Be Careful What You Prepare For Dinner - It May Get The First Bite...

...and that bite might just be fatal as it reportedly was in the case of chef Peng Fan late of China. Yes, that 'late of' part means he is now deceased. He had been preparing a culinary delicacy of Spitting Cobra when he picked up the severed head to discard it and the perky little thing chomped down on him, injecting him with a lethal dose of cobra venom. As too many people learn, the hard way, he learned too late that a snake's severed head can still bite, after death, due to reflex action. For more on the story, go to the following link but be advised there are some graphic pics of decapitated snakes: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2732523/Chef-dies-spitting-cobra-cooking-bit-hand-20-minutes-cut-head-off.html#ixzz3BDxjApWc

A hat tip and my thanks to Deb H for this contribution to the LIHS Blogger.

All the best,
Glenn B

Pepe The Missionary...

...may be a strange name for a tortoise but that was his name since he lived a good deal of his life at a Franciscan monastery in the Galapagos. Deb H sent in a link to an article about it so you can read about him here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2732515/Famous-giant-tortoise-Pepe-Missionary-one-photographed-animals-Galapagos-dies-aged-60.html

Since the author of that piece seemingly has a difficult time with basic math, you can also read more about Pepe here, they seemed to have accounted for his age a little better than in the first one:
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2014/08/23/famous-galapagos-giant-tortoise-pepe-missionary-dies/

For some reason, now I have an urge to lose some weight.

A hat tip and my thanks to Deb for the link.

All the best,
GB

LIHS Meeting Dates 2014-2015

The LIHS monthly meeting dates for the 2014-2015 membership year are as follow:

September 14

October 26

November 16

December 7

January 18

February 15

March 15

April 12

May 3

June 7

 

I don't have any information as to meeting topics or speakers but will post it when I get it. The meetings are held at the Conference Center at SUNY Farmingdale, usually beginning at 1PM and ending by 4 (almost always end somewhat earlier). For directions click on the link: http://www.lihs.org/files/meetingplace.htm. Hope to see you at some of the meetings.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Summer Is Almost Gone - Did You Take Any Herp Photos

I hope everyone of the LIHS membership had a great summer so far and will enjoy what we have left of it. My guess would be that at least some of you got some nice herp photos over the summer. I would be very happy to publish some of them here on LIHS Blogger if you want to share them with the LIHS membership and the blogosphere. Of course, I'll take any herps photos that you took and want to share, they don't necessarily have to have been taken over the summer. For instance my tortoise eyed view of my Hermann's tortoises - taken just a couple of minutes ago.

Female Hermann's Tortoise (left) with male on the right
and just a small bit of a Russian between them.

All the best,
Glenn B

Turtle Talk - Maybe Dr. Doolittle Had Something There

It seems that turtles have been talking to one another, actually communicating with one another. That goes for at least one species of river turtle (species name not given - what an omission by the reporter) in South America. Scientists believe they are communicating with their offspring and actually showing a low level of parental care. An interesting article about this can be found at this link which was supplied by Deb H (hat tip for and my thanks to her): http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28807901#?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter.

So it seems that Dr. Doolittle may have known something with all his talking to the animals.

All the best,
Glenn B

Herp News: Now That Was One Big Gator

It was 15 feet long and weighed in at 1,011.5 pounds. In fact, it has been reported as the largest alligator ever taken in the state of Alabama. I keep using the past tense because it was taken by hunters, during Alabama's alligator hunting season, and now is pretty much a memory (probably lots of photos, maybe several dinners and a few suitcases and who knows - maybe it will be mounted).

I have fished and hunted (collecting trips) for herps in swamps down south. While I have been mindful that I may encounter an alligator (or even a crocodile in some locations in Florida), and have encountered several - even some large ones, I have never really been concerned about running into a monster sized one like that. While I have always exercised a respectful amount of caution, I guess that the next time I am in the Everglades or maybe the Dismal Swamp, I will be a lot more cautious. Wow, that was a big one and I sure would hate to be the guy in the headlines if one like that grabbed hold of me cause chances would be it would be the last story ever about me.

See this article for a bit more info: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/18/15-foot-1000-pound-alligator-captured-in-alabama/

All the best,
Glenn B

Florida - Another Alien Invasion Underway

Deb H sent in a link to this interesting article about the Argentine Black & White Tegu which is yet another invasive lizard species in Florida.

See: A Hungry Little Squatter...

It makes an interesting read and reminds us of how we, as herp keepers, need to be responsible with the animals we keep. I agree with a lot of what they say but have to point out that I highly doubt their assertion that reptile breeders let loose tegus with the hopes they would breed in the wild and then could be caught to sell in the pet trade. Their reasoning that this would be less expensive than breeding them seems pretty far fetched as a lizard in the enclosure is worth about 5 in the bush. You would have to be either or both a reckless gambler thinking you would ever catch as many as you could have bred or a moron to think releasing them would create a steady flow of wild caught animals on which your business could depend.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

Leaping Lizards Batman - What A Telling Tail...

...to illustrate why lizards should never bungee jump.

 

Thanks to Deb H for that one.

All the best,
GB

Tortoises Are Pretty Smart...

...and if you don't believe it, read on:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2716502/Tortoises-tech-savvy-Animals-trained-use-touchscreens-earn-treats.html

The link to the article was supplied by Deb H, who as usual gets a hat tip and my thanks.

All the best,
GB

Do Kids Really Get Salmonella From Putting Turtles...

...into their mouths or is it that turtles get salmonella from putting kids into theirs?

 

Maybe kids should come with a salmonella warning sheet.

All the best,
Glenn B