I woke with a rude shock and was petrified by what was happening around me. My whole world was rushing by so fast that I hung on with all the stickiness that my toes allowed. My eyes just saw a blur and it was so disconcerting that I shut them tight.

The air stank, particles of black muck settled on me clogging the pores of my skin, it became so hot that my toes were on the verge of frying, and my eardrums just couldn't handle the noise.

Finally, when the world came to a standstill, I was so numb that I very nearly fell down from dizziness. I was just gathering my wits when she yelled: “Hey Rom, there's a tree frog here. What to do?” The man called Rom answered: “Just put him over there by the bushes.” She was mortified: “Here! At the mechanic's? He'll die.” Rom tried to reassure her: “No, no. He'll be fine.” Was he nuts? How could I survive in this hot tinderbox of a concrete jungle? She hissed: “Give me that plastic bag.” “What are you going to do?”

Just as I was about to make good my escape from their evil clutches, she caught me with the bag. She sprinkled some water from her bottle, threw some green leaves and knotted it tight. She bit a small hole in the bag and tucked me into her knapsack. That was how I came to be frognapped!

"Treefrogs are a particularly important group to study for understanding amphibian diversity, because they can make up nearly half of all amphibian species in some rainforest sites," says lead author John J. Wiens, an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. "Treefrogs also offer a striking example of the high local-scale biodiversity in the Amazon. At some sites in the Amazon rainforest, there are more treefrog species in a small area than there are across all of North America or Europe."

The researchers compiled data on the number of treefrog species at 123 sites around the world and analyzed the data with a new evolutionary tree (based on DNA sequence data) for 360 treefrog species. They discovered that the richness of treefrog species in the Amazon rainforest sites is not explained by wet, tropical climatic conditions alone.

"In fact, we found that many tropical rainforest sites that are outside the Amazon Basin have no more species than do some sites in temperate North America," explains Dr. Wiens.

Just before Christmas the unseasonably heavy rains near Malindi town washed a family of hippopotamuses down the Sabaki River and out to sea. The residents of the town tried in vain to urge the family back up the estuary. When the Tsunami hit Malindi, the sea turned angry, the sky clouded over and for a moment the hippos disappeared and were forgotten as all efforts went to rescuing the stranded fishermen.

The next day only one hippo could be seen. It was the baby and he was stranded on the reef. Hundreds of people came to watch the efforts to rescue the hippo. It took ropes, boats, nets and cars —though the hippo was tired he was still fast and slippery. It took a brave rugby tackle to finally capture him, and the cheering of the crowd could be heard over a kilometer away.

Lafarge Eco Systems agreed to provide a home for the baby hippo and I rushed to Malindi to collect him. Tangled in fishing ropes, angry and tired, the hippo did not seem to appreciate our rescue at all. As we left for Mombasa, the crowd unanimously agreed to name him 'Owen' in honor of the volunteer who tackled him to the ground.

Exhausted, confused and extremely frightened, Owen immediately ran to the safety of a giant tortoise when we released him in Haller Park. Mzee, our 130 year old tortoise, just happened to be nearby and he was very surprised by Owen's odd behavior cowering behind him as a baby hippo does to its mother. Mzee quickly came to terms with his new friend and even returned signs of affection. The unusual relationship between this baby hippo and the ancient tortoise amazed people the world over and has featured in most countries on television and in news papers.

“At first I thought it was a common species”, said Thy, who works as a herpetologist with the Ministry of Environment and Fauna & Flora International (FFI), “but looking closer I realised it was something I didn’t recognise.”

These cryptic species of reptile are easily overlooked and previous to this discovery there are no records for blind lizards occurring in Cambodia. The species was finally named the Dalai Mountain blind lizard Dibamus dalaiensis, after the mountain on which it was found.
....
“For one of our national colleagues to discover this unusual species and make the description is particularly satisfying,” said Berry Mulligan, FFI’s Cambodia operations manager. “It shows that the capacity of Cambodian scientists is now reaching an international standard.”

Holding up a coastal horned lizard, (Phrynosoma coronatum) Scott asks:

“If I wanted to know where this lizard survives and where it doesn’t, I’d go to a museum and look at all the specimens collected over the last 100 years or so. It used to live in most of the chaparral around here, in the Bay Area of San Francisco.”

“But this is one of those species that is rapidly disappearing. And we’re not exactly sure why. It may be climate change. It may be changes to the ants that make up its diet. It might be the urban sprawl that is isolating its habitat. “

“We need to know exactly where this species persists. And, we need more data.”

Scott’s solution is not an army of well-funded professionals with sophisticated equipment. That isn’t going to happen. He wants you — the citizen scientist and a piece of equipment you likely already own — your iPhone. And, of course the app.

Over the past few years, the Phoenix Herpetological Society has been keeping ever larger numbers of desert tortoises, said Wendy Cassidy, tortoise-program coordinator. As more natural desert habitat is lost to development, people find the tortoises and drop them off at the reptile sanctuary in north Scottsdale.

But lately, many people who had kept tortoises in their yards have lost their homes and are moving away or into apartments, she said.

"So many tortoises are abandoned," she said. "A lot of Realtors call and say they have them. These tortoises can't live in an apartment."

Cassidy said the society is eager to adopt out the creatures, which cannot be released into the wild once they've been in captivity. This is a good time to begin the adoption process, she said, because the animals have just come out of hibernation and will have plenty of time to adjust to a new habitat before hibernating again in October.

Because the tortoises are protected, and each is implanted with a microchip and registered with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the adoption process is lengthy, requiring an application and interview.

In one of the worst disasters, around 150 Olive Ridley turtles got trapped in a single net and found dead on Kothapeta beach under Vajrapukotturu mandal in Srikakulam district on Friday.

The village sarpanch, Mr Ambati Raju, said he never saw so many dead turtles in his life and blamed the fishermen from Visakhapatnam for not taking preventive measures.

He defended that the local fishermen never used such nets in which the turtles get trapped and dead.

The founder chairman of Visakha society for prevention and care of animals, Mr Pradeep Nath, said the disaster took place as the mechanised boats and trawlers did not using turtle excluding devices.

The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo veterinarians, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program have joined forces to answer a perplexing wildlife question: Why are bog turtles getting sick?

The dilemma shines a light on North America's smallest turtle; an adult bog turtle reaches only 4.5 inches in length and as many ounces. Wildlife managers working in a few known bog turtle habitats in the Northeast have reported higher than average mortality rates for these threatened reptiles in the past few years.

To determine the cause of the increase in mortality at some sites and identify the baseline health condition at other sites, WCS's Global Health Program -- based at the Bronx Zoo -- is lending its expertise in wildlife health assessments. WCS health experts have joined federal and state wildlife managers in the field at locations in New York State and Massachusetts.

While state officials are trying to confirm the alleged attack, which happened Thursday morning in the Upper Keys, the couple says they have the bite and scratch marks to prove it.

Gregory, 23, and 20-year-old Poulson were kayaking at around 3:30 a.m. after a night of partying when they're vessel was flipped, they said.
As they scrambled to get back to the kayak, each was bitten on the leg. Poulson also suffered scratch marks on her side.

"I was saying how pretty it was out there and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else because I am from Ohio and then the boat just flipped," said Poulson, who moved to the Keys to study marine biology at Florida Keys Community College. "I was screaming 'Oh my God!'"

[....]

Unlike people's usually view of the croc based off the prehistoric-looking, aggressive saltwater crocodiles of Africa, American crocs are fairly shy and prefer flight over a fight, Mazzotti said.
He said Thursday's incident wasn't by a man-eating predator, but a scared reptile who was minding its own business.

"I wouldn't describe it as an attack. It was an escape attempt by the crocodile,” Mazzotti said.

"They are not grabbing you to eat you. They are giving a warning, 'Don’t mess with me.'"

Once heavily hunted for their skin, which was heavily valued as a source of high-quality leather, the Morelet's crocodile began its slow climb toward survival back in 1970, when Mexico (where most of the animals live) banned hunting of all crocodiles and caimans. That year, it was also protected under the predecessor to the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), which prevented any import of the animals or their parts into the country, a ban that continued after the ESA was enacted in 1973. In 1975 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listed the species under its Appendix I, which forbid any trading of the crocs except under special circumstances.

The years of protection did the trick. By 2000, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which maintains the Red List of Threatened Species, downgraded the crocodile from "Endangered" to "Lower risk/Conservation dependent."

Then, last year, CITES reassessed the species once again, and reported in March 2010 (pdf) that "there is currently no evidence that disease, native or alien predator species, tourism, or scientific activities represent negative factors or threats for the wild populations of the Morelet's crocodile." CITES also found that Mexico's legal protections are effective and adequately enforced, as are similar laws in Belize and Guatemala; and that there is a large enough captive population of the species to satisfy all domestic and part of the international demand for its leather. CITES thereby moved the species to its Appendix II, which allows for closely controlled trade.

He has proven the proteins in dragon venom are 10 times more potent than the human body's mechanisms for lowering blood pressure.

But the dragon proteins are not stable enough to treat high blood pressure in humans.

Associate Professor Fry says he is collaborating with chemists to try to make the predatory toxins last longer, and find a way to deliver the treatment as a pill.

"Since we already have the sequences and we already have the venoms, we don't need to worry about the wild populations," he said.

"Rather we are using this information to try to bolster conservation efforts of showing why we need to protect these magnificent creatures.

Jacqui Edwards, prosecuting, said Laverick had been drinking when he came into Ms West’s home, in Linfield Ash, Coulby Newham, on April 6.

Laverick told Ms West she would not be able to move her snake or the family dog in a planned house move, adding: “That dog’s only going if it’s stuffed.”

He became increasingly aggressive and called the family to the foot of the stairs where he held the snake. Ms Edwards said Laverick threatened to bite the snake’s head off and added: “His 12-year-old son was screaming for him not to do it, but the appellant bit the snake’s head from the body and two-year-old started to scream."

“Victoria West describes herself as being in shock and found herself placing the two parts of the snake into the tank.

“She effectively told him to get out of the house, but he began pulling her hair. The eldest son took the youngest into his arms.

“She was in fear and struck Laverick twice in the face but was too frightened to call the police.

“He called to the dog and said, ‘if you think that’s bad wait ‘til I cut the dog’s head off’.”

In 2008, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) enacted a ruling that shut down the pumps controlling irrigation of the San Joaquin River Valley (California) in an attempt to protect an endangered native fish. It is estimated that this ruling cost the local economy thousands of jobs and nearly wiped out the region’s farming industry. When several state and local entities challenged this decision in 2009, a US District Court judge overruled the FWS’s “arbitrary and capricious” decision, citing their use of “sloppy science” and stating that the “best available science” had been ignored. The judge also criticized the FWS for their failure to consider the cost this decision would, and did have on the general public and economy (see: Decision). This was only the second time in history that a FWS decision was overturned.
Rather than take and implement the constructive criticism doled out by the US District Court, however, the FWS has chosen to ignore it and continue to arrogantly pursue its own agenda yet again.
The FWS is now seeking to make the interstate trade and transport of Boa constrictors, Burmese and Indian pythons, and several other large constricting snakes a felony based entirely on a pair of highly criticized reports published in 2008 and 2009 by Gordon Rodda and Robert Reed of the US Geological Service (USGS). (It bears mentioning that the FWS and the USGS are sister organizations under the Department of the Interior).

In 1954, Swaroop and Grab put together the World Health Organization's first global snake bite estimates but they lacked real data from India; they quoted a mere 20,000 deaths. Were they simply using the 1889 figures? In 1972, two Japanese researchers, Sawai and Homma, took a crack at the problem. They visited numerous hospitals around the country and did some extrapolation and came up with 10,000 deaths per year with the caveat that 90 per cent of the victims never approached a hospital.

Then in 1998, Chippaux estimated that snakes killed between 9,900 and 21,600 people annually — this was when our population was on the threshold of hitting one billion. In 2005, WHO estimated 50,000 Indians died of snake bite, but in a study it funded in 2008, the fatality was pegged at 11,000. The same year, the government of India jumped into the number-crunching fray and came up with, ahem, 1,400 mortalities! Apparently, six of the worst-affected states never sent their figures.

These estimates don't tell us much about the nature of the problem — has it worsened or become better? So far there has been a little bit of science, but in the face of a huge logistical challenge, numbers were extrapolated to arrive at wildly unstable numbers. Sort of like our wildlife census data.

A part of the problem is that snake bite is not a “notifiable disease”, that is, the Health Ministry has not issued a data-collection directive to the states as it has done in the case with AIDS. The other problem is, of course, the obdurate belief in country medicine and quacks rather than anti-venom serum.

Dr. Craig Woods, a research veterinarian and BioVeteria’s General Manager, stated “BioVeteria chose to establish their headquarters in Arizona for several reasons, including Arizona’s strong comparative antivenom research programs such as University of Arizona’s Viper Institute. In addition, Arizona represents the epicenter for venomous snakebites in pets, therefore giving our team the ability to directly assist in treating dogs.”

BioVeteria Life Sciences, LLC conducts a significant portion of their R&D in Arizona at various labs and veterinary specialty hospitals. Dr. Woods stated, “Veterinarians treat about 25 times more venomous snakebites compared to physicians, so the veterinary market need for antivenom is substantial. I have seen first hand the significant benefit of this new antivenom for dogs, and am excited to be part of such a needed program from veterinary medicine.” It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of dogs are bitten by rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and other pit vipers in the United States each year. Many of these dogs require antivenom to avoid severe complications or death. Currently, there is only one approved antivenom for veterinary medicine so the market opportunity for additional antivenoms is substantial.

Conservation groups are suing the federal government over its failure to finalize a protection zone for endangered leatherback sea turtles off the Pacific coast of the United States.

The groups filed suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court, saying the National Marine Fisheries Service missed a deadline to designate 70,600 square miles off the Pacific Coast as a turtle safety zone.

Leatherbacks can grow up to 1,200 pounds and an immense range, swimming from Indonesia to the U.S. West Coast to lay eggs.

The Center for Biological Diversity and other groups' complaint says the government agreed in January 2010 to create the safety zone rules within a year.

"Around this time last year, we were practicing long jump and triple jump in these pits and some students found some turtles and turtle eggs," says Fiona Lockhart, who along with classmate Kolby Zinger-Harris, are documenting the entire project.

"We rescued some of the turtles and put them in an aquarium, nurtured them and took care of them until they were big enough and we released them back into Fascieux Creek," says Lockhart.

The little reptiles are Western Painted Turtles and they're struggling for survival.

"I've had kids in tears because of this and this should be all protected," says KLO teacher Michelle Hamilton. "The turtles are also considered an at risk species. They're blue listed, a special concern with the species at risk act, so it has to be protected."

"This area (the schoolyard) was originally a wetland before it was developed," says Zinger-Harris. "Since the turtles have come back we're trying to recreate the wetland and build it again so that they have somewhere to come to every year."

The long jump pit was moved to the opposite end of the schoolyard since the discovery, and on Friday a large number of KLO grade seven students began the work of rebuilding the area and protecting the habitat.

It's a project that will become a learning tool at the school for years to come. The lessons learned won't simply include learning about the environment and habitats, but also how students can bring about effective change and learn to deal with real world politics.

It would seem that Daemonosaurus represents a lineage that did not extend into the later Mesozoic," said researcher Hans-Dieter Sues, a vertebrate paleontologist at the National Museum of Natural History.

The newfound dinosaur's fearsome name comes from the Greek "daimon" for "evil spirit," "sauros" for "reptile," and "chauliodus" for "outstanding teeth." The name alludes to legends of evil spirits at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, where the remains of this species were discovered, and to the large, serrated front teeth found in its upper jaw.

"The huge front teeth of Daemonosaurus would have been useful for seizing and killing prey," Sues told LiveScience. Moreover, its short, deep snout "suggests powerful biting."

Based off the size of this skull and the bodily proportions of other early dinosaurs, "I would estimate an overall length of 5 feet, as most of these animals have really long tails, and Daemonosaurus would have stood as tall as a large dog," Sues said

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens was quoted by MSNBC as saying he probably "crawled up on a chain link fence" and used his weight to push it down in order to make his escape. Pretty smart move by that alligator.

Finding the lovesick alligator won't be easy. The nature center is near the Arkansas river and on the edge of swamps and bayous. There are plenty of his cousins in those waters, too.

Worse, they never put a microchip into him, so any technological means of tracking him can't be used. Stephens said they wanted to keep the center "as natural as possible," thus the decision to not put any implants into him.

Wildlife officials said they found the alligator, which was about five feet long, dead behind the apartment. Authorities said they also found parts from other alligators and venom that had been milked from a snake.

[....]

"We just think its disregard for that animal. When the animal swallows a hook like that it's a death warrant," said Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Alligator Program Specialist Ricky Flynt.

Along with the alligator and the alligator parts, wildlife officials also found venom milked from a Copperhead snake.

"I'm a blow dart gun enthusiast. I like blow dart guns. Copperhead venom, it could help in taking down something a little bigger. (Alligator) Hide? I have no idea what I was going to do with that, just know I wanted it," Randle said.

The South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center has been around for 15 years, and since that time there have been no incidents of anyone being hurt.

But that changed this past Saturday when a 10 year old Corpus Christi girl walking with her family was bitten by a diamond back rattlesnake. That family is asking that the gardens be closed down. The Amado Garza family has hired an attorney to make their message clear they say, they know the botanical gardens are suppose to get you as close to nature as possible, but not at the cost of risking your life.

The ploy? A lifelike snake—looking something like a coiled python—in a cooler. Victims of the joke were directed to get bottled water from the cooler. Their reactions to finding the snake were recorded on a video that has garnered more than 45,000 views on YouTube.

“My property manager Sonny (Lunsford) has been doing that to everybody he can at the Charlotte Auto Fair for the last several years—putting a ‘Free Drinks’ sign on that cooler and setting it out near where he parks,” Earnhardt told Sporting News after qualifying third in Friday’s Nationwide time trials.

This time about 50 rescuers took about two hours --- and three nets of varying sizes -- to finally bring the turtle under control.

Some of the workers swam with the netted reptile, leading it into a cage which was escorted by two boats to an islet where its condition is to be assessed.

"This is one of the most endangered animals in the world and there's very little known about it," said Tim McCormack of the Asian Turtle Programme, a Hanoi-based conservation and research group.

Local media reported that the critically endangered soft-shell turtle, which weighs about 200 kilograms (440 pounds), had been injured by fish hooks and small red-eared turtles which have appeared in the lake in recent years.

The animal's status in Vietnam stems from its history and its home in Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Returned Sword), rather than its rarity.

"It's very important culturally here," said McCormack.

Little Tikes will work with the Sea Turtle Conservancy to shine light on imminent threats to sea turtles including climate change, marine pollution, marine debris, oil spills, and artificial beach lighting. Little Tikes will sponsor a turtle in the yearly "Tour de Turtles" race and will donate a portion of the proceeds from co-branded turtle merchandise to the Sea Turtle Conservancy .
"Little Tikes makes products that are safe and durable for kids, and we believe in making this a safe planet for sea turtles as well," said Rosanne Kubitsy, Senior Director of Marketing, Little Tikes. "We want to make sure that turtles grow to their adulthood age of 33 years -- so celebrating our product's 33rd anniversary gives parents the opportunity to educate their kids about sea turtles in a fun way!"

Vietnamese and Australian scientists found the first recorded specimens of Leptobrachium leucops, living at an altitude of between 1,558 and 1,900 meters along the border between Lam Dong and Khanh Hoa provinces.

The upper portion of the creature's irises are white, the news site reported. The animal is also distinguished from similar frogs by its small body size and dark belly.

Investigators will look at whether some shrimp boats taking part in an emergency shrimping season ahead of the Gulf oil spill removed devices from their nets that are intended to allow turtles to escape, said Sheryan Epperly, sea turtle team leader for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Wildlife officials say at least 35 endangered sea turtles have washed up on Gulf coast beaches, but it's not clear what's killing them. Necropsies have shown no signs of oil.

The Washington, D.C.-based conservation group Oceana has said officials need to determine what is killing the turtles quickly. Some experts have speculated the turtles may have eaten fish contaminated by the oil spill.

“The taxpayers of this island are being taken advantage of,” he said. “I’m sure the board members aren’t aware of a lot of these facts, so we’re going to educate the public about something that is going on that is very sad, and is taking jobs.”

Cera is part of an organization that has been watching USDA activity throughout the United States. Many are trappers who have been put out of work by the governmental agency, which, in its Wikipedia definition, “is one of the few Federal Agencies that actively competes with private sector companies. Aided by taxpayer funding they are often able to undercut the prices charged by private companies.”

Cera, who was the original trapper for Lee County’s iguana eradication program, said he had few qualms about the agency taking over when his contract was not renewed.

“This is not a sour grapes effort on my part,” he said. “But after watching three years of the same information in their public presentations, hearing a lot of ‘I don’t knows’ from their expert and having one of their researchers admit that they based their research on my original research, I started to do a little researching of my own.”