Park Fights to Save Rare Snake

5:36 pm January 12th, 2009

While broad-headed snakes look like the harmless diamond python, which is a popular pet, the snake is an endangered and venomous snake, which is part of a new display at the Nowra Wildlife Park. Less than 1000 broad-headed snakes are believed to be left in the world, and you can see two of them in a new display at the park. The venomous snake is a local species finding habitat under flat sandstone rocks on exposed cliff edges and in tree hollows. Its markings can lead to a case of potentially fatal mistaken identity with the similar-looking but harmless juvenile diamond python. The Nowra Wildlife Park owner decided to establish the endangered snake display to show residents and visitors to the area what they could lose. The thing about broad-heads is that in winter they depend on the rock pieces that crack away for shelter. The snakes in the Nowra area are heavily affected by people removing bush-rock. Park owners would like to be able to breed broad-heads in captivity, but they could never breed enough of them. Their function is to educate the people and encourage them to help the species.

The Rarest Snake in North America

5:00 pm December 29th, 2008

For almost 30 years, the Ellen Trout Zoo and director Gordon Henley have worked to bring back North America’s rarest snake, the Louisiana pine snake. They haven’t had much luck yet, and experts say the snake may become extinct if efforts to save it don’t show success soon.

In the early 1980s, Ellen Trout Zoo became the first zoo to breed this nonpoisonous snake. Then they stopped in the late 1980s because nobody wanted the snake babies. Then they restarted two years ago. The U.S. Forest Service now collects snakes for the zoo’s breeding program. The zoo has been unable to breed the wild snakes but plans soon to attempt to breed them with captive snakes. Any offspring will be returned to the wild.

Over the past two years, researchers have captured only six of these snakes in Texas, then releasing two back into the wild. Scientists do not know why the population decreased. One theory is that recent forest conservation efforts have led to fewer wildfires, which then led to fewer gophers, which in turn led to fewer snakes.

Missing Snakes Mystery Solved

12:28 pm December 14th, 2008

Alabama police say that the person who removed 22 tree boa snakes from a garden shed was simply concerned about the welfare of the reptiles. Jacob Brooks of Prallville, Alabama, filed a theft report when he returned home and found his pets missing, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. The Amazon tree boas had total value of $10,000. Police Chief Alfred Wadsworth said that no criminal charges will be filed in the case. He said that the motive for the removal of the snakes was to get them to a place with an appropriate temperature.The survivors were returned to Brooks, a hobbyist who breeds the snakes and sells them online. The tree boas ranged in length from 2 feet to 6 feet. They are constrictors and do not deliver a venomous bite.

Rat Populations Rising with Snakes Decline

9:51 am November 22nd, 2008

For all of us snake lovers, we know that snakes are fascinating and useful. For those people who dislike and fear snakes, here is something to keep in mind. Snakes keep the rat populations under control. A sharp decline in the population of snakes due to ecological changes can harm the agriculture sector, as the population of rats and other rodents will go up. It’s just another reason to appreciate this incredible reptile.

Types of Snakes

4:05 pm November 3rd, 2008

Did you know that the snake is said to be one of the first reptiles on Earth? Snakes played a major role in mythology. The common snake is called the ’snake’, and any mythological snake is often referred to as a ’serpent’. Many people think of snakes as generally poisonous, dangerous and even a threat to mortality. This is certainly not true in all cases. There are several types of snakes. Many snakes are not poisonous.Venomous snakes use their fangs to either kill or immobilize their prey, using venom and saliva to achieve this. Poisonous snakes are classified into four families. There are the Elapids, Viperids, Colubrids and Hydrophiidae.

Beware of these Snakes

3:55 pm October 19th, 2008

Do you know what the most poisonous snakes are? It is the Elapidae family, also known as elapids. The black mamba and the fierce snake are two examples. All elapids are poionous. They are found mostly in the tropical parts of the world. They have hollow fangs that are used to inject venom into their prey. Doesn’t that sound frightening? The Elapidae snake produces neurotoxic venom. What does neurotoxic venom do?  It goes straight to the nervous system of its prey. Other elapids are the Australian copperheads, kraits, king cobras, coral snakes, and of course, the cobras. They are the most lethal of all snakes.