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CROCODOPOLIS world of crocodilians TM SCIENCE · CULTURE · INDUSTRY · NEWS · COMMUNICATION · CONSERVATION
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NEWS
The CROC PRESS Regular coverage of crocodilians and people in headlines worldwide.
Wes von Papineäu, News Page Editor Email: crocnews@crocodopolis.net _________________________________________________
Week of 09 September 07
13 September 07 Gharial added to Red List of World Conservation Union
Among other animals, the Indian Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) has been officially named to the IUCN's Red List of "critically endangered" species.
Only 182 breeding adults of the gharial crocodile remain, down almost 60 percent from a decade ago. The crocodilian of India and Nepal, distinct by its slender snout, has become critically endangered because dams, irrigation projects and artificial embankments have reduced its habitat to just 2 percent of its former range.
IUCN, the World conservation Union, says 785 living species have disappeared over the last 500 years. A further 65 are found only in artificial settings like zoos.
"Life on earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken," the group said. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/13/news/list.php
14 September 07 Gharial conservation group Gets new name
The Gharial Multi-Task Force, the conservation organization founded in 2006 to study and protect the critically endangered Indian Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) has changed its name to Gharial Conservation Alliance (GCA), it was announced today.
The learn more about the group, visit http://www.gavialis.org/ or the GCA newsletters published by Crocodopolis, here.
12 September 07 Man held after two caimans run free
A
34-year-old Kanazawa-native Hiroshi Kita was arrested in Japan on
suspicion of keeping caimans without a license at his home. The
case came to light after two of the reptiles were caught over the
weekend. (See 10 September 07
Two crocodilians caught in Japan posted
below) One of the animals is believed to be a spectacled caiman, which, under the Washington Treaty, can only be purchased with the permission of an exporting country and kept in Japan only with the permission of a prefectural governor.
Kita said he bought the caimans via
Internet auctions. Kita said he
put the caimans in a covered aquarium in his front yard in late August
to "let them bathe in the sun" but said they were gone when he came back
Sept. 1 to check on them.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070912a9.html
12 September 07 Hunter has aptitude For 'armored amphibians'
Coverage of The Great Texas Alligator Roundup and Gatorfest held in Anahuac Sept.14 - 16. The festival coincides with the opening of the 20 day core habitat alligator season in Texas. Participating hunters will bring their harvest to Gatorfest for prize money and many sell dealers, one of which is offering $40 per foot this year.
There has never been a death by alligator in Texas, according to Monique Slaughter, Port Arthurbased Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist working in the agency's alligator program.
For every citizen of Chambers County there are
about three alligators, many larger than their human neighbors.
http://www.beaumontjournal.com/news/2007/0912/Local_news/023.html 12 September 07 'No cause for crocodile alarm'
Philippines Natural Resources Officials said there is no cause for alarm after a severely-injured, juvenile salt-water crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) was captured at the Bago city irrigation canal. It is suspected that the animal was an escapee from a small, nearby crocodile farm.
An official said the public should not harm or kill wild animals such as crocodiles because they are important to balance the ecosystem. Crocodiles could help in the fertilization of the swamps and rivers.
The crocodile
was turned over by the Community Environment Natural Resources Office to
the WNC and FOREST Inc. rescue center.
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2007/September/12/topstory6.htm 11 September 07 Massive alligator caught at reservoir
Members of the Mississippi Outdoor with Shambenie team took four hours to land a 10-foot two-inch/3.1 metre-long American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) weighing in at 488 pounds/221 kilos Saturday evening.
The alligator
will be cleaned and used in the creation of a "lot of Gator Gumbo. "
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070911/SPORTS08/70911057 11 September 07 Escaped Ohio gator returns home
'Mighty Mouth,' an 18-inch/45 cm crocodilian, is home is back safe in his Ohio, USA home after having a week to wander his urban neighbourhood.
Keeper Nancy
Quayle believes Mighty Mouth had a human accomplice in his escape. He
can’t open the cage door alone, however it was found ajar last week.
http://www.chroniclet.com/2007/09/11/escaped-gator-returns-home/
11 September 07 Florida gator-wrestling cops Could be in big trouble
Police officers in Altamonte Springs, Florida hopped on an eight ft/2.4 m- long alligator’s back, tied it up and tossed it in a nearby lake. Now, they’re in hot water for how they handled the incident. The Altamonte Springs Police Department and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Department are investigating why the officers didn’t call for an alligator trapper. Story:
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070912/BREAKINGNEWS/70912003/1086 Video: http://www.wftv.com/video/14092230/detail.html http://www.wftv.com/video/14093156/detail.html Slideshow: http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/14092203/detail.html
11 September 07 Australian wildlife agency sinks teeth into croc souvenir
One author’s
trial and tribulations with different international-customs regulators
and navigating the CITES data when bringing back a crocodile tooth from
holiday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=1501193&objectid=10462737 10 September 07 Alligators spotted in pond in Virginia
Two
3-foot/metre-long alligators spotted in a Virginia Beach pond Sunday
probably aren't a danger to humans, police said today. But Animal
Control officers set up traps in the shallow end of the pond … just in
case.
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=132152&ran=7557 09 September 07 A crocodile captured in stream in Spain
A Nile crocodile which escaped from a crocodile farm in Jerez, Cádiz province Spain, has been safely recaptured and returned to the farm.
The Jerez farm
has 1,300 Nile crocodiles on its land, a species which can grow as long
as six metres/19 ½ feet. This particular specimen was 1.5 m/5-foot long.
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_9832.shtml
http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/ep/20070911/tlc-cdiz-polica-local-y-seprona-buscan-u-a319087.html
10 September 07 Louisiana gator season Expected to measure up well
Louisiana has
so many alligators that state Wildlife and Fisheries officials have
increased the number of tags for hunters by 17 percent they expect
34,000 to 35,000 alligators to be harvested this year.
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=7049727&nav=0RY5 10 September 07 Alligator caught in Penn. Creek
A pair of Pennsylvania Wildlife Conservation officers demonstrated Florida-like trapping skills and acted out Crocodile Hunter impersonations when they captured a 4-foot/1.2-metre long alligator in the Hokendauqua Creek with catch poles.
"I have about
four people I'm waiting to hear back from who have their degrees in
herpetology [the study of reptiles and amphibians] and have reptiles in
their possession," District Wildlife Conservation officer said.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-gator,0,3675585.story 10 September 07 Two crocodilians caught in Japan
Two 1-meter/3-foot-long crocodiles were caught here in a Japanese rice paddy and in residential Kanazawa over the weekend.
Saturday, a man harvesting rice in a paddy near Kanazawa caught a suspected Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) and handed it over to a local police station.
A local
resident found another crocodile in a ditch in a nearby residential area
and alerted police who managed to capture the animal. The breed of
the second crocodile has not been confirmed.
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070910p2a00m0na023000c.html And in Japanese:
http://www.mainichi-msn.co.jp/shakai/wadai/news/20070910k0000e040088000c.html 09 September 07 Louisiana program manages alligators - Rules limit hunt, push preservation
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Nuisance Alligator Program is just one part of a larger strategy for dealing with the large reptiles.
The department’s alligator management program works to maintain the wild alligator population, issues hunting tags, and regulates the state’s $40 million alligator-farming industry.
The
management program was developed after years of unregulated hunting
depleted the wild alligator population, said biologist Noel Kinler, the
head of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ alligator
management program. “In order to protect alligators you need to
protect the habitat they live in.”
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/9671132.html 09 September 07 Alligator season hits Basin; Hunter scours Louisiana for 'Opportunistic predators'
A detailed story with photos on one man’s experience hunting Louisiana gators.
“He grabs the meat in his powerful jaws and is hooked. His tiny brain doesn't comprehend. He writhes left and right, trying to swim off, finding himself tethered. He pulls and twists, surfacing in his struggle, snapping his jaws at the air, to no avail. He rests, then fights again, repeating the struggle over and over again through the night.
As night slowly gives way to daylight, he's exhausted from hours of fighting for freedom.”
Alligator facts -In 2006,
wild alligator harvesting put $8.7 million into the hands of hunters for
skins and $3.2 million for the meat. -34,000 to
35,000 wild alligators are expected to be harvested this year in
Louisiana. -Louisiana's
wild harvest produces about 75 percent of the alligator catch in the
United States.
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070909/NEWS01/709090344/1002 09 September 07 Gator hunting on the rise in Louisiana
Alligator season has just started in Louisiana and things, so far, are going well.
Best line: "A lot of times they come back to life. They play dead or you think they're dead," said Tracy Ellender, who's worked at an alligator processing plant.
Around here:
Alligator hunting in selected counties begins in Texas on Monday.
09 September 07 Big Mississippi gators Registered first 2 nights
While Mississippi biologists were hoping to see more small alligators captured during the third season on Barnett Reservoir, hunters apparently had other plans. Big 'lizards' continue to dominate the catch through two nights of the first of two 3-day 2007 seasons on Barnett.
The biggest: A
team led by Archie England of posted a 12-foot, 3-inch/3.7-metre gator
Saturday night that weighed 473 pounds/214 kilos. The second biggest was an 11-foot, 4-inch//3.4-metres; 335.5-pounder/152 kilos caught by Melonie Cade on Friday night.
"I was
expecting to see more hunters go ahead and take their smaller gators
first, and then go after a big one," said Ricky Flynt, who oversees the
alligator program for the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
"We raised the limit to two per hunter and made one of them be under 7
feet (both must exceed 4 feet). The 4- to 7-footers dominate the
population and need to be harvested. The other can be any size over 4
feet.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070909/SPORTS08/709090344/1127/SPORTS 08 September 07 Two-foot-long alligator caught, Killed in Missouri’s South Farm Lake
A two-foot/.6-metre American alligator died in a weighted gill net during a Missouri Department of Conservation attempt to capture it in South Farm Lake.
“We
speculate that the alligator was somebody’s pet,” said Craig Gemming,
Fisheries Management Biologist for the department. “They’re not
native to Missouri, and they won’t be able to survive.” 08 September 07 North Carolina officials order 2 alligators killed
North Carolina State wildlife officials ordered the killings of two 2-foot/half-metre-long abandoned alligators that had been captured in the wild this week.
Wildlife officials said that the reasoning for killing the animals involved three main factors:
- They want to protect wild animals. They said they had no way of knowing whether the captured alligators were domestic animals that had been released, or what diseases they may have been exposed to. - Places that normally take rescued alligators were full. - Officials didn’t want to perpetuate the idea that releasing exotic pets into the wild will result in their rescue and future care.
Chris Kreh, a district wildlife biologist with the N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission in Dobson, was one of several officials who weighed in on the decision.
Kreh said that although he didn’t like seeing the animals destroyed, officials were trying to look out for the greater good of the state’s wildlife populations.
Matt Craven, a local wildlife rehabilitator, picked an alligator up Wednesday at the request of Wake Forest University campus police. He turned it over to state wildlife officials Thursday after trying to convince them to let him find a home for the animal in one of several zoos or environmental-education centers he has contact with in other states.
Craven said he was upset that the alligator was killed, but he understood that state officials were simply trying to follow regulations intended to protect native-animal populations.
“I was so damned aggravated I couldn’t see straight,” Craven said. “If an animal not native to an area needs to be removed, provisions should be in place to facilitate relocation.”
Kreh said
that setting a precedent of trying to keep every animal alive would do
more harm than good. “It’s sending the wrong message about taking
animals into captivity.” 08 September 07 Gator gone wild in Ohio - Pet alligator escapes cage
In Elyria, Ohio, USA a missing, 18-inch/45-centimeter alligator has residents on one street sticking close to home while the creature wanders inside drainage ditches.
“My wife’s
afraid,” said Doy Elder. “It sort of blends into the grass and was just
laying there on the bank of our ditch when she came out the other day.” Nancy Quayle said her pet alligator has been missing for about two days, but she is confident she will find it soon. “He’ll be home caged when it’s time to feed it.
“I’ve had two before this,” she said. “They’re easy to take care of, and they don’t take much work.”
Keeping an alligator as a pet is not against any city ordinances.
However,
if you think the animal will lurk beneath the city feeding on whatever
it can until crawls up your toilet or grows to the size of a monster and
breaks through the ground on a hunt for larger prey, you will be
mistaken. Alligator, a horror flick circa 1980, this is
not.
http://www.chroniclet.com/2007/09/08/gator-gone-wild-in-elyria/
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