Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International (RAEI), a nonprofit conservation ecology organization, has announced an innovative program that puts used cameras and other equipment to work for promoting the science and art of biodiversity. In this program, RAEI accepts donations of all kinds of gear crucial to conservation ecology, from camera bodies and lenses to GPS units and even "snake hooks". The donated equipment is used by biologists and photographers in the field to document the diversity of life. Some of the gear is used by RAEI staff, but many of the recipients of the donated items are residents of impoverished regions in Ecuador, Mexico, and Cameroon.

"Biologists and guides working in poor nations often don't have the resources they need to work effectively", said Dr. Paul S. Hamilton, Executive Director of RAEI. This program will put cameras and other crucial tools in the hands of those that can use them best, and need them the most. The program works like this: residents of targeted study areas are chosen for their knowledge of ecosystems and abilities to conduct field work. They are then given basic gear like cameras, GPS units, snake hooks, and data sheets, along with training and a research manual. They are also taught the technical skills needed to take photos and field data, and given instructions on how to get their photos and data to biologists who can use them.

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney (FL-16) today introduced legislation to protect the Everglades and surrounding communities from dangerous, imported snakes like African rock pythons and boa constrictors. Rooney’s bill would restrict the importation of specific breeds of snakes, which continue to cause extensive damage to the Everglades, into the United States.

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Rooney’s bill would add the following species of snakes to the “Lacey Act,” effectively banning them from importation into the United States: Burmese python, northern African python, southern African python, reticulated python, green anaconda, yellow anaconda, Beni or Bolivian python, DeSchauensee’s anaconda, and boa constrictor.

The mishap has caused bigger problems for the crocodile, which has not eaten or had a bowel movement in four weeks and appears depressed and in pain.

"The animal is not feeling well," said Alexandra. "His behavior has changed, he moves very little and swims much less than he used to."

Doctors tried to whet the crocodile's appetite this week by feeding him live quail rather than the pork or beef he usually gets once a week. The quail were injected with vitamins and a laxative, but while Gena smothered one bird, he didn't eat it.

He also won't play with three fellow African crocodiles, despite being the leader in the group. Crocodiles can live up to 100 years.

Maybe I wasn't careful with it but, I think that zoo managers should think about human mistakes.

Last year its owners gave up and walked away, allowing the house to fall into foreclosure - deciding that was a better option than living with the serpents slithering around in the ceilings and walls.

It was taken over by the lender, Chase Bank. Now Realty Quest associate broker Todd Davis is faced with the daunting task of trying to sell it.

That task would be hard enough with the current market, but once the slithery occupants are factored in, you have to feel a pang of sympathy for the optimistic Mr Davis.

Even his decision to slash the price from the estimated value of $175,000 to $109,000 may not be enough.

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Even more horrible for those living there. Previous owners describe the terror of trying to sleep at night, never knowing when your bed could be invaded, in a YouTube video from as far back as 2006.

"Recently, two squirrel species were discovered to anoint their bodies with rattlesnake scent as a means of concealing their odour from these chemosensory predators," begins the study in the current Journal of Evolutionary Biology. It was written by a team led by Barbara Clucas of the University of Washington in Seattle.

The two ground squirrel species chew up shed snake skins and lick their fur to acquire the scent of their predators.

In the study, Clucas and colleagues track back the origins of protective snake scents on squirrels, first by checking the popularity of such chemical disguises among 11 squirrel species, including two kinds of chipmunk. In field trials, the team checked the squirrels fondness for rattlesnake, weasel (another predator) and deer (a non-predator included as a test) stinks. The team also tested the fondness of 15 wild North Pacific rattlesnakes for mice burrows that did and didn't smell of their kind.

Biologists say the entire population of anacondas in one of the jewels of the Amazon basin will be wiped out within three years because of the deadly effect on the snakes of the insect repellant used by most backpackers to help protect against malaria.

The number of tourists going on tours of the pampas that snake there way through jungle and grasslands 250 miles north of La Paz has exploded from a few hundred to nearly 12,000 a year in the past decade.

Travellers are enticed by the promise of getting up close and personal with the world's largest snake - sometimes picking them up and hlding them - as well as swimming with river dolphins, catching pirhanas, and spotting monkeys, sloths and an array of other flora and fauna.

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He added: "A study has been carried out by other biologists which shows the ecosystem will collapse in three years if things continue as they are."

The fear is that insects, fish and smaller amphibians would be wiped out within the river basin, resulting in the collapse of the entire food chain.

"For a long time we thought it was a little dinosaur jaw and that led us down the wrong path," she said.

"We kept coming back saying, ‘What is this thing?' We thought it might be a fish, a reptile -- anything that had teeth at that time."

Arbour made a breakthrough when she compared the bone against a known Chinese species of pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived during the Cretaceous period that often grew to the size of a small airplane.

"The teeth of our fossil were small and set close together," Arbour said. "They reminded me of piranha teeth, designed for pecking away at meat."

Scientists performed only a cursory examination of the fossils—enough to determine that they belonged to an ancient crocodile—before the slabs were transferred to two museums in Italy.

The fossils sat unstudied until 2009, when scientists decided to examine them again in more detail.

Analysis of the embedded bones revealed a skull and a few vertebrae that belonged to a previously unknown species of 165-million-year-old prehistoric reptile now named Neptunidraco ammoniticus.

"It was incredible", said Dr. Moore. "We went in looking for one missing species and found a treasure trove of others. That, to me, represents a welcome dose of resilience and hope for the people and wildlife of Haiti."

With large-scale deforestation leaving the country less than two-percent of its original forest cover and degrading most of the fresh water ecosystems Haitians depend on, the cloud forests of the southwest mountains stand as two of the last remaining pockets of environmental health and natural wealth in Haiti. In fact, the Massif de la Hotte has been highlighted by the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) as the third-highest site-level conservation priority in the world, with 15 endemic amphibian species found there and nowhere else.

"A common assumption about Haiti is that there is nothing left to save", said Moore, who also documents his findings as a photographer with the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). "That is not entirely true. There are biologically rich pockets intact, despite tremendous environmental pressures. Haiti now has the opportunity to design their reconstruction plans around these pockets, and grow them, so they can more effectively act as natural buffers to climate change and natural disasters."

BP cleanup crews returned to work Monday after a 10 day break, WKRG reports, and they seem to have their work more than cut out for them. Tarballs have been washing up all along the shores of Alabama's Fort Morgan beach.

According to the Press-Register, they range in size from as small as a nickel to as large as a person's palm. The tarballs are so plentiful on the beach that they are seldom more than an inch apart from each other on shore.

In a BP press release, the company says, "We've stated all along that we expect the beaches to be clean by spring break 2011 tourism season. That's been our goal and commitment all along and we are making steady progress towards meeting that goal."

She was returning from work on Thursday when she drove by the gator and promptly had to back up for a double-take. Luckily, Sylvia wasn't frightened enough to miss out on a great photo opportunity. "I thought this is great...I'm going to snap a picture and send it to my grandkids so they think I'm one of the coolest grandmas in Florida," she said.
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After sending the picture to her local news station she also contacted a biologist who believes the gator is really just half-albino. That said, he says he has never seen or heard of one. But Gary Morse from Florida Fish and Wildlife feels the orange color might be from some environmental element.

Regardless, the University of Florida Gators might have a new mascot.

The order fulfills Strickland's end of a deal brokered by his administration with the Humane Society of the United States, other animal rights groups and Ohio's agribusiness industry. The agreement prompted the Humane Society to withdraw a ballot issue containing a litany of restrictions on pet ownership and treatment and livestock care.
In a statement, he said the agreement "will keep Ohio's vital agriculture industry profitable while appropriately updating animal care standards."
"This rule will help protect Ohioans from deaths and serious injuries caused by attacks from dangerous wild animals held in private ownership," he said.
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"Dangerous wild animals do not belong in the backyards and basements of private citizens," he said. "It's bad for the animals and dangerous for people. This emergency order is good for Ohio, and we look forward to seeing it implemented in the months ahead."
As an emergency measure, Strickland's order is temporary, running through March 6. However, (incoming governor) Kasich said Thursday that he supports the ban in concept.
"We don't want exotic animals here where somebody's bringing something in and then some neighbor gets hurt. So we'll look at it," he said during a news conference announcing three new cabinet directors. "It sounds reasonable, but just let me take a look at it. I would be inclined to say we should continue it."

Underweight tablets may not contain the full amount of active ingredient within a single tablet, a consumer may not receive the prescribed dose. This may cause the infection the drug was intended to treat to worsen or recur, which could be life-threatening when treating severe infections. To date, Teva Pharmaceuticals, U.S.A. has not received any adverse events associated with the use of this product lot.

Wholesalers and retailers have been previously notified of this recall via overnight notification on 10/25/10 and are in the process of returning this product lot. Consumers who have lot 312566 in their possession are instructed to cease using the product and return it to their pharmacy. Wholesalers and retailers should cease distribution and examine their inventory immediately.

Hartland, Wisconsin, Triad Group, a manufacturer of over-the-counter products has initiated a voluntary product recall involving ALL LOTS of ALCOHOL PREP PADS, ALCOHOL SWABS, and ALCOHOL SWABSTICKS manufactured by Triad Group but which are private labeled for many accounts to the consumer level. This recall involves those products marked as STERILE as well as non-sterile products. This recall has been initiated due to concerns from a customer about potential contamination of the products with an objectionable organism, namely Bacillus cereus. We are, out of an abundance of caution, recalling these lots to ensure that we are not the source of these contamination issues.

Use of contaminated Alcohol Prep Pads, Alcohol Swabs or Alcohol Swabsticks could lead to life-threatening infections, especially in at risk populations, including immune suppressed and surgical patients. To date we have received one report of a non-life-threatening skin infection.

Alcohol Prep Pads, Alcohol Swabs and Alcohol Swabsticks are used to disinfect prior to an injection. They were distributed nationwide to retail pharmacies and are packaged in individual packets and sold in retail pharmacies in a box of 100 packets. The affected Alcohol Prep Pads, Alcohol Swabs and Alcohol Swabsticks can be identified by either “Triad Group,” listed as the manufacturer, or the products are manufactured for a third party and use the names listed below in their packaging:
Cardinal Health
PSS Select
VersaPro
Boca/ Ultilet
Moore Medical
Walgreens
CVS
Conzellin

These products were distributed in the United States, Canada and Europe.

"We married these pythons to ask for health and prosperity in our village," said 41-year-old Neth Vy, owner of female python named Chamrouen.

"We were told (by fortunetellers) that the two pythons are husband and wife and they need to live together, and if we don't marry them we will meet bad luck," said Neth Vy, who found the then-tiny python while fishing 16 years ago.

He said since the snake became part of the household, the family's living conditions had steadily improved and no misfortune had befallen them.

The male python, named Kroung Pich, was caught 12 days ago by Hin Mao, a 44-year-old, childless woman who said she regarded it as her son.

According to a death investigation by the Department of Children and Families, Jaren Hare's mother, Sheryl, was concerned about her daughter's ability to care for the python and a smaller snake.

Sheryl Hare told a DCF investigator that a week before the attack, she offered to buy rats for the snakes because the couple had neither jobs nor money. She said she also offered to get sealed containers for the snakes and to keep the snakes at her home.

Both offers were rejected, she told investigators.

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Darnell recalled how the python snatched a roadkill squirrel from his hand about a month before the attack.

(Department of Environment Conservation Officer James Maguire) said the flooding of the Murrumbidgee River is the most likely cause of the frog's resurgence and said there is really only one way to ensure the frogs do not disappear again.

"It's all about the water really," he said.

"If we can get environmental water back into these wetland systems annually or every second year, then we'd be looking pretty good to their population there.

"Also vegetation wise, we need to be managing the systems so they're well vegetated so the frogs have a good habitat to hide and lay eggs in."

Mr Maguire said monitoring of the Murrumbidgee's wetlands will be stepped up, following the discovery.