Recent News
June 22, 2010 - Captively Bred Eastern Indigo Snakes Released On Conecuh National Forest
On June 16th, 2010 eighteen eastern indigo snakes, a US Fish and Wildlife Service listed threatened species, were release into longleaf pine habitat on Conecuh National Forest, marking a milestone in the survival of this species.
Numerous partners, including Project Orianne, Auburn University, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Zoo Atlanta, the Nature Conservancy, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the US Forest Service, are working together on a multi-year project to reintroduce eastern indigo snakes in areas which they have been extirpated, which includes Conecuh National Forest and other areas in Alabama and Florida.
To commemorate this first release, Dr. Dan Speake, who has contributed greatly to eastern indigo snake research throughout his esteemed career, release the first of the snakes on Conecuh National Forest. These snakes were captively bred from snakes caught on State lands in Georgia, with cooperation from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and on Fort Stewart. The captively bred individuals were then raised jointly by Auburn University and Zoo Atlanta.
The release snakes are implanted with Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT tags) which will allow staff from Auburn University to track and monitor each individual. This information will be used to determine how the species uses the landscape as well as to monitor survival rates of the reintroduced snakes. These snakes were release into an area that has a healthy population of gopher tortoise, a species on which the eastern indigo relies for survival because they use their burrows for protection, resting, and overwintering areas.
Initial monitoring reports following the release indicate that the snakes have settled into their new environment nicely, already foraging on local prey species which includes venomous snakes, frogs, and rodents among other things.
Project Orianne is focused on the range-wide recovery of eastern indigo snakes. This reptile and amphibian conservation organization is establishing a captive breeding facility in Florida, where they will breed and rear eastern indigo snakes for future reintroduction efforts in areas within Alabama and Florida, and continuously monitor strongholds of the population in Southeast Georgia, peninsular Florida. Project Orianne also owns a roughly 2,300 acre area of land called the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve, where they manage the land to enhance eastern indigo snake and gopher tortoise habitat, on which a healthy population of eastern indigo snakes currently resides.
June 14, 2010
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The following is an excerpt from IUCNs latest edition of Species. The full issue can be downloaded at:
http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/species_51.pdf
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Viper SG – new
Rattlesnake conservation plan will be group’s first project
Christopher L. Jenkins
Chair, Viper Specialist Group
June 10, 2010 News Release
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,
Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
Auburn University
Project Orianne
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Forest Service
Media Advisory
Location: Conecuh National Forest
Event: Release of 18 captive-bred Eastern indigo snakes into the Conecuh National Forest. The Eastern indigo snake is Threatened under the Endangered Species Act and is a non-game protected species in Alabama.
Background: A federal grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administered by the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries and a private contribution from Project Orianne to Auburn University are funding this reintroduction project. Its purpose is to rear young snakes in captivity to a size suitable for releasing into the wild with the goal of establishing a new population. The Eastern indigo snake is an important component of the longleaf pine ecosystem and is not venomous. The Conecuh National Forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, was chosen as a release site because it has a suitable habitat for the indigo snake. The longleaf pine ecosystem dominates the 84,000 acres Conecuh National Forest that is located in Escambia and Covington counties. There have been no confirmed sightings in Alabama of the Eastern indigo snake in the wild since the mid 1950s.
Partners: This project is the collaboration of many contributors, including the following:
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,
Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
Auburn University
Project Orianne
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Forest Service
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Ft. Stewart, U.S. Army
Zoo Atlanta
June 7th, 2010
Below is a link to the Consolidated Fish and Wildlife Collection Report. You can access this page to report dead fish and wildlife with the Deepwater Horizon/BP incident impact area and the view up to date reports on the number of individuals reported injured or dead within the impact area.
Fish and Wildlife Report
Consolidated Fish and Wildlife Collection Report
To report injured or dead wildlife in the impact area call: 1-866-557-1401
These are the consolidated numbers of collected fish and wildlife that have been reported to the Unified Area Command from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), incident area commands, rehabilitation centers and other authorized sources operating within the Deepwater Horizon/BP incident impact area.
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At this phase in the response, field-level staff will document all injured or dead fish and wildlife encountered in the impact area. This document reflects only the initial, field-level, evaluation and does not reflect a final determination of the cause of injury, or death. Not all of the injured or dead fish and wildlife reflected in these numbers were necessarily caused by the Deepwater Horizon/BP incident. Official designations of cause of death will be determined at a later date.
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Part of the long-term assessment process is to carefully examine and determine the cause of death or injury for impacted fish and wildlife. Some fish and wildlife reported here have likely died or been injured by natural causes, not due to the oil spill. Due to the increased number of trained people evaluating the spill impacted areas, it is also likely that we will recover more naturally injured or dead fish and wildlife than normal.
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Once found or captured, collected fish and wildlife are given an identifying number that will follow it throughout the evaluation process. Collected fish and wildlife are given an initial examination to search for broken bones, external oil or other injuries. As needed, this may be followed by a more thorough examination to search for less obvious injuries, such as oil in the mouth, throat or eyes. An additional step may include a partial or full necropsy (an autopsy for animals) to help determine the exact cause of death if possible.
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** These numbers are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time the report was created. The numbers of injured and dead fish and wildlife, as well as the cause of injury or death, are not official until verified. The categories on this report -- visibly oiled, no visible oil or pending -- are not an official determination of cause of death.
NOTE: It is normal for reported numbers to fluctuate between “visibly oiled,” “no visible oil” and “pending.” If staff are unable to make a determination at a field location, the number will be placed in the pending column and evaluated as soon as possible. Once a determination is made, the number will be moved from “pending” to the appropriate column.
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June 4th, 2010
Giant tortoises released onto Pinta Island for the first time for 40 years
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39 tortoises have been released into the wilds of Pinta Island, in the northern waters of the Galapagos Archipelago, as part of an ongoing effort to restore the ecological integrity of Pinta ecosystems. This is the first time that tortoises have inhabited the island since the removal of Lonesome George, the last known Pinta tortoise, in 1972.
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The return of tortoises to Pinta is considered an essential step towards re-establishing ecological processes on the island. The Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador is overseeing this vital step in the implementation of the plan for the ecological restoration of Pinta......
Read More: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/pinta-tortoises.html
June 3rd, 2010
Spitting Cobras Track First, Predict Later
ScienceDaily — Most venomous snakes are legendary for their lethal bites, but not all. Some spit defensively. Bruce Young, from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, explains that some cobras defend themselves by spraying debilitating venom into the eyes of an aggressor........
Read More:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100514074909.htm
June 1st, 2010
Turtle 'super tongue' lets reptile survive underwater |
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Common musk turtles have special abilities
Project Orianne
One type of turtle possesses an extraordinary organ that allows it to breathe underwater and stay submerged for many months.
Rather than use this tongue for eating, the turtles use it to exchange oxygen, solving a mystery of how these reptiles can remain submerged for so long......
Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8693000/8693794.stm
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May 28th, 2010 News
Critically Endangered Living Fossil Frog Threatened by Mining in New Zealand
Facing extinction: Prehistoric frogs threatened by mineral mining plans
May 2010: The world's most ancient frogs may soon be mined to extinction, if the New Zealand government's plans to open up a conservation area for mining go ahead.
The primitive Archey's frog, as well as the vulnerable Hochstetter's frog, inhabit the area of ‘high conservation value' on New Zealand's North Island where the mining is planned to take place.......
See More: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/60
Drymaron couperi eastern indigo snake
New Insights Into How Deadly Amphibian Disease Spreads and Kills
ScienceDaily — Scientists have unraveled the dynamics of a deadly disease that is wiping out amphibian populations across the globe. New findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that infection intensity -- the severity of the disease among individuals -- determines whether frog populations will survive or succumb to an amphibian fungal disease called Chytridiomycosis. The research identifies a dangerous tipping point in infection intensity, beyond which Chytrid causes mass mortalities and extinctions, and finds that continual re-infection causes the disease to reach this threshold.....
See More:
San Francisco State University (2010, May 13). New insights into how deadly amphibian disease spreads and kills. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 28, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100510151338.htm
