Thursday, May 29, 2014

I Have Loved Tortoises...

...since I was a young kid. I remember going to the Bronx Zoo, or maybe it was the Catskill Game Farm (or both), when I was 8 and younger, and riding on giant tortoises. At least the tortoises seemed huge to me and chances are that they were big ones that they let kids climb aboard, back then, for the slow motion ride of their lives. I was heart broken when the practice was no longer allowed.

Tortoises are magic reptiles, even more mystical than are turtles. While many folks, if not most of them, have an aversion to other reptiles and to the amphibians, almost everyone likes a turtle or at least finds them less repulsive than a slithery snake or a slimy frog. Yet, some few (in the overall scale of things) find even turtles to be repugnant. Somehow though, when it comes to their dry land cousins, even most of us seem to have an open space in our hearts for tortoises. They exude a personality (or is it an animalality because they surely are not persons) that says love us because: they are responsive to those who care for them or otherwise give them love, they give everlasting hope to those who have been the targets of the abuses at the hands of others (even of time itself since they live so long), that says even though I not aggressive - I am not defenseless, that shows them to be survivors because they have survived some of the harshest climates, on land, on our planet against all odds - even including relocation to inhospitable climes, that says 'be my friend and I will reciprocate'  - as they are among the most responsive reptiles known to mankind, and they have a look about them that makes them appear to hold the wisdom of the ages. They have more human-like attributes than may other creatures. My bet would be, that even if you don't love them, you find them at least somewhat fascinating.


Jonathan, a Seychelles Tortoise living on the island of St. Helena,
may be 182 years old. Thus, he well could be the longest lived land
animal currently surviving on the planet earth or even in the universe.
So when LIHS member Deb Hoppe sent me the following very interesting tortoise and human interest article, about Jonathan, I knew I would eventually have to post a link to it on the LIHS Blogger. Took me awhile but at last, here it is. See:
 
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26543021

Once again, my thanks to LIHS member Deb Hope, whom I would bet loves tortoises too, for another great blog submission.

All the best,
Glenn B

LIHS DINNER REMINDER and LIHS AUCTION REMINDER

The deadline to reserve a spot for the LIHS Annual Dinner is rapidly approaching. Last chance to pay for the dinner is Jun 1st. The dinner will take place on Saturday June 7th, at 7PM, at SUNY Farmingdale, more info here: .

Directions to the event can be found here:

http://www.lihs.org/files/meetingplace.htm

A campus map here: http://www.lihs.org/files/dinnermap.png

Also, don't forget that the LIHS Annual Auction will be held in the Conference Center at SUNY Farmingdale on June 8th commencing at 1PM. Fpr more info, see this link:

http://www.lihs.org/files/auction.pdf

All the best,
Glenn B

Friday, May 2, 2014

LIHS May Meeting and Other Upcoming Events

The Long Island Herpetological Society's Monthly meeting for May 2014, will be this Sunday, May 4th, in the Conference center at SUNY Farmingdale, NY. It is slated to run until 4PM but may end earlier. Open to members and the public, no admission fee. The will be a presentation called Madagascar Live by Erik Callendar !

Please also remember that the LIHS Annual Auction will take place during our June meeting on Sunday June 8th at 1PM in the Conference Center at SUNY Farmingdale.

Directions to SUNY Farmingdale can be found on the page at this link:

http://www.lihs.org/files/meetingplace.htm

A campus map showing the location of the Conference Center can be seen on the page at this link:

http://www.lihs.org/files/FSUNY_MAP.jpg

One other even is also coming up, the LIHS Annual Dinner. It will be held on Saturday evening, June 7th, at 7PM in the Campus Center, Building 08, at SUNY Farmingdale. A campus map showing the location of the Campus center can be found at this link: http://www.lihs.org/files/dinnermap.png. Please bear in mind that the dinner is open only to LIHS members. Payment for the dinner must be made by June 1st.

All the best,
Glenn B