensively studied topic. Evolutionary biologists agree that full or partial endothermy must have arisen separately in a number of species, among which are some sharks, tunas, reptiles, birds and mammals. Even some insects are endothermic. Because the animals in which endothermy originally evolved are long since extinct, the theories on the evolution of endothermy are speculative.

Many are based on observation of living animals or experimentation: metabolic studies, exercise physiology, cold-stress responses, and anatomical evidence. Some studies compare extant animals to fossils. And others even discuss the role of behavior in the evolution of endothermy. But it is unlikely that the true origins of endothermy will ever be found, as the fossil record provides only food for speculation, not proof.

Original Source: http://www.rednova.com/news/science/153728/generating_heat_new_twists_in_the_evolution_of_endothermy/

Just Reptiles, a new store that strives to "stock the largest range of reptile and amphibian paraphernalia and accessories", has just opened its doors in Ipswich, Queensland.

Thinking small in a time when everything was big has helped Queensland researchers to unearth new evidence that climate change, instead of humans, was responsible for wiping out Australian giant marsupials or megafauna 40,000 years ago. Instead of only excavating 'trophy specimens' such as giant kangaroos and wombats, the researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Queensland Museum performed the first systematic analysis of a site in the fossil rich Darling Downs region of south-eastern Queensland.
Reported in the journal Memoirs of the Queensland Museum tomorrow (Tuesday 31 May) they found smaller species, dependent on a wetter environment, had also disappeared.

Original Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/ra-ssb052705.php

The Geelong Reptile Club is holding a meeting on friday the 27th of May at Thompson football club on St Albans road in East Geelong. Guest speaker wil be Chris Hay presenting on collecting for the venom unit. There will also be raffles and a huge auction. A great family night can be had by all. Contact Mick Pugh on 5229 1617 for futher details.

A world-renowned NT reptile expert told last night how he thought he was going to die after being bitten by a deadly snake. Graeme Gow was bitten on his left index finger by a 75cm death adder while removing some of the snake's skin. A few hours later he had trouble breathing, his face became paralysed and he couldn't speak or see. "I thought 'this is it, I'm going to die'" he said.

Original Source: http://www.ntnews.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,15292479%255E13569,00.html

Queensland will spend $1 million in an attempt to halt the spread of the cane toad, the pest the state released on Australia almost 50 years ago. Premier Peter Beattie said today the money would be used to fund biotechnology research, which could eventually result in the toad's own toxic secretions being turned back onto it. He said the spending, to be announced in the State Budget in June and spread over two years, would fund research by the Australian Invasive Animal Co-operative Research Centre and the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12671469-29277,00.html

Scientists may be a tiny step closer to making the Jurassic Park films reality after an exciting new dinosaur find. They've found what looks like soft tissue in a dinosaur fossil bone, and say the tissue looks like it could be cells and fine blood vessels. The tissue is from the fossil of a Tyrannosaurus rex found in the US state of Montana.

Original Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4380000/newsid_4381100/4381179.stm

A large crocodile has been captured in a popular fishing and swimming spot in Darwin's rural area. The 2.5 metre crocodile was caught in a trap set by wildlife rangers after people reported seeing a reptile in the area. Ranger Tom Nichols says the crocodile was found in a section of the Howard River that is popular for its barramundi fishing.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1331291.htm

Due to Stewart being really busy and lazy, no new news stories have been posted for a while. Sorry about that!

An East Coast (Tasmania) snake bite victim was hoping to return home today after recovering at the Launceston General Hospital for four days. The woman was bitten at least three times on the lower forearm, by a snake that was sleeping under her pillow. The woman is expected to make a full recovery.

Original Source: http://www.examiner.com.au/story.asp?id=272091

Queensland Transport Minister Paul Lucas says the State Government has gone to great lengths to handle the environmental impact of the Tugun bypass. Opponents of the Gold Coast road say it will threaten Aboriginal sacred sites and the habitat of an endangered frog. Mr Lucas says despite the fresh batch of concerns, the project is continuing.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1292648.htm

Swimmers in an Australian pool made a swift exit yesterday after finding a crocodile paddling in the water with them.

The saltwater crocodile, which was more than 3ft long, is believed to have been slipped into the pool as a prank.

The reptile was not large enough to kill but it could have inflicted a nasty bite, said wildlife experts.

The half a dozen swimmers in the pool were not keen to test the power of its jaws. "They got a hell of a shock," said a spokesman for the Palmerston Leisure Centre, about 20 miles south of Darwin in Northern Territory. "You're never far from wildlife in the Territory."

The leisure centre's manager, Jess McHardy, said the crocodile's snout and jaws were bound with tape, suggesting that the animal had been deliberately dropped in the pool.

"I have no idea why someone would do such a thing," she said. "Luckily it was only little."

Wildlife rangers were called in to remove the crocodile, which was taken to a farm outside Darwin.

"He'd be dangerous if you grabbed him," said Clay Smith, from the Northern Territory parks and wildlife service. "He might cause some lacerations on your hand, but that would be about all."

Adult saltwater crocodiles can grow to more than 20ft in length and are common in rivers, swamps and estuaries across northern Australia.

Each year around 150 are netted and removed from Darwin harbour.

Since a ban on hunting in the early 1970s, their numbers have increased dramatically. There are growing calls for a cull and the government is also considering introducing safari-style hunting.

Original Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/31/wcroc31.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/31/ixworld.html

Brisbane snake catcher Geoff Jacobs can honestly claim to have seen just about everything in his job. That is, until he laid eyes on a two-headed snake. The four-fanged freak hatched out of an egg laid by one of Mr Jacobs' collection of breeding pythons.

Original Source: http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,12100044%255E3102,00.html

A one-metre salt water crocodile has been found swimming in a public pool in Palmerston, south of Darwin. Swimmers discovered the young male saltie lurking amongst them at Palmerston Leisure Centre's olympic-size pool this morning.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1291948.htm

The Australian Marine Conservation Society will begin letter box drops in Darwin next week aimed at highlighting what it calls the barbaric practice of shark finning. The society claims the industry catches sharks for their fins and the rest of the animal is discarded as waste. The Northern Territory Shark Fishery is currently under scrutiny in the lead-up to a June deadline by which the industry must meet a number of conditions.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1291758.htm

A reptile found on an economy class seat on a flight from Brisbane to Auckland on Tuesday night now appears to be a so-called legless lizard, and not a green tree snake as previously thought. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) spokesman Brett Sangster said today a herpetologist had identified the reptile as belonging to the family pygopodidae, commonly described as legless lizards.
"It's been sent to the herpetologist who made the identification based on digital photographs and other identification provided by MAF staff."
The reptile itself had since been sent to the Nelson-based herpetologist, and a more specific identification was expected later today.

Original Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3170112a11,00.html

An unusual passenger was found on an Air New Zealand flight from Australia to Auckland last night, with a snake joining passengers in economy class. Air New Zealand spokesman Mark Street said the flight was about an hour out of Brisbane when the stowaway was discovered.
"Our in-flight service director collected the snake, put it into a bag and into a fridge and it was collected by MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) off the plane at the end of the flight."
The Ministry would now formally identify the snake, thought to be a non-venomous green tree snake, about 50 centimetres long.

Original Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10008121

The Western Australian Government is being called on to support the use of cane toad traps, with researchers reporting positive results from their latest field trials. Environment group Northern Habitat says trials have been conducted in the Northern Territory during the past few months and the results are a major boost in the fight to keep Western Australia toad free. The organisation's Russell Gueho says the Government should deploy a thousand traps to the Territory immediately to help protect the East Kimberley.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1289438.htm

Authorities are concerned about the spread of the red-eared slider turtle, considered the aquatic equivalent to the cane toad. Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines land protection officer Jenny Reeve said the pest, which was first discovered in the Pine Rivers Shire north of Brisbane, had now appeared further north, near Burpengary in the Caboolture Shire. A native of the Mississippi Valley area of the United States, the turtle is easily recognised by a red - or sometimes yellow - patch found just behind its eye.

Original Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=28768

Cane Toads are being successfully trapped in the Northern Territory, experts said. The Sunday Territorian reported that field trials have shown that cane toads can be eliminated locally through trapping. FrogWatch joint coordinator Graeme Sawyer said test site have been kept relatively toad-free with a single cage trap.
"Our tests near Katherine and Adelaide River showed that traps initially catch all the toads in the area around a house or block within a few weeks," Mr Sawyer said.

Original Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=20550

Northern Territorians are mistaking native frogs for cane toads and killing them, an expert said last night. The victim of the well-intentioned toadbusters is the giant frog (Cyclorana australis). FrogWatch believes the 30 "cane toads" killed 6km east of Darwin River in mid-December were actually giant frogs.
"We don't believe the cane toad has reached that area yet," FrogWatch co-ordinator Graeme Sawyer said.
"There is a problem with people running over the giant frog with their cars.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11898444%255E421,00.html

Cane toads have arrived in significant numbers in the Top End township of Corroborree, about 75 kilometres east of Darwin. The NT Frog Watch group says it is the first major influx of the pest to the area. A dozen toads have been found this morning on the side of the causeway.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1275704.htm

A shark hook that reduces the number of turtles caught on drum lines off the Queensland coast will now be a permanent fixture off the state's beaches.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1275520.htm

South Australians are prepared to risk losing their extremities to get their hands on a Territorian. Adelaide reptile pet-shop owner Nigel Ross said about 10 people a day contacted him wanting to buy a crocodile as 'the ultimate pet' for their homes. Parks and Wildlife SA said they get hundreds of inquiries a year about licences for reptiles such as crocodiles. Mr Ross said there was a queue of people ready to pay $350 to $400 for their own freshwater crocodile.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11808830%255E13569,00.html

A crocodile that snuck through a wire fence into several backyards was chased by neighbours and bound with masking tape. Grandfather Peter Jarvis, 55, was spreading fertiliser in his garden when his two blue heelers started barking at the 1.3m saltie.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11801910%255E421,00.html

A Darwin businessman says Northern Territory businesses could lose out if an interstate designer and manufacturer produces an effective cane toad trap. The NT Government has offered a $16,000 prize for anyone who comes up with an effective trap. He says the Government's failure to offer a commercial incentive to the winner, such as buying a guaranteed number of traps, could mean that Territory businesses could miss out.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272702.htm

What are you doing reading this?!?!?

Johannesburg Zoo plans to artificially inseminate a pair of female birds, who appear to be lovers, to help boost dwindling numbers of the endangered wattled crane species, it said on Thursday. Staff at the zoo assumed Cherry and Amazona were lovers when they arrived earlier this year and charmed visitors with typical mating rituals - including dancing, serenading one another with song and tossing sticks into the air. Tests showed the pair were both females, but due to a shortage of male wattled cranes and the species' faithfulness to one partner, the zoo decided to artificially inseminate the birds so they could reproduce.

Original Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=143&art_id=qw110386674585B251

The Western Australian and Federal Governments have been warned to stop playing games with the threat of a cane toad invasion into Western Australia.

The State Government recently committed $600,00 to prevent the spread of cane toads into the Kimberley following the discovery of a live toad in Kununurra.

During a visit to Broome yesterday the Premier Geoff Gallop accused the Federal Government of playing politics over the issue, saying it had not received a response to its calls to match the offer.

But the organiser of recent forums on cane toads, Russel Gueho, says the issue is not being treated seriously.

"People want action right now. They want to stop the toads in the Northern Territory, they don't want them to get to Western Australia," he said.

"They'd rather see a unilateral approach from governments to deal with the problem and dealing with it in the area where the problem is."

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1271133.htm

The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service says this year's nesting season at Mon Repos Beach near Bundaberg, indicates the decline in loggerhead turtles has slowed.

Dr Col Limpus says 160 turtles have nested over the last seven weeks and he expects about 250 by the end of the season, which is similar to last year.

He says the number of loggerhead turtles appears to have "stabilised" since "turtle exclusion devices" became compulsory in trawl fisheries four years ago.

"We believe that the major source of mortality on our loggerheads has been eliminated and we are expecting to see the decline come to a halt," he said.

"We are now four years out this summer from the introduction of the exclusion devices.

"So we are looking to see how it shapes up but all the indicators at the moment suggest that indeed the decline has slowed and we expect it has stopped."

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1271015.htm

The hunting of turtle and dugong will be restricted to four months of the year under Queensland's first traditional hunting agreement. Parks and Wildlife and the Angumothimaree people have signed the agreement to protect marine resources in the Pine River near Weipa.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1270955.htm

The world's longest-studied sea turtle has returned to nest in South-East Queensland. The flatback turtle, known as X23103 and first tagged in 1971, had come ashore at the Mon Repos Conservation Park near Bundaberg for at least the 11th time, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service principal conservation officer Col Limpus said.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11763654%255E1702,00.html

Scientists around the country are burning the midnight oil in search of a secret weapon that will stop the scourge of the cane toad. Spreading west at a rate of 27km each year, it is inevitable that the toad will soon reach WA. With at least three isolated cases already identified in WA – the latest just last week in a Kununurra caravan park and a significant infestation found only 76km from the WA-Northern Territory border – the State Government was prompted last Saturday to announce a $600,000 commitment to fight the toxic toads.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11727954%255E2761,00.html

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has been forced to delay developing a theme park in Brisbane and focus on expanding overseas instead because the city's lord mayor is opposed to the plan. A spokesman for Mr Irwin said Lord Mayor Campbell Newman's opposition to the Crocodile Hunter theme park had thrown a spanner into the works. Mr Irwin, who owns the highly successful Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast, has been planning a theme park near Brisbane Airport.

Original Source: http://www.seven.com.au/news/entertainment/145894

Rangers fear cane toads may have started to establish on Moreton Island off the coast of Brisbane, one of the few places not overrun by the environmental pests. In the past two months, two campers and a ranger have found toads. All three were in The Wrecks and Ben-Ewa camping areas halfway up the western side of the island, near the Tangalooma tourist resort. Toads were first reported on the island in 1987 and were thought to have hitched a ride in building material.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11700550%255E3102,00.html

Peter Doherty is a snake catcher based in Albury, he has dealt with about 2000 snakes in nine years and has never been bitten, so what is his secret? Peter says his strategy is to "treat every snake with the respect they deserve and handle them with care.. Every time you go out you take a chance.. every time you go out the risk is there".

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/goulburnmurray/stories/s1266877.htm

A record number of crocodiles have been pulled out of Darwin Harbour this year. Since 1989 an average of 130 crocodiles have been removed from the harbour each year. But with just a few weeks left before the end of the year, 208 have already been captured.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1265475.htm

Almost a year after a saltwater crocodile in a swollen river near Darwin took a 22-year-old man, police have officially called off the search for the victim's body. Brett Mann was taken by the crocodile in the Finniss River, 80 km south-west of Darwin, on December 22 last year.

Original Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=15526

Researchers in the Northern Territory believe they may have found the first natural predator of the cane toad. FrogWatch NT says early tests run in captivity have found the frog species Litoria dahlii can eat tadpoles and infant cane toads without any apparent side effects from the venom. The group says a frog predator in the Northern Territory could explain why cane toad numbers have been limited in some areas.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1265310.htm

The emergency department at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital is taking part in a national research project centred on bites from venomous spiders and snakes. The director of emergency services, Alan Tankel, says about 30 people a year in the district are bitten by snakes and, of those, about 10 per cent are poisoned.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1264699.htm

Wildlife officers will search an area around a popular north Queensland lake for a crocodile which lunged at a teenager and struck his head. Eighteen-year-old Drewe Ramsden survived last Friday's attack with little worse than teeth marks on his head and chin, but the attack has alarmed locals used to swimming in Lake Placid near Cairns. The 2.5m predator struck in the nearby Barron River, which is separated from Lake Placid by 1 km of rapids. Mr Ramsden was having a few drinks with his mates when he went to the river's edge about 10.30pm (AEST).

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11676478%255E1702,00.html

The "evil" cane toad has arrived in WA. It was found in Kununurra this week, forcing the State Government to make a panic announcement to spend $600,000 to fight the poisonous vermin. Agriculture Minister Kim Chance was unable to say if the slimy pests already had infested WA's north.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11661055%255E2761,00.html

The Turtlewatch group says this year's egg laying season has been an average one for north Queensland. The group's Fay Griffin says about 12 nests have been laid at Mackay, Sarina and Seaforth beaches so far, with most hatchlings expected to start emerging within a week.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/northqld/news/200412/s1262363.htm

Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo has picked up a major tourism award. The crocodile hunter's zoo, located at Queensland's Beerwah, was tonight announced as the 2004 Accor Tourism Exporter of the Year during a gala Australian Export Awards dinner on the Gold Coast. Accor Asia Pacific chairman David Baffsky said that as one of Australia's major tourist attractions, Australia Zoo was committed to exporting its strong international profile to attract inbound tourists.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11642372%255E1702,00.html

Researchers have found a 70 per cent decline in a common species of goanna in one of the newest areas of the Northern Territory to be plagued by the cane toad. However scientists say it is too early to determine if the goanna in the Top End will be wiped out by the cane toad. Canberra University research conducted in the Daly River area south-west of Darwin has shown a 70 per cent decline in one of the two most common goanna species - the yellow spotted monitor.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1259278.htm

Researchers are confident the long neck turtle industry in Arnhem Land can be expanded but say it is too early to determine by how much. The Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation has a permit to commercially harvest 1,200 eggs from billabongs around Maningrida. The eggs are incubated in Maningrida and the hatchlings sent to Darwin pet stores.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1258153.htm

The service that removes deadly snakes from hundreds of Tasmanian homes each year is on the brink of collapse. The cash-strapped volunteer group Reptile Rescue has warned it could fold, leaving people to risk their lives dealing with snakes found in and around their homes. As a busy summer of snake removal begins, Reptile Rescue state co-ordinator Maria Novy says the group's future is uncertain because it is struggling to meet running costs.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11592796%255E921,00.html

Genetic testing has shown that an animal scientists thought was the common ornate wobbegong is actually a new species of shark. Charlie Huveneers says scientists originally thought that the dwarf-like shark was a juvenile wobbegong.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1258049.htm

Chytrid amphibian fungus was first discovered in Queensland in 1976 and until now had not been found in Tasmania. The disease has been identified in two areas of the state, Knocklofty Reserve in Hobart and on a private property in the north-west. The Nature Conservation Branch's Paul Black says the fungus affects both tadpoles and adult frogs by attacking the skin and eventually leading to death.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1257467.htm

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin is looking to start a zoo in Las Vegas. Irwin and his Oregon-born wife Terri yesterday announced plans to build the new multimillion-dollar zoo in the US gambling mecca as soon as business partners to the venture were secured. The plans were confirmed yesterday by Terri Irwin as she headed celebrations at their Australia Zoo at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast to mark son Robert's first birthday.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11557753%255E3102,00.html

Endangered hochstetter's frogs have been found in the Waikato for the first time in a decade. Eleven of the tiny frogs – which measure less than 5cm long – were found at Maungatautari last week outside the two pest-free enclosures. Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust chief executive Jim Mylchreest said the race was now on to build the pest-proof fence around the entire mountain to protect the frogs. The frog was "on the list" of species being considered for introduction to the pest-free sanctuary, "but it is wonderful we have our own resident population that has survived", he said.

Original Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3114702a7693,00.html

Environment ACT says a turtle found in a backyard in suburban Canberra has the potential to damage local waterways. The red-eared slider turtle is a popular pet overseas but it is also an aggressive pest. In other countries where they have got into waterways, the turtles have caused widespread damage to native fish and other turtle species.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1255687.htm

Mackay residents are being encouraged to pick up some gloves and catch a few hundred cane toads at the botanic gardens on Friday night. Mackay City Council natural environment officer Stuart Fyfe says almost 1,000 toads were caught within half an hour earlier in the year. Mr Fyfe says he hopes the cull will be a monthly event in a bid to rejuvenate the native frog populations.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/tropic/news/200411/s1254546.htm

The toxic cane toad has placed evolutionary pressure on snakes to adapt their body shape, Australian researchers say. Evolutionary biologist Ben Phillips and PhD supervisor Professor Richard Shine of the University of Sydney say some snakes have grown longer, an adaptation that makes them better able to survive their toxic meal. The changes in body length, which have arisen in the past 70 or so years since the cane toad was introduced to Australia, were reported today online ahead of print publication in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Original Source: http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1250708.htm

Small, warty, and armed with a poison strong enough to kill crocodiles, the cane toad is generally regarded as a blight on the Australian landscape. Native to the Americas, the species was introduced to northern Queensland 70 years ago to control sugarcane beetles. The toads failed in that duty but spread across Queensland and into neighboring Northern Territory. Now the interloper is poised to invade the states of Western Australia and New South Wales (NSW). NSW wildlife authorities fear the amphibians—which have poisonous backs that kill hungry predators—will have a devastating impact on native species.

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1129_041129_cane_toads.html

Police charmed 20,000 schoolies and a carpet snake on the busiest night of celebrations so far for the class of 2004. Six schoolies including the owner of the snake were apprehended during a well behaved final Saturday night out at the annual festival on the Gold Coast. The metre-long python was being paraded around Surfers Paradise as a prank by a schoolie who said he caught it in nearby bushland. Police had no trouble charming the snake into custody but the teenage prankster allegedly attempted to flee and was charged with obstructing and assaulting police. The snake was to be returned to the wild.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11525140%255E1702,00.html

The red-eared slider turtle, a foreign, aggressive and adaptable pest that eats almost anything in waterways, has turned up in a dam in Brisbane's outer north. Department of Natural Resources and Mines officers said they had caught a large female of the species in the Halpine Dam in the Pine Rivers Shire. The freshwater turtle, originally from the United States, has the potential to rank with the cane toad as a destructive introduced pest. Earlier this year, a breeding population of up to 80 turtles was found in a number of small dams on private properties within the shire.

Original Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=23545

A case of mistaken identity could be doing irreparable damage to Australia's native frog species. The theory goes that everyone has a double somewhere in the world, and that is bad news for local amphibians that are not cute and green. Many of the country's frog species bear an uncanny resemblance to the cane toad. Well-meaning humans have stepped in to wipe out the toads but many people may be knocking off the wrong species. National Parks and Wildlife spokesman Michael Murphy has some advice.
"Stick with the adults, they're quite distinctive with the dry warty skin, big poison sac on the back of the neck and the bony eyebrow," he said.
For those still in doubt you can listen to or download the call of the cane toad from National Parks web site: http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/Content/Identifying+a+cane+toad

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1250977.htm

Glance at a crowd at just about any big sporting event and you'll notice that humans are a diverse bunch. Not only the fittest have survived. Natural selection depends as much on behavior and environmental conditions as it does on physical prowess, as demonstrated by two studies of lizards in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature.

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1124_041124_lizards_evolution.html

The mystery of how a type of lizard "walks" on water may have been solved, a group of US scientists believe. The basilisk lizard - also known as a Jesus lizard - has a seemingly miraculous ability to scurry across liquid, apparently at odds with the usual laws of physics. Apart from a few types of spider and insect - such as pond skaters that are light enough to avoid piercing the surface tension of the water - the lizard (Basiliscus plumifrons) is the only creature that can perform this mystifying trick.

Check the Original Source for the full story.

Original Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4033725.stm

There is growing concern over the spread of cane toads into Western Australia with two of the toads discovered at the state's border with the Northern Territory. It has been revealed that the toads were found in pot plants in cars searched at the border checkpoint near Kununurra this year, the latest about a month ago. A national canetoad taskforce which met recently in Darwin warned that the toads could make their way into WA in the next five years.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1249529.htm

Firefighters confronted the extra hazard of escaping snakes while fighting a house fire at Mandurah, south of Fremantle, overnight. The home in Golden Bay held a substantial collection of reptiles, including dugites and pythons. The escaping snakes created an extra headache as firefighters attempted to control the blaze. The house sustained extensive damage estimated at $100,000. It is not known how many of the reptiles survived. The police arson squad is expected to investigate the cause of the fire this morning.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1249268.htm

Hundreds of thousands of poisonous baby cane toads invaded a national park near Byron Bay today, hopping around in such numbers that the ground seemed to move, an ecologist said. The amphibians moved into the Arakwal National Park near the north coast New South Wales town following an explosion in toad numbers after recent rains.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11434665%255E1702,00.html

A 15-year-old Summer Hill boy is on the mend after he was bitten by a snake while bushwalking through the Southern Highlands this week. A black snake bit the boy on the ankle while he was walking with his school's bushwalking group near the Nattai River at Wattle Ridge on Tuesday afternoon.

Original Source: http://southernhighlands.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=351567&y=2004&m=11

The beautiful nursery frog clings to the cloudy summit of Thornton Peak in far north Queensland. It seems it's found nowhere else in the world. Come climate change, it can climb no higher.
"With just one degree rise in temperature the climate gap that the frog lives in will disappear," said Nigel Stork, director of the Co-operative Research Centre for Rainforest Research in Cairns.
Yesterday this frog, known as Cophixalus concinnus, was classified as critically endangered by the World Conservation Council (IUCN) as its congress opened in Bangkok with 4000 delegates representing nation states and environmental groups.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11420591%255E30417,00.html

Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife says more crocodiles have been caught in traps in Darwin Harbour this year than last year. It says so far this year 183 have been captured, up from the 153 trapped last year. Ranger Tom Nichols says the crocodiles are smaller this year.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1245586.htm

It appears the cane toad is edging closer to Darwin with a confirmed report of a toad being found at Virginia, about 17 kilometres south of the city. Cane toads are expected to arrive in Darwin this wet season. Frog Watch's Graeme Sawyer says the main toad front is still about 70 kilometres south of the city but he says there is likely to be more cases of individual toads being found in the Darwin rural area.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1244725.htm

A tortoise born with two heads is getting a lot of attention from people around the world. A breeder in Great Britain found the animal while checking his recently hatched eggs. John Jones said he refused to destroy the tortoise, saying the animal is cute and does no one any harm. Jones said the tortoise has a unique way of walking. It does a type of breast-stroke movement instead pushing of one leg in front of the other, as most tortoises do.

Original Source: http://www.nbc6.net/news/3919352/detail.html

The Federal Government has given the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance $3.8 million to develop local community plans for the sustainable management of dugong and marine turtles. Project coordinator Joe Morrison says traditional owners will formulate the plans in five regions across northern Australia. He says dugong and turtles are important cultural animals and also a source of food.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1243011.htm

Crocodiles in a Territory national park that are deemed to be a threat will be moved to protect tourists as part of the new Crocodile Management Strategy. There are now seven to nine crocodiles in every kilometre of the 200km tidal reaches of the South and East Alligator rivers flowing through Kakadu National Park. Park managers said with 200,000 visitors each year, a strategy to avoid attacks was imperative.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11382598%255E13569,00.html

A South Australian woman has had a "lucky escape" after one of Australia's deadliest snakes fell from the ceiling fan into the shower she was in. Snake catcher Greg Smith, 48, said he was amazed the woman escaped being bitten by the Eastern Brown.

Original Source: http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,11369845%255E2682,00.html

A public awareness campaign to keep cane toads from getting to the Northern Territory's islands has been launched in Darwin. Northern Territory Minister for Parkes and Wildlife says the campaign is aimed at people who travelling between or moving to islands while fishing. Dr Chris Burns says toads can hitch a ride in boats, camping equipment, building supplies and personal effects. He says there is enough of a battle on the mainland with cane toads without them moving offshore.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1242487.htm

The World Wide Fund for Nature has begun tracking a sea turtle which is only found in Australian waters. The program in the Gulf of Carpentaria, in far north Queensland, involves using satellite transmitters to track three flatback turtles (Natator depressus) from their nesting beaches to their currently unknown feeding grounds.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1242054.htm

Saltwater crocodiles are proving a headache for authorities in the Kimberley, in north-west Western Australia, with a pet dog taken in the latest incident. The staffy-bull terrier cross was taken at the edge of the Fitzroy River with its owner only metres away. The Department of Conservation and Land Management, which removed a large crocodile from the area only last week, has had to set another trap.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/northwestwa/news/200411/s1240994.htm

It was the last fang for Malaysian snake-charmer Bidin Mat Hashim when a cobra bit him in front of a Korean television crew: after 24 snakebites in a 50-year career, he decided to call it quits. He had been handling three cobras for a Korean documentary when one bit his right knee.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1239642.htm

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has warned that with the arrival of warmer weather snakes have begun to emerge and are more likely to be seen by people in the weeks ahead. NPWS Director Southern, Alistair Henchman, said snakes are now actively looking for mates, and will be more visible at this time of year, as this is also the time when people are often more active in their gardens and going for walks in the bush.

Original Source: http://bombala.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=349534&y=2004&m=11

An American geology student on a field trip stumbled across the fossil of an oversized, salamander-like creature with vicious crocodile-like teeth that lived about 300 million years ago, paleontologists said. Scientists say the find is both a new species and a new genus, a broader category in the classification of plants and animals. Talks are under way about what to call the new species, starting with "striegeli" -- after the University of Pittsburgh student who discovered it.


A fossil of a new species of amphibian that lived about 300 million years ago.

Original Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/11/09/amphibianf.ap/index.html

A giant chicken farm has solved the problems of disposing with unwanted birds - by building a crocodile farm next door. The chicken farm, in Jevisovice in South Moravia, has to dispose of 50,000 undersized chickens every year, reports Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes. The huge farm sells 10 million chickens each year but cannot find buyers for birds weighing less than three pounds. Jan Holy, from the Agrodruzstvo Jevisovice co-operative, said: “The market does not want them and we have to pay to put them down in a carcass disposal plant.
“We plan to breed 1,000 crocodiles to sell for their leather which can fetch up to 350 euros per square metre, and we will also save a small fortune on our chicken disposal costs.”
The farm has imported its hatchling crocodiles from France. ananova

Original Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_9-11-2004_pg9_2

Scientists in far-north Queensland are hoping to learn more about how crocodiles and humans interact in urban areas. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service will track a small croc near Cairns over the next year. Researchers attached a radio-transmitter to the crocodile by drilling through boney scales behind its head and tying it on with wire. The two-metre croc was then released into the Trinity inlet, 15 minutes by dinghy from the centre of Cairns. Dr Mark Read says the aim is to find out how far the animal roams in an area that is heavily used by local fisherman.
"We have to minimise the impact of crocodiles on people and then we have an obligation to manage a protected species," he said.
Researchers will now try to locate the croc every few days and tracks its movement over the next year.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1236122.htm

Territorians love a good crocodile attack story, and so, it seems, do overseas tourists. Lindsay Murdoch writes from Darwin. Last Tuesday, Rupert Murdoch's Northern Territory News deemed 17-year-old Lachlan McGregor's "amazing survival" bigger news in Darwin than the Melbourne Cup or the US presidential election. Mr McGregor had been wading through a remote billabong hunting magpie geese when a 2.6-metre crocodile attacked him. Charles Darwin University lecturer Pascal Trembaly, who has studied the link between crocodiles and the NT's $1 billion-a-year tourist industry, says bookings to the NT from Germany, for instance, rose after a German tourist was killed in an attack two years ago in Kakadu. "It's free publicity. The NT gets in the news," he says. "Bookings increase."

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/General/When-croc-kills-man-its-good-news/2004/11/05/1099547385236.html?oneclick=true

Everyone loves frogs and tadpoles, especially kids, and at this time of year garden ponds and puddles and even some swimming pools are teeming with newly-hatched taddies.
"There's certainly something very appealing about them," says Department of Conservation officer Peter Gaze.
But while there are lots of frogs around the Nelson region in New Zealand, none are native. Those present in this area are either the southern bell frog, Litoria raniformis or the whistling tree frog, Litoria ewingii, both introduced species. New Zealand has three introduced and four native species of frogs. Of the native species, none are found on the South Island mainland any longer although they were once widespread here.

Original Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3088881a11,00.html

A female red-eared slider found near a west Auckland beach has been killed but biosecurity officers say urgent action is needed to ban them from New Zealand. The turtle was first spotted in the Waitupu Stream in Bethells Valley two months ago by an alert landowner but it was only caught last week. The turtles are banned in Australia, England and EEC countries but not New Zealand, where they are regularly sold in pet shops. Red-eared slider turtles have been classified as an extreme threat to native plants and animals. Auckland Regional Council biosecurity officer Greg Hoskins said it cannot be allowed to become established in New Zealand.

Original Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3087749a11,00.html

A civil servant in Pretoria, South Africa, who kept her pet snake in her office to scare off thieves was threatened with disciplinary action for misconduct if she didn't remove the reptile. According to Juanita Jensen, who works at Pretoria North magistrate's court, she was only trying to protect her belongings. But she was forced to remove Cinderella, her one-year-old corn snake, from her office at the weekend after security staff from the justice department threatened to kick down her door and get snake-park personnel to remove her pet.

Original Source: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1615505,00.html

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's zoo has backed away from controversial plans for helicopter joyrides over the Glass House Mountains in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Australia Zoo said it had met representatives of Airservices Australia to discuss ways in which it could work to "achieve mutually agreed outcomes" for a proposal to conduct flights from the zoo over the mountains. About 200 Sunshine Coast residents staged a protest outside the Beerwah zoo in late September, claiming the Crocodile Hunter's flight path would ruin the area's serenity. An Australia Zoo spokeswoman said the zoo had taken residents' concerns into account.

Original Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=3541

A surfboard that is designed to protect surfers against shark attacks could soon be available. A Western Australian company has designed and manufactured surfboards that emit an electric field around the board. If a shark enters the electric field it, suffers muscle spasms.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1233364.htm

Turtle breeding season is about to start and NSW National Parks want to hear from people who spot any turtle activity. While not as popular as the breeding grounds of north Queensland, there have been reports of nesting attempts from the Tweed region down to Coffs Harbour. Lance Tarvey from the National Parks and Wildlife Service says it is important not to try to move the reptiles because although generally docile, some can bite. Mr Tarvey says turtle lovers can help the threatened creatures by keeping a note of where they find the turtle and then contacting the service.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1232694.htm

A teenager fought for his life when a 2.6m crocodile clamped its jaws around his leg in a Northern Territory billabong. Lachlan McGregor, 17, suffered puncture wounds to his left leg when the salt water croc attacked him in Arnhem Land on Saturday. He and a friend were hunting for magpie geese when the teenager unwittingly stood on the reptile's head.
"It just latched on to my leg and pulled me back; my whole body was in the water. It let go of me after three or four seconds.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11256891%255E662,00.html

A crocodile up to 3m long was near the Cairns Esplanade yesterday prompting the posting of warning signs as police urged people to keep away from it. The rare visitor at one stage came within a couple of metres of the shore, prompting concerns for public safety, and scaring pelicans from the water. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officers erected crocodile warning signs on the foreshore walkway.

Original Source: http://www.bordermail.com.au/newsflow/pageitem?page_id=832652

ABC radio reports that, statistically speaking, Australians have more to fear from the humble coconut than the fearsome crocodile. Around fifty-four Australians have been killed when hit by falling coconuts while there are only thirty-five fatalities known to be caused by crocodiles. Despite these figures, we still haven't seen a television show called 'The Coconut Hunter'. A recent crocodile attack on a camper in far north Queensland highlights the need to be cautious around wild water bodies in northern Australia, especially now that it's getting warmer.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/kimberley/stories/s1228273.htm

At 1.30PM on Thursday 28/10/2004 a male person broke into a house in Adelaide and stole a 2-year-old, 1.3-metre-long Green Tree Python [photo] from its cage. One of the owners came home and disturbed the thief, causing him to flee in a 1985-88 mint green metallic Mitsubishi Magna.

SA Police are investigating as is SA NP&WS. If anyone has any information regarding this incident, please contact SA Crimestoppers or Gawler (SA) Police on 13 14 44. You can also contact Hannah Driden from the NP&WS on 0417 010 353.

A $2000 reward has been posted for the return of the animal.

Wildlife officers have set a trap for a saltwater crocodile that has terrorised visitors to a popular West Australian fishing spot. Experts with the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) were forced to set up the six-metre cage, using about 10 dead chickens for bait, after reports the animal had charged at two dinghies within two days at Willems Pool, on the Fitzroy River, 60km south of Derby. The pool is a popular barramundi fishing and camping spot in the remote Kimberley region of the state's north-west.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11196205%255E2761,00.html

William Garton thinks he's the luckiest guy in the world - he's swapped life in the big smoke for a 300-hectare backyard full of animals. Appointed the new general manager of Western Plains Zoo, Mr Garton yesterday officially took on the duties from acting general manager Andrew Thorne. Mr Garton was reluctant to shed light on plans for the zoo in the near future but admits that there were some "new and exciting ideas" currently being discussed among zoo staff.

Original Source: http://dubbo.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=345721&y=2004&m=10

A rare frog species could be wiped out by logging near one of Victoria's highest mountains, according to an environmental group. The Central Highlands Alliance (CHA) said logging on the west side of the Baw Baw National Park, in Victoria's high country east of Melbourne, could extinguish the Baw Baw frog. The CHA believes only 250 of the frogs now exist in the wild, despite a government survey that has put the number at 7,000, spokeswoman Sarah Rees said.

Original Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=20809

A national competition will be launched to find a cane toad trap. The competition is one of the recommendations to emerge from the first National Cane Toad Task Force meeting in Darwin. Wildlife officers and researchers used the meeting to look at priorities for toad control.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1225936.htm

A leading cane toad researcher says while the demise of the pest is a long way off, there is a stronger effort to co-ordinate control programs. Researchers and wildlife officers are in Darwin for the first meeting of the National Cane Toad Task Force. Task force member and Associate Professor at James Cook University Ross Alford is testing sounds and smells to lure toads into traps. He says the task force is essential in combating a pest that is gradually spreading across northern Australia.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1224978.htm

The dramatic image of two sharks feasting on a “baitball” of sardines has scooped the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for 2004.

The judges’ were unanimous in selecting the image from among 18,500 entries, sent from over 50 countries. “What makes the drama - the great swirling mass of frantic fish and the power of the, almost balletic, charging sharks - also creates the beautiful dynamic lines of movement and contrast of light and shade, silver and blue,” says Roz Kidman Cox, one of the judges.

The image of a cat-eyed snake gobbling treefrog spawn won the animal behaviour section. Christian Ziegler, a former tropical ecologist now turned photographer, snapped the spectacle after weeks in the humid swamps of Panama. He says the red-eyed treefrog is a favourite with photographers and advertisers the world over - with its bulbous red eyes and bright green skin - “but nobody has ever bothered to look at its natural history”.

Check out the Original Source link below to see the award-winning photos.

Original Source: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996563

A reptile skull unearthed in North Canterbury could hold fresh clues about New Zealand's past. The mosasaur skull, thought to be about 65 million years old, was found by Otago University geologist Ewan Fordyce during a routine excavation of a creek bed.

Original Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3602338&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

When six-year-old Johnathan Kells went back to school this week he had a holiday story that topped any of his friends'. The Our Lady of the Nativity student was bitten by a brown snake at Glenbrook's Euroka Clearing on September 9, spending two days in Nepean Hospital and the first week of the new term at home sick. Johnathan was playing in a cleared area at the popular picnic spot when the snake came out of bushland and bit him on the right ankle. Luckily for the Woodford boy and his family, only one fang from the snake penetrated his skin.

Original Source: http://bluemountains.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=344496&y=2004&m=10

He has attacked other monsters and terrorised Japan for decades. Now Godzilla is confronting academics who want to wrestle with his legacy. The University of Kansas plans to pay homage to the giant lizard later this month, organising a three-day scholarly conference for the 50th anniversary of the first film.

Original Source: http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=2266162

Grandmother Alicia Sorohan has told for the first time how she dived in darkness on a crocodile six times her weight to save the life of a family friend. Mrs Sorohan said she jumped on the crocodile's head as it held Andrew Kerr, 34, a member of the camping party at Bathurst Bay in far north Queensland.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11098938%255E28477,00.html

Customs agents found some slippery stowaways as they were checking cargo about to leave Australia from Sydney airport Sunday. They discovered 50 black shingleback lizards, wrapped tightly in socks and towels. The packages, intercepted by the airport's mail-handling unit, were headed for Japan. Customs agents also found an eastern long-neck turtle and an inland bearded dragon. The director of investigations for Customs in New South Wales, Robert Viles, says many of the animals could have died during the journey. It's not clear why they were being smuggled to Japan.

Original Source: http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/10/17/australia_lizards041017.html

A crocodile that dragged a camper from his tent in Far North Queensland six days ago may have been hunting the man's baby. Experts and some of the campers involved say baby Kelly's cries or movements could have attracted the 300kg, 4.2m crocodile. Its tracks revealed it had taken the shortest route from the ocean to a tent containing a three-month-old boy, the large camping group's youngest member.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11099870%255E28477,00.html

HONG KONG - Turtles are considered a symbol of good luck in Hong Kong, but try telling that to the taxi driver whose car was hit and damaged by a big one that plummeted from a high-rise building. The pet turtle climbed through an apartment window on Thursday and fell more than 10 stories onto the taxi's roof, which was scratched and dented, police spokesman Anson Lo told The Associated Press on Friday. Newspapers ran pictures of the turtle, splashed with blood and its shell broken, but Lo told the AP it had somehow survived.

Original Source: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/9930180.htm

The owner of Alice Springs's Reptile Centre has hit out at the sentence given to a teenager who viciously attacked one of the centre's deadly salt water crocodiles in August. The 13-year-old boy escaped a jail term.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1221011.htm

Amphibians in general are rapidly becoming threatened worldwide, a new study shows.
"What we're seeing here is completely unprecedented declines and extinctions," said Simon N. Stuart of the World Conservation Union, lead researcher on the study.
These declines are "outside our normal experience," Stuart said in a telephone interview.
There are a variety of reasons for some losses, while others remain a mystery, the group reports in a paper being published online by the journal Science.

Original Source: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/14/absent.amphibians.ap/index.html

The great white shark, the world's largest predatory fish, gained CITES protection for the first time at this year's conference. Delegates heard that increased demand for the shark's jaws, teeth, and fins was decimating already vulnerable populations. Great white jaws can fetch up to U.S. $10,000 each. The shark was given Appendix II status, which means a permit is needed to trade in its parts.

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1015_041015_cites.html

A four-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after being bitten by a brown snake, one of the world's deadliest snakes, on the NSW north coast. He was bitten while playing in bushland near the family's home at Nana Glen near Coffs Harbour, a Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter spokesman said.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11083112%255E1702,00.html

Two people who were camping near Lakefield National Park, about 300 kilometres northwest of Cairns, suffered wounds to their legs and arms when they were attacked by a large crocodile.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1217273.htm

A brown snake scare at a Sunshine Coast polling booth appeared to be the most serious hiccup encountered by electoral officers in Queensland today. Australian Electoral Commission Queensland officer Anne Bright said apart from the reports of a brown snake slithering up to a polling booth at Eumundi, inland from Noosa, no other problems were reported.
"I had a report that brown snakes wanted to vote at Eumundi," Ms Bright said.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11023924%255E1702,00.html

Australians are being warned to keep an eye out for lizards now the weather is warming up. This is the time of year lizards emerge from hibernation and they can often be seen basking on rocks or on the road.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1216460.htm

Tommy the turtle bit off more than he could chew when he accidentally swallowed a fishing hook and line. Vet Dr Emily Clarke said she received an after-hours call last Thursday from someone who found Tommy in Bell Park. Dr Clarke had to cut through his tough shell to remove it during an operation which lasted more than two hours.

Original Source: http://www.geelonginfo.com.au/readarticle.asp?articleid=13258

Northern Territory wildlife officers hold grave concerns for Darwin's lizard population as the city prepares for the arrival of the cane toad. The toads are about 100 kilometres south of the city and are predicted to arrive this wet season. A variety of lizards, including frilled necks, have a taste for toads but will die when they digest the cane toad's toxins.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/darwin/news/200410/s1215564.htm

It's the kind of weather when Top Enders sink into the cushions of the couch, with a cool drink within reaching distance and the air conditioner on. But for the tens of thousands of crocodiles who inhabit the Northern Territory, it's the time of year to get very, very frisky. Crocs love warm weather and make good use of it during the Top End buildup. Reseachers at Crocodylus Park south of Darwin are well aware of the intentions of their crocs, and are keeping a close eye on their behaviour. Adam Britton is a senior researcher at the park, home to thousands of crocodiles of various sizes.
"As the buildup starts and it starts to get closer to the wet season it gets warmer and warmer and that's the trigger for the crocodiles to start breeding and so you start to see a change in behaviour," he says.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/nt/stories/s1215181.htm

An elusive new species of great ape, known to locals as the "lion killer", may have been discovered in remote forests of the Congo. The creatures are far larger and more aggressive than normal chimpanzees and have provoked much debate among experts. Some believe that the lion killers are a previously unknown species and should join the other great apes: the chimp, bonobo, gorilla and orang utan. But others say they are unusually aggressive chimps with odd gorilla-like characteristics.

Original Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/07/wchimp07.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/10/07/ixworld.html

The tip of a barramundi fisherman's finger was bitten off by a crocodile when he tried to free the 4m reptile from his nets. Robert Piagno came across the croc in the Nassau River, on the Cape York Peninsula, but got his hand too close when he tried to free it.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10993908%255E662,00.html

Scientists in Western Australia's Pilbara have been left wondering about the origins of a newly discovered species of lizard. The yet-to-be-named black gecko is 12 centimetres long, has a duck-like head and goggly eyes. The reptile was discovered this week near Harding Dam, east of Karratha, as part of a three-year study into the Pilbara's fauna. Herpetologist Paul Doughty says he is perplexed as to how the gecko came to be living in the arid Pilbara region.
"The main relatives of this one are on the Pacific islands and it's got a couple of Australian relatives, like I said, in Cape York, so turning up here in the Pilbara is puzzling," he said.
The research team has also found three other lizards and a mammal which may also be declared new species.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1213862.htm

A sticky substance secreted from glands on the back of two little-known species of burrowing Australian frog has been used to repair torn cartilage in the knees of sheep. The frog glue is being developed by Australian researchers as an adhesive to treat hard-to-repair human knee injuries as well as a range of other medical applications. The frogs - of the Notaden genus - live 1 metre underground in dried mud for nine months of the year, emerging only during torrential rain. On these occasions they are vulnerable to insect attacks and so secrete the glue to jam the jaws of biting insects like ants, sticking them to their skin, which they eat later.

Original Source: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996492

In studying the dramatic recent global decline of frog and salamander populations, researchers increasingly cite emerging diseases as major causes. Among these, one particularly mysterious new pathogen, the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis appears to be especially lethal, having been implicated in massive declines and waves of extinction in Central America and Eastern Australia. A report published today in the October 4 issue of The Public Library of Science, includes findings that may give important new clues concerning this pathogenic organism's behavior in the wild, and a step towards understanding how it spreads.

Taudactylus eungellensis largely disappeared from rainforest streams in the mid-1980's, but surviving remnant populations sampled in the mid-1990's show the continued presence of the fungus in 15% to 18% of the sampled frogs. Later investigation showed that infected frogs had similar survival to uninfected frogs.

Data suggests that some species and individuals may tolerate the pathogen, which raises questions about how the disease persists and spreads from frog to frog and region to region.

Original Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-10/asu-fka100404.php

If you want to save a wild animal, give it a price tag. Wild crocodiles in Australia's Northern Territory are now thriving because of a controlled harvest of the reptile, a leading expert on the animal said on Monday. And without such a harvest, Dr. Grahame Webb says remote rural communities would have no incentive to protect a cold-blooded man-eater.

Original Source: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B123676.htm

Dear All,
You may have read about Chucky the Alligator who escaped the Gulf Shores, AL zoo during Hurricane Ivan. Fortunately, with some help from volunteers from Gatorland, Chucky has been captured alive and is back at the zoo. Unfortunately, Chucky and approximately 265 other animals lost their home during the hurricane when the zoo was heavily damaged. The estimated damage is $500,000. The zoo is run on donations only so they need your help. Most of the animals were evacuated prior to Ivan hitting land but can't return home as the damage is so great. I am proposing that animal lovers send just one dollar to the zoo to help them rebuild. That's right, just $1. The zoo has a Zoo Camp for children each summer and I am fortunate enough to volunteer there. We teach the children about all the animals, their habitats and how to care for them. The children love it and Chucky is, by far, the most popular animal there. So, please help them rebuild. Send $1 to Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, 1204 Gulf Shores Pkwy, Gulf Shores, AL 36542. The animals and the zookeepers will appreciate it greatly.
Thank you.
Karen Kirkland
Acworth, GA

Original Source: http://www.reptilesdownunder.com/news/index.php?recordID=223

A popular Northern Territory swimming hole was closed yesterday when a 2m saltwater crocodile was sighted. The shutdown of Berry Springs, 55km south of Darwin, followed the capture of a 1.9m saltie a few hours earlier at another recreation park. The closure of Berry Springs follows the capture of a crocodile at Manton Dam, about 70km south of Darwin.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10923110%255E13569,00.html

The United States will spend $146 million over the next five years to wipe out Australia's brown tree snake on its North Pacific islands. The US House of Representatives today authorised the spending to eradicate the voracious predator that has wreaked ecological havoc in Guam and is threatening Hawaii and neighbouring islands.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10916252%255E1702,00.html

Crocodile hunter Mick Pitman will challenge Steve Irwin in court over the use of the name "croc hunter".
"I'm not going to take this s--- lying down," said an angry Mr Pitman.
"I'm going to fight him in court. It don't matter what it costs."
The croc wars began late last year when Mr Pitman received a letter from Mr Irwin's production company, the Best Picture Show, asking that he remove the name Crocodile Hunter from his promotions material because the copyright was not his.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10904675%255E13780,00.html

Two men hastily abandoned their fishing trip off Magnetic Island yesterday morning when they spotted a large crocodile swimming near their boat. Island resident Kent Meale, 24, said he and his boss, John Bennett, were fishing about 300m from the Picnic Bay jetty when they saw the reptile.
"I looked across and saw at first what I thought was a massive log," he said.
But he said on closer inspection he realised it was a crocodile. QPWS conservation services manager Mark Read said it was common for crocodiles to be seen near Magnetic Island.

Original Source: http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,10872243%255E14787,00.html

Volunteers from the Gatorland park in Central Florida recaptured an elusive 14-foot gator that escaped Alabama's Gulf Coast Zoo during Hurricane Ivan, according to Local 6 News. At about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, a team from Gatorland in Orlando, Florida, was attempting to nab a smaller alligator when "Chucky", the zoo's star attraction, was spotted in a nearby waterhole. It took half a dozen people, including police and state troopers, to haul him out of the ditch. Zoo officials said several alligators were able to get over zoo barriers when torrential rains of Ivan pounded the island Thursday and the ponds at the zoo overflowed. Chucky is back at the zoo, where he'll live in a bear's den until his pond is repaired.

Original Source: http://www.local6.com/news/3750718/detail.html

About 200 snakes, lizards, crocodiles and exotic animals were rescued from a backyard zoo in an ordinary suburban home after a raid by police and animal welfare officers. More than 60 animals were found dead, including some in the freezer. The occupant of the house, lift maintenance worker and snake-handler Brad McDonald, yesterday said he had been in Mudgee, about 200km northwest of Sydney, for the past week for work.
"I didn't know there were any dead snakes," he said.
Ambulance officers were placed on stand-by in case of bites after several snakes were found loose. An RSPCA officer was treated for a goanna bite. Police were yet to interview Mr McDonald, who faces a maximum $22,000 fine and two years' jail for each dead animal.

Original Source: http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,10806906%255E903,00.html

Charges could be laid following the discovery of 100 abandoned dangerous and exotic reptiles - including three crocodiles - inside a southern Sydney home. Seven news reports that the owner of the seized animals is Brad McDonald. Police attending the house discovered about 100 abandoned reptiles including crocodiles, snakes, turtles and iguanas. The RSPCA was called to the scene, and Deputy Chief Inspector David O'Shannessy said death adders, taipans, red bellied black snakes, illegal corn snakes, pythons, iguanas, goannas, exotic turtles, and geckos were discovered in varying conditions.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10803717%255E1702,00.html

A man is recovering in Mt Isa Hospital in Queensland's north-west after being bitten by a potentially deadly brown snake. He was bitten around midnight AEST while walking in the yard of a house at Violet Vale Station. Sergeant Pat Daley, from Julia Creek police, says the man has his step-father to thank for saving his life by using a compression bandage on the patient.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1202131.htm

About 100 exotic animals have been found in a house in Kingsgrove, in Sydney's south last night. Police were called to the house at 8:30pm AEST, where they found a large number of animals, many of them dead. RSPCA Inspector Slade Macklin says the animals were mainly reptiles.
"Subsequently we've located some live lizards, live snakes, a small baby crocodile, some deceased lizards, deceased snakes, and there's probably about 100 of them all up, including the deceased," he said.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1201980.htm

Chucky is a 4-metre, half-ton alligator who has spent the past 15 years at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. The kind of animal you don't want floating around a crowded town. Hurricane Ivan blasted the resort of Gulf Shores, ripping down the fence around Chucky's pond, so the zoo's director, Patty Hall, sent out four men with shotguns to kill him - if necessary.
"As long as Chucky's been fed, Chucky's happy," Ms Hall said. "Right now I don't think he's happy."

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/17/1095394011539.html?oneclick=true

New Zealand officials are investigating reports that the country has been targeted by an international snake smuggling ring. The ring is reportedly selling breeding pairs for up to $AU9,457, officials said Friday. New Zealand is one of the few snake-free areas in the world, a fact highlighted in promotion of the country's multi-billion dollar tourism industry. However, investigators have been told there is a developing black market in New Zealand.

[Stewart's Note:]
They're promoting being snake-free?!?!?

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10793897%255E1702,00.html

Peter New of Tenterfield got a mighty shock when his dogs alerted him to a 1.4 metre long red-bellied black snake in his washing machine last Friday afternoon.
"The dogs were barking and growling at the washing machine" Mr New said.
The snake disappeared for moments before turning up inside the washing machine lid. National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Ranger, Meg Lorang said "it was the largest fattest red-bellied black snake I have ever seen. It was over 1.4 metres (4'6") long and about 100 mm (4") in diameter.


[Stewart's Note:]
A red belly with a diameter of 10 cm? That's a big red belly!

Original Source: http://tenterfield.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=336537&y=2004&m=9

An alleged snake smuggler faced court in Brisbane today. Gregory John Comans, 47, a company director, was charged with illegally importing 19 rare python snakes after he was arrested at Brisbane airport yesterday after flying in from Singapore. The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard Mr Comans had the reptiles hidden in cigarette packets in a custom made vest strapped to his chest.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10751741%255E1702,00.html

A private zoo at Darling Harbour could cost taxpayers $25 million in lost revenue at Taronga Zoo, risk up to 50 jobs and stop a long-term $240 million refurbishment plan, secret documents show. Letters and submissions The Daily Telegraph obtained also reveal evidence of a state cabinet split over the zoo Planning Minister Craig Knowles approved in June. The documents obtained under Freedom of Information show Environment Minister Bob Debus opposes the Australia's Animal Zoo project, actively lobbying to stop it. The 7000sqm zoo to be located above Sydney Aquarium from July 2006 will target international tourists wanting to see wallabies, wombats, echidnas and possibly koalas.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10749063%255E421,00.html

Tasmanian farmers learned the importance of creating frog-friendly farms at a frog-awareness event in the Derwent Valley yesterday. They were keen to find out how they could create safe havens for frogs, ensure long-term survival of a dying species and reap the benefits frogs can provide for farms. A recent WWF survey discovered green and gold frog (Litoria raniformis) tadpoles in dams around Tasmania and realised farmers could help save the frogs by taking a few simple measures.

Original Source: http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,10748235%255E3462,00.html

According to WWF, the global conservation organisation, some species are so sought after in some parts of the world, that they have joined the ranks of wildlife most at risk from unregulated international trade.
To coincide with the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok next month, WWF released its biennial list of 10 of the world’s most-wanted species to buy, sell, smuggle, kill or capture for the global marketplace.

Two reptiles are unfortunate enough to be on this list. They are the Madagascan Leaf-tailed geckos (Uroplatus spp.) and the Pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta) from Papua New Guinea and parts of northern Australia.

Original Source: http://www.panda.org.za/article.php?id=334

The Western Swamp Tortoise is Australia’s most endangered reptile. It is the sole surviving member of its genus that dates back to 15-20 million years and is the most primitive of its family. Only 2 populations are left in the wild on the Swan Coastal Plain within the Perth metropolitan area.
Learn more about this endearing little reptile on the WWF Australia web site.

Original Source: http://www.wwf.org.au/News_and_information/Features/feature18.php

A war of words has erupted between two of Queensland's crocodile hunters. The man who sees himself as Australia's real crocodile hunter, Mick Pittman, believes he has been targeted by Australia Zoo owner Steve Irwin. Mr Pittman says police went to his house in Bundaberg last night, accusing him of threatening to blow up Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast. But he says all he wants is for Steve Irwin to relinquish the name "crocodile hunter".

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1196336.htm

A Thai woman answering the call of nature was reportedly bitten by a giant python that proceeded to swallow her hand. As she reached for a water dipper, a giant python bit her hand and started to swallow it, trapping her in the toilet.

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/10/1094789670940.html?oneclick=true

Authorities have captured a rogue cane toad in Darwin's central business district but do not believe the find signals a large-scale invasion of the pests. The male toad was found in a garden of a city residence today, Parks and Wildlife said.
"The toad found today is what we call a hitchhiker," wildlife conservation officer Keith Saalfeld said.
"It's more likely the toad arrived in town by stowing itself away on a vehicle and hitching a ride into Darwin."

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10684410%255E1702,00.html

A rare fossil from the age of the dinosaurs is shedding light on when the modern crocodile first evolved a skull strong enough to keep hold of its prey during the dismembering 'death roll'. U.S. researcher Dr James Clark of George Washington University in Washington DC and colleagues reported their research in the journal Nature. Modern crocodiles spend most of their lives in water. When ambushing prey they lie half-submerged in water until they are ready to launch forward. They then grab and hold onto their prey before tearing it apart by thrashing about in the water. This is only possible because they have such strong skulls and huge jaw muscles. And palaeontologists have been interested in when crocs first evolved such anatomy. Clark and team analysed the fossilised remains of a 170 million year-old ancestral crocodile found in China, which they called Junggarsuchus. But the researchers said their croc had a skull with several features typical of modern crocodiles. In particular, its skull was reinforced and had fused bones at the rear.

Original Source: http://abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_1184948.htm

Papua New Guinea has been described as having one of the highest death rates from snake bites in the world. An Australian post graduate student in public health, David Williams, made the claim after conducting research in PNG's Central province.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newstories/RANewsStories_1191793.htm

Crocodile blood could provide answers for scientists seeking to make artificial blood for humans. Scientists at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation are studying haemoglobin in the red blood cells of crocodiles. Haemoglobin carries oxygen to the cells from the lungs, and carbon dioxide away from the cells. Researcher Kerie Hammerton said the haemoglobin in crocodile blood could survive outside cells, unlike human haemoglobin that quickly breaks down outside cells and can cause kidney damage.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10641309%255E421,00.html

The CSIRO says it is developing a genetic virus that will kill cane toads as they develop from tadpoles. Earlier this week, the Federal Government warned that Western Australia is facing an invasion by cane toads migrating from South Australia and the Northern Territory. The national science body says the virus will act as a vehicle for a genetic trigger that causes the cane toads to stop developing and die when they are in their tadpole phase.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1188794.htm

Midway between Darwin and Kakadu is a paradise for tens of thousands of snakes: the Adelaide River floodplain. It also has the makings of "toad heaven", according to biologist Rick Shine. Cane toads are roughly 40km away. They're knocking on heaven's door.
"This is a one-off, unique opportunity," says Shine, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Sydney. "It's a chance to look at natural selection in action."
Shine and his collaborators are well prepared. Since the mid-1980s they have kept careful watch on the snakes of the floodplain, among them water pythons and keelbacks. They know how the weather brings them prey and multiplies their number. "It's probably the longest-range, detailed study of reptiles in the tropics anywhere in the world," he says.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10618714%255E28737,00.html

The Kakadu stretch of water where a crocodile killed a German tourist two years ago was a large, murky and extremely dangerous waterway, a court heard today. A coronial inquest into the death of 23-year-old backpacker Isobel von Jordan began in Darwin Magistrates Court today. Ms von Jordan was taken by the 4.6m, 500kg saltwater croc during a late night dip at Sandy Billabong in Kakadu National Park with a Gondwana Adventure tour group in October 2002. In March last year, the group's tour guide Glenn Robless received a three-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to making a dangerous omission that caused the death of the German.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10614446%255E1702,00.html

The Northern Territory Government is calling on the Commonwealth to make a decision on the Territory's saltwater crocodile management plans. A final draft plan proposing the limited safari hunting of problem saltwater crocodiles was presented to the Federal Government in June this year. The Northern Territory's Parks and Wildlife Minister, Chris Burns, says he has had no response from the Federal Environment Minister.
"The whole issues of the management of crocodiles in the Northern Territory has been an issue between the Territory and the Commonwealth for well over a year or so now," he said.
"We're just hoping that it doesn't just become embroiled up in an election campaign and we're just asking the new minister to hurry it up."

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1187865.htm

The Conservation Council has welcomed the federal government's push to stop the spread of the cane toad into Western Australia, but says significant funding is needed. Environment Minister Ian Campbell has committed to the formation of a national cane toad group and Kimberley-specific initiatives to prevent the spread. The Council's director, Chris Tallentire, says he welcomes the Minister's interest in the cane toad, but says specific funding needs to be assigned to tackle the problem.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1187883.htm

Marine biologists are baffled by a bizarre creature found hopping around in a German aquarium. New forms of marine life are usually found in waters such as those around the Great Barrier Reef or in the Red Sea. But a new species of "furry" shark, which hops like a frog rather than swims, has popped up in a German aquarium.

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/29/1093717836376.html?oneclick=true

A New program will be set up to stop cane toads from invading Western Australia and wreaking havoc on the native wildlife. The poisonous toads have reached plague proportions in Queensland where they were introduced in 1935 to control beetles which damaged sugar canes. Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell said a taskforce of scientists would establish the Kimberley cane toad program to head off the invasion.
"The obvious entry point is the Kimberley and that's where we will concentrate our defences," he said.
"Our generation has to do the utmost to stop these pests spreading into Western Australia."

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10606359%255E1702,00.html

The mating call of the male striped marsh frog is driving many Queensland residents to distraction, according to an article in today's Sunday Mail. Also high on the list are crows, pigeons and peacocks. But noisy dogs are still the most complained about animals.

Original Source: http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,10595288%255E2765,00.html

The Federal Government is calling for the Western Australian Government to join the fight against the spread of the cane toad. The cane toad's march continues, with fears that it is on its way to WA. Since it was introduced into Queensland nearly 70 years ago in an unsuccessful bid to control sugar cane pests, the toad has wreaked havoc across northern Australia, being blamed for the demise of many native animal species, such as snakes, goannas, and quolls.
Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell wants to establish a joint task force to head off any potential incursion by strengthening border patrols and pinpointing areas where floodwaters could carry toad eggs.

Stewart's Note:
The original article states that the toads were introduced into Queensland "nearly 60 years ago". They were introduced in 1935, which sounds more like nearly 70 years ago to me...

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1187376.htm

Scientists leading an international effort to safeguard the future of endangered loggerhead turtles have this week watched the capture and demise of one of their turtles being tracked by satellite. This week "Sodade", a loggerhead sea turtle from the republic of Cabo Verde, an island archipelago off the coast of Western Africa, appears to have been captured by fishermen.

Original Source: http://www.physorg.com/news969.html

A Sydney man attempting the first solo canoe crossing of the Gulf of Carpentaria has already faced off a rudder-chewing shark and a lurking crocodile. Andrew McAuley, 34, an IT executive with Coca-Cola Amatil, left Weipa yesterday after paddling his sea kayak down Cape York Peninsula's west coast from Horn Island in the Torres Strait. His aunt, Susan Sandral from Nhulunbuy, said that a shark had mauled the rudder of his sea kayak while paddling to Weipa from Horn Island. She said that while the shark was attacking the rudder a crocodile was following the canoe.
"He told me he had to keep one eye on the shark and one eye on the crocodile. Fortunately they both went away," she said.

Original Source: http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,10560737%255E14787,00.html

The Australian inland bearded dragon is now the fastest growing pet in the land of the free - now numbering in the millions. After dogs and cats, lizards are the most popular domestic pet. And of these reptilian companions, the 60cm Australian inland bearded dragon has now become the most popular lizard. A change in licensing laws has allowed for the export of the cold-blooded creatures and for them to be kept as pets not only by Australians, but by foreigners.

Stewart's Note:
Exported? Really?

Original Source: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10571582%255E421,00.html

One of the main players in the campaign to allow Namibia a one-off ivory sale in 1999 will again lead the country's delagation to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna an Flora (CITES) 13th Conference, in Thailand in October. At the gathering, Namibia will ask the United Nations body for permission to trade in ivory annually, as well as to trade in ivory products and in elephant leather and hair goods as well Namibia wants to be allocated an annual export quota of 2000 kg of raw ivory, to be accumulated from natural and management related mortalities.

Original Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200408250010.html

Today the crush of a crocodile's mighty jaws signals lights-out for many a fish or other water-loving animal. But according to a new study, the croc's characteristic jaws evolved on dry land—and long before its swim-tuned body. The finding stems from the discovery of a well-preserved fossil of an ancestor of crocodilians in northwestern China. A crocodilian is any member of an order of reptiles that includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans, gavials, and related extinct forms. The discovery will be reported in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature.

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0825_040825_crocodiles_fossils.html

Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell says he is keen to prevent cane toads from reaching the Western Australian border and getting into the Ord River system. Senator Campbell says he will make every effort to increase resources to counter the cane toad crisis in Kakadu.
"Clearly with floods they'll spread the eggs down through the river systems and it will only be a matter of time, so I'm very, very keen to focus on that problem," he said.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1183967.htm

Do cane toads deserve their lethal reputation? An attempt to answer that question in the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park has lost its funding only months away from a conclusion. After three years of work led by zoologist Meri Oakwood, radio-tracking of the northern quoll -- a marsupial predator and suspected victim of cane toad poisoning -- will end this month.
"I'm appalled she's unable to continue," said Adelaide University's Mike Tyler, a world expert on frogs with an interest in cane toads.
But the quoll research already had yielded its valuable results, there were only six or seven quolls left with radio collars, and money would be better spent on a closer study of the cane toad threat to goannas, according to the office of federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10533761%255E30417,00.html

Local residents are upset at plans by Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo to run helicopter flights around the Glass House Mountains on the Sunshine Coast. The Beerwah-based zoo has entered into a partnership with the Gubbi Gubbi people to develop "indigenous cultural experience flights" around the volcanic range which has deep spiritual significance for indigenous peoples. But some locals say the flights will shatter their peaceful lifestyle and upset wildlife.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10530100%255E13780,00.html

The crocodile that captivated Hong Kongers by eluding capture for months has taken its first bite of food since it was snared more than two months ago, officials said Saturday. The 1.5 metre croc - recently named Pui Pui or "precious one'' - turned into a celebrity after avoiding persistent capture attempts with dart guns, harpoons and traps by officials and experts from Australia and China. It refused all food including fish, chicken and frogs after its capture on June 10. But wildlife officials believe Pui Pui finally broke its fast, consuming half a dead fish placed in its mouth Wednesday.

Original Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/8/21/latest/18571HongKong&sec=latest

Indian snake charmers are demanding alternative jobs for a livelihood following a ban imposed on their age-old profession. The Indian government banned the keeping of snakes as pets under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, which it has begun to implement earnestly in atleast bigger cities after decades of neglect. Ram Nath, a snake charmer living in central Bhopal city, has a family of 12, including his pregnant wife, to take care of. "We want the government to give us jobs. We cannot solely survive on this profession," he said.

Original Source: http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=45973&cat=India

The RSPCA has criticised London Zoo after a rare Komodo dragon fell to her death while scaling a wall. Six-feet-long Nina, who weighed 44lbs, died after scrambling up an eight foot dividing wall to reach her mate. The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), which has launched an inquiry into the death, had hoped Nina and mate Raja would be a major attraction. But an RSPCA spokesman told BBC London it was shocked that London Zoo was so ill-prepared.
"The full biological needs and abilities of any animals should be fully assessed before they are placed in a captive environment.", said an RSPCA spokesman.

Original Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3583440.stm

A man swimming near a Norwegian beach received a shock when a metre-long snake swam up his trunks.
Check out the original source link for the full story. Take note of the Norwegian snake expert's name...

Original Source: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1065091.html

"Seventeen of the world's most lethal snakes are found in Australia. Researchers are deciphering their chemical secrets, developed over millions of years—and in the process finding powerful new agents to fight disease."

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0816_040812_australia_snakes.html

State officials are taking a snake sighting on Maui very seriously. What's troubling is that the Hana Hotel employee who reported the incident says what he saw looked a lot like a brown tree snake. State agricultural officials said they have set up two dozen traps along the Hana Highway and in the area where the snake was sighted. It's the first time Hawaii has had to trigger the Rapid Response Invasive Species Team. The brown tree snake has decimated the bird population on Guam, and officials fear if a population gets established, it could do serious damage to Hawaii's wildlife.

Original Source: http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/news/3653962/detail.html

Four teenaged boys (three 13-year-olds and one 14-year-old) have been charged over a "horrific" attack on Alice Springs' only saltwater crocodile last weekend, police said today. Terry, a 3m croc, lost two teeth and suffered cuts in the attack, allegedly by a group of teenaged boys at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre last Saturday night. Constable Bindi Burnell said police had made several arrests after reviewing security footage of the attack, carried out outside the pen.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10431596%255E1702,00.html

The owner of a crocodile that was attacked by youths on Friday night says the three-metre reptile known as Terry is recovering well. A group of juveniles broke into the Alice Springs Reptile Centre and attacked the crocodile with a ladder and various items of pool equipment. The centre's Rex Neindorf says the attack caused a great deal of stress for the crocodile, but could have been fatal for the youths.
"There was one really silly one that put his foot over the side if he'd slipped and fallen in then, you know, he would have been dead and it's an absolute appalling thing for someone like me as a business owner."
"One is that harrassing one of my animals and secondly you know if something had happened to that kid then suddenly I'd become the ogre and not them," he said.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1172143.htm

Satellite tracking of a group of crocodiles in far north Queensland has forced scientists to rethink theories about how the reptiles live. Queensland Environment Minister John Mickel, crocodile hunter Steve Irwin and Queensland Parks and Wildlife researcher Mark Read revealed the results of a 10-month program in which large estuarine crocodiles had transmitters fastened to their backs. Mr Irwin said at his Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast today that he was stunned by the findings of the research which he tagged "crocs in space". He said the conventional belief for decades was that a large male dominated and ruled any area where crocodiles lived and would fight off other large males.
"In one waterhole we found that we had big monster crocs all living together and sharing that area" he said.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10403391%255E1702,00.html

Alice Springs police are investigating a crocodile attack with a difference, after a group of about six people broke into a local reptile park and bludgeoned a crocodile in one of the enclosures. The attack on the three metre croc happened at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre on Friday night. It was caught on surveillance footage and is now being analysed by police. Police say the tape shows the group spearing the creature with a pool scoop and throwing things at the animal. "Terry" the crocodile suffered cuts to his face in the attack.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1171317.htm

In northern Australia, trawler operators used to fishing for prawns are taking part in an unusual research project. They've caught 2,000 sea snakes, and recorded their details, as part of a three-year project aimed at monitoring the populations of species that might get caught up in their nets. CSIRO marine scientist David Brewer says two-thirds of the world's sea snakes live in our northern waters, and it's important they're not disturbed.
"If the industry can't demonstrate that its impact on all these animals are sustainable, then the Government can actually take away its export licence.
"The onus is actually on the industry to demonstrate that these populations are continuing to survive and be healthy."

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/stories/s1170527.htm

WANTED - A court jester to fill a post vacant for 350 years since England executed its king. English Heritage said in an advertisement in the Times on Thursday that applicants for the competition at the weekend should bring their own costumes with bells, but said it would provide a bladder on a stick - a traditional jester's prop.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1170124.htm

The simple life of sea snakes has given them a unique bite which could have major medical implications, while the antivenom of the tiger snake may not be as useful against sea snake bites as previously believed, an Australian study has found. Deputy Director of the University of Melbourne’s Australian Venom Research Unit, Dr. Bryan Fry, said the study found big differences in the effectiveness of two different types of antivenom currently used for the treatment of sea snake bites. Recently published in the journal Toxicon, the researchers from the University of Melbourne and Monash University tested the antivenoms of the sea snake and tiger snake against the venoms of a wide variety of sea snakes and sea kraits. Dr. Fry says, “The sea snake antivenom worked brilliantly, but the tiger snake antivenom was clinically useless and could not neutralise the deadly sea snake venom. This has big implications because tiger snake antivenom is currently recommended for the treatment of sea snake bites if the sea snake antivenom is not available.”

Original Source: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=3727

The taipan, that lethal reptile that terrified generations of Queenslanders, is killing more than 160 of our closest neighbours every year. Papua New Guinea villagers are dying because they're too poor to afford Australian- manufactured antivenene

Original Source: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10255257%255E401,00.html

It's National Tree Day! Go plant a tree.

A 15-foot pet python in the US feet put the squeeze on a teenage boy Wednesday night. The teen was showing off the 140-pound family pet when it coiled around his arm and began to squeeze, turning the boy's arm blue. The teen's brother, Andy Coombs, ran to get help.
"It bit onto his hand and just wrapped around and, like, came out of the cage onto him," Andy said. "My mom came downstairs and she was trying to help get it off, and then it got her hand ... we just called 911."
Emergency crews used a quick burst from a fire extinguisher to get the snake to loosen its grip just enough to free the boy. He was not seriously hurt. The snake was not harmed. It was fed and put back in its cage in its owner's home Wednesday night.

Original Source: http://www.thewpbfchannel.com/news/3563751/detail.html

The Washington Post recently published an interesting opinion piece on the trials and tribulations of pet ownership.

Original Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47738-2004Jul13.html

No, not John Howard...

Appearing as a co-host on a Nine Network morning television show, Treasurer Peter Costello agreed to have a large python draped around his neck.

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/21/1090089205607.html?oneclick=true

Reptile photos will be forthcoming. Eventually...

Stewart is going out to Idalia National Park for the next week. He'll see you when he gets back!

Well known US herpetologist, photographer (and full-time homocide detective!) Mike Cardwell will be guest speaker on Friday night (9th of July, 2004) at the Hawkesbury Herpetological Society meeting at Richmond. Mike will talk about his years-long project radiotracking rattlesnakes in the southwestern US deserts.

Information supplied by John Weigel

Quarantine officers are checking about a dozen Auckland businesses after a dead snake was found at a building company. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) officers were busy tracking a scaffolding consignment after the snake was found among building materials in Onehunga. The ship carrying the scaffolding landed in Auckland on May 5 from Papua New Guinea's Port Moresby, MAF says.
A live snake was caught and killed in a Mt Maunganui florist shop in late 2002 and three snakes, both dead and alive, were found at New Zealand ports in as many weeks in April 2001.

[Stewart's Say]
"...three snakes, both dead and alive...". That's impressive. I guess it's like Westley being only mostly dead.

Original Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2965026a7693,00.html

It lives for only two months and doesn't develop fins, teeth or scales – but this little fish could be a record-breaker. Scientists at the Australian Museum are confident that the Stout Infantfish – one of the world's newest species of fish – will cause a splash as the world's tiniest and lightest. Adult Stout Infantfish weigh in at just one milligram and grow to a maximum of seven millimetres in length.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10068408%255E1702,00.html

The grey nurse shark has been reduced to a potentially unsustainable number. It is estimated as few as 300 grey nurse sharks remain in pockets up and down the eastern seaboard. Although it seems time for urgent action it is not that simple, with a dispute erupting over fishing and shark breeding grounds. According to the influential lobby group Nature Conservation Council, the only way is to create no-fishing zones off the coast to allow the grey nurse population to recover. But the idea has enraged fishermen, already facing restrictions on their catches and besides they say they do not kill grey nurse sharks.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1148749.htm

Japanese police were called upon on Sunday night to capture an alligator running loose on a busy Kobe street.
They believe that the pet alligator had escaped or had been discarded by its owner. A passerby spotted the 60-centimeter-long alligator in a shopping district of Kobe's Chuo-ku and alerted police, who took the beast to the local Oji Zoo.


The dangerous beast after its capture.

Original Source: http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20040706p2a00m0dm001000c.html

Well, there doesn't appear to be much reptile-related news happening today, so I thought I'd share a little gem with you: the Australian Reptile Park is good. And it looks like they've updated their web site recently(?). Why not check it out?

Original Source: http://www.reptilepark.com.au/

The grey nurse shark on Australia's east coast was in danger of extinction because the federal and state governments were stalling on the issue, the Australian Democrats said today. Democrats environment spokeswoman Lyn Allison said the Federal Government had broken its 2001 election promise to list the critical grey nurse habitat under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. It had also neglected to protect the critical grey nurse habitat site at Cod Grounds, off the New South Wales coast, as promised six months ago.
"The grey nurse shark was first protected in Australia in 1984 but despite its current critically endangered listing, its numbers continue to decline," Senator Allison said in a statement.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10028398%255E1702,00.html

The world's oldest fossil of the ancestor of snakes has been found in an about 130-million-year-old stratum in Japan, researchers said Friday. This is the first time that a fossil of dolichosauridae has been found in a stratum in Asia. All the other fossils of dolichosauridae have been found in about 65- to 99-million-year-old strata that used to be in the sea in Europe. The latest discovery suggests that dolichosauridae may have evolved into snakes in Asia. It has been widely believed that dolichosauridae evolved into snakes after their legs degenerated while swimming in shallow European seas.


The fossilised remains of the oldest snake ancestor on display in Japan.

Original Source: http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20040702p2a00m0dm013000c.html

There is fresh evidence that cane toads are destroying native wildlife populations in the Northern Territory. The toads arrived in Kakadu National Park in early 2001and have already led to the local extinction of the northern quoll. Dan Holland from the Key Centre for Tropical Wildlife Management has been studying two species of goannas in Kakadu and says the cane toad is having a devastating impact.

"We've seen somewhere between a 55 and 75 per cent decline in the population of yellow spotted goannas, Varanus panoptes, and somewhere around a 50 per cent decline in the population of Gould's goannas, or Varanus gouldii."

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/darwin/news/200407/s1146084.htm

At midnight on July 1st, the Great Barrier Reef became the largest protected slice of ocean on the planet. A protective net has been thrown over a third of the reef, with fishing now banned in 100,000 square kilometres of the maritime national park.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1144647.htm

Greece's endangered turtles are among the first losers at this summer's Olympics as funding cuts have left nesting beaches at the mercy of uncontrolled tourism, environmental groups said on Wednesday. Greece hosts the largest nesting population of the endangered Mediterranean loggerhead turtles whose hatching cycle coincides with the summer tourism season, and this year with the August 13 to 29 Athens Olympics.

"This is one of the worst ecological scandals in the European Union," said Lilli Venizelos from turtle conservation group Medasset. "The locals can see the state doesn't give a damn so they've taken the law into their own hands."

The protection of nesting sites on South Africa's Indian Ocean coast seems to have helped, with between 350 and 500 loggerheads tagged each season by scientists and their assistants compared to 200 or less in the 1960s, according to local wildlife officials.

Original Source: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30550179.htm

An American man was slightly perturbed when he found a live toad in his McDonald's chicken caesar salad. The report of the contaminated salad led to an investigation by police and the Hanson health department. Thomas McCann said health officials confiscated both the toad and the salad for analysis. In a statement, McDonald's spokeswoman Jamey Bishoff said ``The Hanson health department conducted an investigation and found no violations and no evidence of food tampering or foreign substance in our food. ''

[Stewart's Say]
"...no evidence of... foreign substance in our food". No foreign substances?!?!? What do you call a toad in a salad?!?!?

Original Source: http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=33855

Hong Kong's celebrity crocodile is suffering from a potentially fatal muscle disease after being "frightened" and confined since its capture three weeks ago. The Ming Pao publication reports the 1.5-metre female croc, nicknamed Gucci by designer-label obsessed Hong Kongers, is suffering from capture myopathy. The reptile is being kept at the reserve for a three-month quarantine period. A spokesperson says the reptile is still refusing to eat and has been injected with various kinds of vitamins to boost its immune system.

"We are worried about the little crocodile's health ... We will try our best not to disturb her," Ms Wong is quoted as saying.

Crocodiles are not native to Hong Kong and Gucci became an immediate celebrity when she first appeared in a stream in the polluted New Territories in November.

During her time on the run, Gucci evaded capture by the world's most famous crocodile hunter, Australian naturalist John Lever.

[Stewart's Note]
I think a certain Sunshine Coast resident might take issue with that last sentence...

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1143037.htm

At least, that's what reporter Vicki Thompson says. But one of a number of people who are trying to sooth people's snake-related fears is Phil Grono. With his Reptile Awareness Displays, Phil travels Australia talking to people about living and working in areas where venomous snakes are common.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/southqld/stories/s1142655.htm

Thieves made off with 10 pythons and 3 lizards after breaking into a Western Australian pet store early today. Police said the doors of Rocky Reptiles, in Dixon Rd, Rockingham, 50km south of Perth, were forced open about 2am (WST). The animals are worth an estimated $10,000.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9987818%255E1702,00.html

Leave them alone, Brocky!

A YOUNG spearfisherman may become the first person in NSW charged with killing a grey nurse shark – an endangered, protected and typically docile species. But the 30-year-old, who could be jailed for two years and fined $220,000, claims it was a life-or-death situation and he shot the shark in self-defence.
"I thought it was either the shark or me," the man, who did not wish to be named, told The Daily Telegraph. "I was convinced it was trying to eat me."

Original Source: http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1260&storyid=1544080

An Iranian newspaper has reported the controversial story of a woman who claims to have given birth to a frog. The Iranian daily Etemaad says the creature is believed to have grown from larva to an adult frog inside her body. While it is unclear how this could have happened, the paper carries quotes from medical experts who say there are human characteristics to the animal.

Original Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3844441.stm

The Northern Territory's Parks and Wildlife Service says safari operators wanting to run crocodile hunts will be held to the highest standards. Wildlife management officer Mike Letnic says a very rigid approvals system will be in place for landowners and safari operators.
"For example, safari operators will have to have a corporate firearms license, they'll have to have done firearms courses and have certain levels of public liability insurance."
Mr Letnic says one vital way the department will be monitoring the hunts is by inspecting the skins.
"All the skins that are taken will have to come to parks and wildlife officers to be inspected before they can move anywhere else and be granted an export permit," he said.
"By doing that parks and wildlife staff, who are trained in these sorts of matters, can assess the skins and how the animals died and that will provide the staff with a good indication of whether the animal's been taken humanely."

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1141397.htm

Exotic reptiles such as lizards, snakes and iguanas have become so popular as pets that in two years they will outnumber dogs in Britain, according to new research conducted by the Federation of British Herpetologists. The study has found that there are now five million reptiles kept as pets in Britain, only slightly behind the 6 million dogs and 7.5 million cats.

Original Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/27/nrep27.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/06/27/ixhome.html

A former pet-store owner in America has pleaded guilty to a charge that outraged animal lovers -- feeding a crying kitten to a large snake -- but continues to argue the animal-cruelty law is unconstitutional. The pet-store owner posits that it's legal to feed a live rat to snake, so why not a kitten?
Stewart's Note
Seems fair enough to me. If you're allowed to feed a live rat to a snake, seems fair that you should be able to feed a live cat to a snake too. I should probably also say that I don't condone the feeding of live mammals to any snakes, but in terms of fairness under the current law, I don't think the pet-store owner should be prosecuted.

Original Source: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/state/9008320.htm

The New South Wales Government has given planning permission for a small zoo to be built next to the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour. The building - to be known as Australia's Animal World - will house exhibits of native animals, including snakes, spiders, koalas and kangaroos. The project will cost $30 million and is expected to create 40 new full-time jobs.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1140505.htm

South Australian Museum research scientist Steve Donnellan believes that three new frog species have been found in South Australia. He says they have come out with the recent rain in the region.
"They're very non-descript actually, which is probably why we failed to realise how many of these little guys there are," he said.
"They're about the size of the last joint of your thumb, they're usually brownish with a few little warts on their back."
"But if you turn them over they've got really bold black and white patterns on their belly, which we think are used by the animals scare off predators."

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1140295.htm

Station owners in the Northern Territory are hopeful new regulations will soon see the development of a crocodile hunting industry. Marlee Ranacher at Bullo River says hunting could help to finance crocodile preservation.
"Just on our property we have approximately 150 miles of river bank, and these crocodiles they would eat a couple a hundred cattle every year; so what I would like to do is destock large tracts of our property and leave it just for crocodiles and other wildlife species.
"If I can get the revenue from this then I can afford to do that."
The Federal Government is yet to decide on whether it will support the proposal.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/stories/s1138516.htm

Hong Kong's celebrity crocodile is healthy enough to be moved to a new purpose-built home - two weeks after the reptile's eight months on the run came to an end. The 1.5-metre female reptile, nicknamed Gucci by designer-label obsessed Hong Kong residents, will be moved into quarantine at the Kadoorie Farm nature reserve in the rural New Territories, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation department said.


Gucci waiting to move to her new home

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1138082.htm

The safari-style hunting of crocodiles in northern Australia would be strictly controlled under rules proposed by the Northern Territory Government. Hunters must use a rifle with telescopic sights to kill crocodiles that are at least 3.5 metres long and are sitting out of the water at a distance of not more than 50 metres, according to a submission sent to the Federal Government yesterday. And if a hunter misses the shot, a guide must be ready to provide an immediate back-up head shot to "ensure that all animals are killed humanely", the submission said.

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/22/1087844936810.html?oneclick=true

Cane toads are continuing their march across Australia with native animals failing to come to terms with the poisonous invader. Evidence to a Senate committee has painted a bleak picture for Australia's continuing fight against pests such as the cane toad, crazy ants and weeds that are now covering much of the country.

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/18/1087245102112.html

A swimming ban at a popular Kakadu water hole has been criticised by a Northern Territory MP. The ban at Kakadu National Park's Twin Falls is due to fears of a saltwater crocodile attack, although people are still allowed access to the banks of the water holes. Dave Tollner says it is ludicrous to ban people from swimming in a waterhole because of crocodiles, but then allow people to walk along the water's edge. Parks Australia North insists the current Twin Falls arrangements achieve a balance between public access and managing crocodiles.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1132926.htm

US television channel Animal Planet is backing its besieged star Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin in the wake of claims he breached the conditions of his filming permit and got slightly too close to animals in Antarctica. In a statement from the network, Animal Planet says it is "confident that once the AAD reviews the footage of Steve with whales, they will find there was no intentional wrongdoing." The statement goes on to say "We look forward to the results of the inquiry as they become available."
Irwin is a huge ratings winner for Animal Planet in the US and is one of the channel's biggest stars.

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/15/1087244897596.html?oneclick=true

Well, it's an odd or an even day today, so of course Steve Irwin is back in the news. This time the Federal Government is investigating Irwin for allegedly getting too close to some animals down in Antarctica. The rules say visitors must stay at least five metres, and up to 30m, from seals and penguins, depending on breed and nesting circumstances. This doesn't prevent the animals from coming closer to the humans, something that Irwin has been quick to point out.

"We were just bobbing around in the ocean and the whales came up and swam around me, so I don't think that's banned at all - as far as I know," he told Australian TV network Channel Nine. "I'm well within my legal limits to do that."

Irwin caused global outrage earlier this year by taking his baby son Bob into an enclosure while he fed an adult crocodile.


Has Steve sealed his fate by being too close to these animals?


Steve looks decidedly underdressed next to this penguin

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/14/1087065037593.html?oneclick=true

Animal Planet's Steve Irwin Week kicks off tomorrow, with a different Irwin show being screened every evening. The grand finale will be on Saturday, with all of the shows repeated back-to-back in what some health experts are describing as "too much Irwin for the human body to safely handle". You've been warned.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9784117%255E12284,00.html

The celebrity saltwater crocodile that eluded would-be crocodile hunters in Hong Kong for the last eight months is finally in captivty. But the 1.5m beast, which one radio station named Personality of the Year, isn't taking to its new-found captive life too well. It has refused to eat since being placed in an animal centre, and apparently seems frightened.
[Editor's note:]
This isn't really surprising. If you'd been shoved into captivity after being chased for the better part of the last year, you'd probably be pretty upset too. Crocs, like all reptiles, don't need to eat as regularly as birds or mammals of the same size. The animal will hopefully settle down and start to eat within a few weeks.

Original Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Hong%20Kong%20Crocodile

A very dedicated team at the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation Koala Hospital has performed what could be a world first – operating and pinning the smashed hind leg of a green tree frog. The delicate two-hour surgery was carried out on the frog's broken femur about a month ago by veterinarian Jon Hanger (formerly the vet for the Gold Coast's DreamWorld) and the hospital's manager and nurse Gail Gipp. The frog is recovering nicely.


CRUSHED but not killed ... vet Jon Hanger with 'Doorjamb' the green tree frog, who had his leg pinned after it had been broken. Picture: Sharyn Rosewarne.

Original Source: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9805907%255E3102,00.html

The crocodile that has evaded capture in Hong Kong for the last eight months has finally been caught. The 1.5m exotic reptile is thought to have been an escaped or released pet, or a drifter from mainland China.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9801889%255E1702,00.html

The pride of Taronga Zoo's only male Gila monster has been restored after the successful hatching of his first offspring convinced keepers the 14-year-old lizard was not firing blanks. Despite years of trying, the zoo had been unable to breed the monster, which is one of the world's only two venomous lizards.

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/06/1086460173236.html?from=storylhs

A corn snake in the UK wriggled through its owner’s wedding ring as it lay on a table, and had to be cut free from the piece of jewellery by firefighters. The snake was taken to a veterinary surgery where it was anaesthetised, enabling the firemen to remove the ring using cutters.

Original Source: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3023333

Dozens of reptiles and amphibians were seized in an early-morning raid on a Dandenong factory yesterday.
Five water dragons, two boa constrictors, 84 Japanese fire-bellied newts and a native diamond python were seized in the raid, conducted by police, the Department of Sustainability and Environment and the Department of Primary Industries. The native reptiles collected in yesterday's raid will be quarantined before being distributed to registered keepers or into the wild.

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/02/1086058916953.html?oneclick=true

A Florida man was bitten by the alligator he thought he was catching, requiring stiches to a wound on his forehead. The alligator apparently used its claws to slice through a rope that was tying its front leg to the back of its neck.

Original Source: http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/01/Citrus/Gator_s_would_be_capt.shtml

The Australian Government's Exotic Rpeitle Amnesty drew to a close last week. The Federal Environemtn Department's Ian Creswell said that Red-eared Sliders were the most common exotic species handed in.
"The whole reason for doing it is to get these animals out of circulation because they can be an environmental pest in Australia and also some of them are actually dangerous so we want to get them out for human health reasons," he said.
He then went on to say that anyone wanting to hand in illegal reptiles can still do so, despite the official amnesty period finishing on the 24th of May. He didn't say what consequences would arise from handing animals in after the deadline.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1119639.htm

A live Whistling Tree Frog was found in a salad served to a lady on a Qantas Melbourne-to-Wellington flight. Qantas has sinced changed their lettuce supplier. The frog has since been euthanased.

Original Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=5902

The apostrophe in this instance is being used to indicate a contraction ("Stewart is"), not a possessive, because quite frankly no one cares about Stewart's lumbar region.

Stewart should have left Longreach by now. If all goes according to plan, he'll arrive back some time tomorrow. Of course, for all we know, he's been eaten by a crocodile...

Stewart should have arrived at Longreach by now, assuming he didn't get sidetracked by all the Womas he probably passed along the way.

Stewart has headed off to somewhere near Longreach for a spot of crocodile wrangling. He'll be back in two weeks.

A lone crocodile in Hong Kong that has eluded capture for the past several months is still no closer to being caught. Affectionately dubbed "Gucci", the reptile has evaded Hong Kong authorities, Queensland croc expert John Lever, and a Chinese team, who are set to have another go this month.
Hong Kong has no native crocodiles, so the origin of Gucci is a mystery. It's probably a pet that escaped or was dumped, or it could have escaped from a mainland Chinese crocodile farm and swum across.

Original Source: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/8560226.htm?1c

You could head on over to Florida's only registered quilt museum, The Levy County Quilt Museum. The museum is home to several hundred quilts, with most of them being handmade and available for purchase. You can also learn how to quilt for free.

How did you spend your Earth Day?

Original Source: http://www.earthday.net/

A 4.5m saltwater crocodile has been removed from a creek in Katherine, more than 200 kilometres inland from Australia's northern coast. The reptile, which local authorities say it is the biggest crocodile ever caught in the area, will be taken to a local crocodile farm.

[Stewart's Note:] The original article doesn't state why the animal was removed. I'm assuming that authorities thought it posed a threat to the local human population.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newstories/RANewsStories_1091816.htm

A rare, living, two-headed Gray Rat Snake has been put on display in an American museum.

Original Source: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040420/NEWS01/404200354/1002

Brisbane Airport Corporation has held preliminary discussions with Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin about establishing a theme park on its spare land. Irwin, who runs the Australia Zoo tourist attraction at Beerwah, has also met the Brisbane City Council about setting up a theme park at Boondall adjoining the Entertainment Centre.

Original Source: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9326944%255E3102,00.html

A CSIRO research project has found a way to prevent cane toad tadpoles maturing into reproductive adults. This genetic research could pave the way for eradication programmes in areas such as Kakadu, and indeed the rest of Australia.

More info
Even more info

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1090739.htm

A young crocodile has been found on the banks of a Cairns waterway with its jaws bound together and a deep stab wound in its back. Queensland Parks and Wildlife crocodile expert Mark Read condemned the action.

Original Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/australasia/view/80438/1/.html

A snake-handling preacher from Southwest Viginia, USA, has died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during an Easter Service. The preacher refused medical treatment, and died in his home.

Original Source: http://www.wbir.com/News/news.asp?ID=17811

An Oklahoma man was bitten by a rattlesnake while shopping in a home improvement store on Sunday. The snake doesn't appear to be a local species, and authorities think that it might have stowed away in a shipment of trees. The rest of the store was searched, but no more stowaways were located.

Original Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=857&ncid=757&e=10&u=/nm/20040414/od_uk_nm/oukoe_odd_snake

A bitter battle between rival television stations Seven and Nine for an exclusive interview with the young victim of a crocodile attack yesterday got prime air time in the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Channel 9 yesterday won an eleventh-hour injunction preventing Channel 7's Today Tonight program from broadcasting an interview with 11-year-old Hannah Thompson and her mother.

Original Source: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9272796%255E3102,00.html

The 1.2m American Alligator, called Mr Cranky Pants, stolen from the Australian Reptile Park on the weekend has been found. Park employees headed to a creek at Umina after a tip off from the public. It looks like the thieves dumped the beast there, possibly because he "is a cranky pants, he gets moody", according to park general manager Al Mucci.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9257855%255E1702,00.html

Yet another crocodile incident. This time it involved a reported 4m Saltwater Crocodile and beach-goers at the Territory's Rapid Creek Beach on Sunday. Veteran Parks and WIldlife crocodile catcher Tom Nichols rammed the croc with his dinghy in an attempt to scare it back out to sea. It had been hanging around the beach for about three hours.
A smaller crocodile had been sighted at another beach on the same day.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9256561%255E26462,00.html

Thieves have made off with a 1.2m American Alligator after a daring daylight robbery at the Australian Reptile Park on the New South Wales Central Coast on Saturday. The bandits scaled two barbed-wire fences to get access to the off-display holding pen containing six alligators. They then chose the smallest crocodilian and nicked it. Police are investigating the incident. It is assumed that the animal will end up on the black market. I don't think they'll be handing it in under the amnesty.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9255114%255E13762,00.html

Leonard Beckett, a Townsville fisherman, narrowly escaped being bitten by a 5m crocodile this week. He was putting his boat in the water at the Stoney Creek boat ramp north of Townsville, when the critter launched itself at him. He jumped from the waist-deep water into his boat, which the croc then "had a go at".

Original Source: http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,9242286%255E2765,00.html

Queensland Parks and Wildlife officers are investigating the sighting of a large crocodile in northern Queensland. This is the latest in a series of incidents involving crocodiles.

Original Source: http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,9237654%255E14787,00.html

The crocodile believed to be responsible for attacking eleven-year-old Hannah Thompson at Cape York on Sunday has been shot. Queensland Parks and Wildlife officers killed the 3.5m reptile during a Thursday night patrol.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,9235118%255E662,00.html

A coronial inquest will be held into a fatal crocodile attack on a German tourist in the Northern Territory more than 18 months ago. Isabel von Jordan, 23, was taken by a 4.6-metre, 500kg croc during a late night dip in a billabong in Kakadu National Park with a tour group in October 2002. The group's tour guide, Glenn Bernard Robless, later pleaded guilty in the Northern Territory Supreme Court to making a dangerous omission that caused the death of Ms von Jordan. He received a three-year suspended jail sentence.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,9227707%255E1702,00.html

Today Steve Irwin and family were back in the public's eye since the "Baby Bob" incident. Irwin and Co. were welcoming hundreds of guests to their Australia Zoo for an Easter breakfast.
Stevo was apparently in good spirits, even jokingly saying "you are all welcome here on this most exciting day for us, except for the Channel Seven cameraman - you're dead mate".

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/08/1081326860807.html

The runaway crocodile that's been evading authorities for five months has once again slipped through their fingers. This time the cunning croc was spotted basking on the very traps placed to catch him.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,9227950%255E1702,00.html

Make sure you join in!

Original Source: http://bigdeadplace.com/scurvyawareness.html

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officers are heading to Cape York to search for the 2.5 metre crocodile that attacked an 11-year-old girl last Sunday.

The QPWS's Dr Mark Read said that "The animal was unusual in that it didn't disappear after the incident, it hung around the boat and stayed on the surface which indicated the animal was fairly bold."

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1083472.htm

He served in the Crimean war before retiring to a life in the countryside. Now, at the ripe old age of around 160, Britain's likely oldest resident - Timothy the tortoise - has died.

Original Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,9214837%255E1702,00.html

An 11-year-old girl received lacerations and puncture wounds to her arm when a crocodile grabbed her. When a charter boat crewman dived on and eye gouged the animal, it released the girl.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1082511.htm

A 1.5 metre long non-venomous Water Python had pedestrians in Darwin's Smith Street a tad nervous on Sunday, lunging at passers-by. A snake removal service eventually removed the frightened animal.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9192877%255E26462,00.html

Peter Benchley, the author of the best-seller 'Jaws', regrets the negative impact his book had on sharks. Speaking outside America's Monterey Bay Aquarium's new shark exhibit, "Sharks: Myth and Mystery," Benchley said he would not write the same book today, knowing what he now knows about the predator's precarious position. He said his best-selling book and the Steven Spielberg blockbuster based on the novel led to a spasm of macho shark hunting that might have hastened the species' decline.

Original Source: http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/8338459.htm

Just days after the federal government announced a national exotic reptile amnesty, where holders of illegal exotic reptiles can hand them in to authorities without fear of punishment, several Australian zoos have decided to hand their entire exotic reptile collections in.

"As the government has said, exotic reptiles pose a risk to our native wildlife, in terms of both their feral potential and the possibility for disease transmission. We don't think that risk is worth it." said Melbourne Zoo keeper Zoe Ramredos.

Perth zoo head reptile curator, Stanton Philips, says that "venomous exotic reptiles are just too dangerous. Australian medical services don't have the know how or the resources to deal with bites from these species. We were originally just going to hand in our hot (venomous) exotics, but then decided to standardise and hand them all in."

Other zoos that are taking part in the amnesty include Sydney's Taronga Zoo, Victoria's Werribee Open Range Zoo, and the Territory Wildlife Park.

The national amnesty is being run until May 24. More information can be obtained from the amnesty hotline: 1800 684 447.

Original Source: http://www.theeastcarolinian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/04/01/406ba6e6cb01b

Are snakes really the loners they're traditionally thought of? See the Original Source for more details.

Original Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040327/bob8.asp

South Australian scientists think that certain ingredients in snake venom could be the next WMD - Weapon of Malignant-tumour Destruction. A natural compound isolated from the venom of some snakes could help prevent the growth of cancerous tumours by destroying the tumour's blood supply.

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/30/1080544472218.html

A rare albino Port Jackson shark is set to go on display at the Sydney Aquarium on Monday. Mango, as he's been called, was found by the crew of a prawn trawler at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River, north of Sydney.

Original Source: http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1260&storyid=1101413

Californian researchers have put snake venom to a novel use. They use the venom's anto-clotting properties to help shift stubborn blood stains on clothing.

Original Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/8306971.htm

Against the background of Melbourne Zoo, federal Environment Minister David Kemp today announced the start of a two-month-long exotic reptile amnesty, where holders of illegal exotic reptiles can hand them in without fear of reprimand. Keepers caught with exotics after the May 24 deadline could face jail terms of up to 5 years and fines of up to $110,000.
Anyone wanting to hand over their exotics can call the amnesty hotline on 1800 684 447.

Original Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/28/1080412225917.html

Animal welfare could be the biggest obstacle to the Territory's plan to introduce safari-style crocodile hunting. The Federal Government is considering the Territory Government's plan, and is expected to make a decision next month.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/stories/s1074496.htm

Parcels containing 24 Oblong Turtles (Chelodina oblonga) and a skink were found in a Perth mail centre this week, destined for Japan. 13 of the turtles were dead by the time mail staff found them.

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9081588%255E1702,00.html

North Queensland Federal Liberal MP Warren Entsch says he supports the proposed safari hunting of salt water crocodiles.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1068667.htm

The poisoning continues at Brazil's Sao Paulo Zoo, with the death toll at 62 confirmed cases, and more than a dozen more waiting confirmation. Police are still no closer to finding the culprit.

Original Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-serial13mar13,1,6199748.story?coll=la-home-headlines

A German recycling worker sorting rubbish feared an attack when he found a crocodile staring at him from a conveyor belt. The dead reptile was taken to the Dresden Natural History Museum for storage. Police are clueless as to the origin of the beast.

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/12/1078594574425.html

Pet shops have angrily rejected accusations they are responsible for illegally importing Red-eared Slider turtles that are destroying native turtle and fish populations.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1063383.htm

An Indian man was robbed at snake point on Friday. As he stopped his car at a set of traffic lights, three men approached him. When he rolled down his window, one of the men removed a "huge snake" from a bag and held it to his chest. The victim was forced to hand over his money and jewellery.

Original Source: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=78568

A school bus driver in Florida has been suspended after letting pupils take an alligator along for the ride. The teenagers spotted the 4ft-long reptile in a field on the way home. They eventually persuaded their bus driver to stop the bus while they went to catch it.

Original Source: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_887023.html

The survival of one of the most endangered crocodilians in south Asia is threatened by a fund crunch in Nepal, creating huge problms for a crocodile breeding center in the Himalayan kingdom. This season, the Kasara Gharial Breeding Center -- formed to raise gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) in captivity and release them into the wild -- has received just half the funds it requires to operate the center.

Original Source: http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/81335/1/

An unrepentant South African businessman has admitted to forcing an unemployed woman to swallow a lizard he had accused her of leaving in his shop. His religion teaches that a lizard found in a business' premises is an omen, and he evidently doesn't take too kindly to omens.

Original Source: http://www.news24.com/Regional_Papers/Components/Category_Article_Text_Template/0,,433_1496726~E,00.html

They are counted in their millions in tropical Australia and scientists believe they are on the move southwards. The Asian House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is increasing its numbers, and pushing its distribution further south each year. A Queensland Museum researcher is investigation the source of the Asian House Gecko invasion, their evolutionary genetics and their adaptive capabilities.

Original Source: http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,8935800%255E1702,00.html

Authorities removed about 80 feral Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta) from a dam on Brisbane's northside on Thursday. The turtles, listed as one of the worst 100 feral invaders globally by the the World Conservation Union, are thought to have been illegally imported in the 1960s for the pet industry. When some of the turtles escaped, or were released, they established themselves in the wild, where they eat anything and everything.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8928876%5E30417,00.html

Today Microsoft used a video of Steve Irwin to demonstrate the intelligence of its security unit. Why? I really don't know.

Original Source: http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=1683778623&fp=16&fpid=0

When residents of a Texan neighboourhood found a 3 metre alligator in their street, they were understandable disturbed. They callled for a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department game warden to remove the beast. What they didn't call for was for the live animal to be tied behind the warden's car and dragged down to the end of the street, and then shot.

Original Source: http://www.wesh.com/news/2169099/detail.html

A parade of randy salamanders forced the temporary closure of a New Jersey, USA, road on Thursday, and was expected to do the same Friday as police stopped traffic from squishing the ardent amphibians.

Original Source: http://1010wins.com/topstories/winstopstories_story_065103718.html

Rangers in Kakadu National Park complain that souvenir hunters make off with warning signs telling visitors not to cool off in creeks that are crocodile-infested. Soon, they may be erecting signs warning visitors of bands of trigger-happy foreigners on crocodile-hunting safaris. The Northern Territory Government is pushing for the Federal Government to allow up to 25 crocodiles a year to be killed by paying tourists.

Original Source: http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,8860043%255E24389,00.html

A popular swimming hole in the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park is being permanently closed to swimmers because of the risk of crocodiles. The Twin Falls pool has been closed to the public since November 2002 because a 3.5 metre crocodile was spotted in the area and could not be caught.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1057351.htm

A: Finding half a snake.

A South African man bit a 2m-long snake in half when it returned, just moments after being released.

Original Source: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,6119,2-7-1442_1491856,00.html

When teenager Chris Blair felt something bite his leg while surfing last night, he thought it was a seal. It was only when he saw a dorsal fin that he realised he was being attacked by a shark. He looked down and saw a shark's head, out of the water and biting into his thigh.

Note:: The original story implicates a sevengill shark and mentions a fin sticking a foot above the surface; the sevengill has one little dorsal well back where a second dorsal usually is. The surfer must have seen the tail rather than a dorsal, or it may be a case of a mistaken identification.

Thanks to Sean Van Sommeran of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation for this addendum.

Original Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3551660&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

Fishermen ended a week-long strike in Ecuador's Galapagos islands on Friday after the government agreed to review norms in a pact that upset conservationists trying to protect the archipelago's unique wildlife.

Original Source: http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=4459294§ion=news

A practical joke went too far went some young Alligator Snapping Turtles went missing after being used in a Turtle Soup prank. I keep telling you, It's all fun and games until someone loses a turtle.

Original Source: http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-1/107804074285390.xml

The chytrid fungus that is claiming the lives of frogs worldwide has been formally listed as a key threatening process by the NSW Scientific Committee. NSW Scientific Committee Chairperson Associate Professor Paul Adam said chytridomycosis – commonly known as the frog chytrid fungus - was a global epidemic believed responsible for the decline of frogs around the world, including Australia.

Original Source: http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/Content/media_250204_chytrid

To stop Guam's sea turtle's from completely disappearing, both local and federal agencies are teaming together to crack down on poaching. Until two months ago, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration special agent Al Samuels says that there had been no recent cases where poachers have been caught. That's changed. In the last two months, Samuels says there have been four cases leading to two guilty pleas, and two other's scheduled to go to trial.

Original Source: http://www.kuam.com/news/8678.aspx

The Northern Territory's Parks and Wildlife Commission has proposed a scheme where safari-style hunters could pay approximately $5,000 for the privilege of shooting one of 25 Saltwater Crocodiles a year.

This has upset wildlife conservation groups and the RSPCA, which believes there is no justification for killing Australia's "icons of the outback."

The 25 crocodiles would be part of the 600 crocs harvested annually with the consent of the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory.

Original Source: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=ourWorldNews&storyID=4409456

The stray crocodile which shot to fame after thwarting repeated attempts by hunters to capture it has resurfaced in a rural Hong Kong river.

Original Source: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2560935

The Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), a gentle giant weighing close to a ton (907 kg) and measuring 2.4 metres in length, may be extinct within a decade in the Pacific Ocean. The news was released at the 24th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology, a week-long conference in San Jose, Costa Rica attended by more than 1,000 experts from 70 countries.

Found in small numbers in all Australian waters, Leatherback turtles are known to nest occasionally along a short stretch of the central coast of Queensland. Most sightings are along the more heavily populated eastern seaboard of Australia where large adults are found year-round in larger bays, estuaries, and rivers, with the number of sightings suggesting that the species actively seeks out temperate feeding grounds, rather than that these specimens have simply strayed so far south.

Original Source: http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/environment_sciences/report-26243.html

A 5½-foot alligator that lived in the middle of a Illinois residential neighborhood was seized by state conservation officials this week. The fate of the family pet is yet to be decided, with the possibility of releasing it into the wild not ruled out.

Original Source: http://www.pjstar.com/news/luciano/b29kfo2o033.html

The creation of one of the world's largest marine protected areas was announced this week by a consortium of Latin American nations, conservation groups, and United Nations agencies. The new reserve will span 521 million acres (211 million hectares) of ocean, from Costa Rica's Cocos Island to Ecuador's Galápagos Islands and beyond.

The planned marine reserve promises greater protection to a wide range of ocean species found there, including sperm whales, dolphins, tuna, sharks, and turtles.

Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0226_040226_oceanpark.html

Angry fishermen are effectively holding researchers and rare reptiles, including giant Galapagos tortoises, hostage in the Galapagos Islands in protest against net-use restrictions. The escalating, week-long protest has blocked access to the docks on the main island in the Galapagos Archipelago, media reports said today, and food deliveries to the research station have been blocked.

The fishermen are demanding that restrictions on fisheries to protect the diversity of species in the waters around the island, unique in the world because of the region's isolation 1,000 kilometres from Ecuador, be lifted.

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/27/1077676947774.html

Animals at India's Byculla Zoo are suffering through the current heat in cages with little or no water. The crocodiles and hippos are among the worst off, their pools having almost dried up.

Original Source: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=77223

Several reptiles, including a green iguana, two leopard geckos, Everglade rat snakes and different coloured corn snakes, were seized from a Victorian home today, and the Exotic Species permit of a woman who illegally bred corn snakes was cancelled.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8806679%255E1702,00.html

Plainclothes officers posing as buyers of endangered species yesterday arrested three men and seized 27 baby crocodiles, a rare turtle, and 28 turtle carcasses in Hong Kong's Yuen Long Plaza. Customs officials said the haul had a value of approximately HK$50,000.

Original Source: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/thestandard/news_detail_frame.cfm?articleid=45591&intcatid=1

Syed Farook, Oman’s best known authority on snakes and the country’s most confident and expert snake catcher is set for another major adventure — to capture the deadly Arabian cobra and a host of other snakes, including the lethal Puff Adder, Burrowing Asp and Carpet Viper.

Original Source: http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=51799&pn=local

The coastal Queensland town of Cardwell (situated half-way between Townsville and Cairns) still has a large crocodile silently lurking along its beachfront, despite the capture of a 3.6m reptile near the mouth of Meunga Creek three days ago.

Original Source: http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,8814215%255E14787,00.html

Nearly 60 animals have been killed at the Sao Paulo Zoo in Brazil since last month. The 59 victims so far include an elephant, dromedaries, monkeys, and porcupines. Laboratory tests have shown the animals were killed with a rat poison banned in Brazil, and experts have ruled out accidentally poisoning due to the extremely high doses involved.

Original Source: http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=4459198§ion=news

Well, to Stradbroke Island off the coast of Brisbane. That's overseas, isn't it?

Stewart's going over to study some marine parasites, and he'll be back in a week. Email will go unanswered until then. Sorry!

Hopes are high that an international conference in Malaysia will agree on ways to reverse the decline in plant and animal species worldwide.
 
But the head of the Swiss delegation has warned that time is running out.

Original Source: http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=511&sid=4707833

Another Northern Territory MP has called for the renaming of the Steve Irwin locomotive, and has suggested calling it after the Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1049298.htm

EXPERTS are setting out to find where South Australia's broad-shelled turtles are hiding.

Original Source: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8744160%255E2682,00.html

MORE than 6500 small animals (mainly snakes and lizards) have died after falling into a during six weeks of construction work on a gas pipeline in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8739322%255E1702,00.html

The Member for Katherine in the Northern Territory has called for the Ghan's Steve Irwin locomotive to be renamed, saying that Stevo's actions aren't in line with the spirit of the Northern Territory. Are his actions in line with anyone's spirits?

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1047795.htm

A missing corn snake has turned up six weeks after disappearing, surviving the British winter.

Original Source: http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.461306.0.snakes_alive.php

A 14-foot escaped python has locals and law enforcement officers a bit on the nervous side in a Florida, USA, town.

Original Source: http://www.wcjb.com/news.asp?id=9212

John Weigel from the Australian Reptile Park in Gosford, New South Wales, is in Broome, Western Australia, collecting Mulga Snakes (Pseudechis australis) for the park's venom collection programme.

Original Source: http://www.abc.net.au/kimberley/stories/s1047002.htm

A pair of conjoined tortoises -- named "Peanut Butter" and "Jelly" after America's strange obsession with combining these two condiments -- were separated after a three hour operation.

Original Source: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/02/10/turtles.separated.ap/

An escaped crocodile that has been on the loose on the Hong Kong-China border for more than two months was named Hong Kong's Person of the Year.

Original Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/05/1073267958551.html

According to a reporter from the UK's The Guardian, the snake touted as the world's longest, is in fact much more mediocre.

Thieves in Florida, USA, have released a 3 metre crocodile on an unsuspecting public.

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin made world-wide headlines today when he took his one-month-old son Bob into a crocodile enclosure during a feeding session. Irwin's actions have been condemned as irresponsible, with some people calling for his children to be taken away.

Stewart's Soap Box

Personally, I can't see what all the fuss is about. So he feeds the odd kid to a crocodile. So what? How does that take away from all the other good things he's done regarding conservation? What's the world coming to when you can't even dangle your own kids in front of a crocodile or off a balcony?

But seriously... How much danger was baby Bob really in? Sure, it was a really stupid idea for Steve to do it in public, but there really wasn't much chance of anything untoward happening. I think there was more chance of Bob being injured in a car accident over the Christmas-New Year period than when he was in the croc enclosure.

Just my thoughts.

Just a reminder... Queensland reptile keepers need to have their half-yearly returns in by the 14th of January, 2004.

If you're reading this, we're coming at you loud and clear from a brand-spanking new server, hosted in Sydney.

I was very unhappy with our previous hosting company. Their helpdesk wasn't very helpful, and the final straw came when the site was defaced a few weeks ago.

After lots of shopping around I decided to go with Digitalis, a Sydney-based company. Their support has been fantastic so far, their prices are very competitive, and being in Australia is of course a plus.

There was a slight outage when the old hosting company disabled the site before the changes in the DNS filtered their way through the internet, but apart from that, everything's running smoothly (so far).

This website was defaced today (Monday). Our hosting company is looking in to how this happened. I think everything's back to normal now, but if you happen to find any uncharacteristic anti-American sentiments, please let me know.

He didn't find any dinosaur bones, but he found a really big stick!

If (hypothetically) you sat next to him on the plane, make sure you send him an email!!!

Well, he's passing through Longreach on his way to Winton.
He's going to the Elliot Dig, Australia's largest dinosaur dig, which is quite fitting, what with it being home to Elliot, Australia's largest dinosaur.

He's away for a week or so, so emails will go unanswered until he returns. That's if he returns - those dinosaurs can be quite nasty...

The Australian Herpetological Classifieds have had a new feature added. Registered users can now log in to update their ads.

But the fun doesn't stop there! Even if you don't want to sell animals, if you sign up, AHC will keep show you what ads have been submitted since you last logged in. How convenient!

Queensland keepers need to submit their reptile returns for the first half of this year by the 14th of July.


NSW keepers needed to submit them a while back. If you haven't done it, get busy!!!

We're back on the air after about 30 hours of downtime. This was caused by a power surge in the building our server is hosted in. A small lagomorph carrying a substantial quantity of ova appears to have become entangled in some electrical wiring, causing a short circuit.


Sadly, the lagomorph didn't make it. I hope nobody was expecting it.

Reptiles Down Under has been a bit neglected over the past few months. (No, really, it has!) But all that's about to change. We have some great ideas that we'll be putting in place over the next few months. (No, really! We will!!)

• 
  We're going to look at some of the jobs you can get working with reptiles, as well as some of the diseases!
  


• 
  Stewart recently built a Turtle Pond, so we'll be using that as an example of what NOT to do!
  


• 
  Our Clubs section will be getting a bit of an overhaul.
  


• 
  We'll also be creating a Review section, where you can get (and give) information on all sorts of reptiley things, like products, books, zoos and web sites.
  

Australian reptile keepers need to be aware of the laws restricting the
export of reptiles. The penalties for breaching these laws are quite severe. There have been recent reports of overseas individuals soliciting Australian keepers to sell some of the rarer species. John Weigel from the Australian Reptile Park on the Central NSW Coast recently highlighted this issue on an internet herp discussion group. John warned other keepers that he'd been contacted by both email and telephone by a German keeper who claimed to have Environment Australia's approval to receive Australian-sourced goannas, and that he had in fact recently legally imported lace monitors from an Australian dealer. John checked with the dealer, and the story proved to be untrue.


Keepers need to be aware that the onus is on the Australian exporter (that's me or you) to obtain export approval from the relevant state and federal wildlife bodies. It isn't enough that someone from another country claims to have permits for such an exportation.

After a much longer-than-anticipated absence, Reptiles Down Under is finally back on the air.

The Crocodile Hunter, aka Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, will hit the small screen this week when his movie "The Crocodile Hunter - Collision Course" is released on DVD and Video. Check it out from Wednesday, the 9th of April if you dare!!!


Please note: We resisted using the word "crikey" in the interest of our viewers' sanity.

The Australian Herpetological Classifieds are back in business. Looking to sell a reptile? Hankering for a new scaley friend? AHC is a free resource for all Australian reptile (and amphibian) lovers.

This year's annual Brisbane Pet and Animal expo has finished. Cool Companions had an excellent display of Australian reptiles, including some baby Green Pythons and a Thorny Devil!

Well, nearly. Stewart left the safe clutches of regular employment at the beginning of this year to head back to university to complete his Bachelor of Science, majoring in Wildlife Ecology. Of course, at every possible opportunity he's going to get involved with reptiles, unlike worm-loving Matt.

And I'm sure he'll use reptiles as a subject matter where ever he can.


Matt: If I have two rats, and a big Carpet Snake, how many rats will I end up with?


Class: None!


Matt: Correct!

Please contact us if you encounter any other problems.

All systems are Go For Launch!

so emails might go unanswered for a few days

This is due to construction work (they're turning the power off)

Things might look like they've slowed down here, but we've been working furiously around the clock to make some behind-the-scenes changes to RDU, for the betterment of our viewers, and mankind in general

Herp Search Australia is online

RDU is here!