THE MONITOR. Volume 22 Number 4 April 2011

Transcription

1 THE MONITOR NEWSLETTER OF THE HOOSIER HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY A non-profit organization dedicated to the education of its membership and the conservation of all amphibians and reptiles Volume 22 Number 4 April 2011 President's Message Jim Horton Welcome to spring folks! April is one of the most beautiful 30 days of the year. Neighborhoods and forests are blooming and the herps are emerging. It s time to get out and enjoy your wild Indiana! You won t want to miss Herpetology Weekend in Slade, KY. May 6&7. This is a great couple of days of field herping and evening presentations. Southeastern Kentucky is a wonderful place to spend a few days; especially in the beautiful setting of the Red River Gorge. Several HHS members will be there for the event. Hope to see you there! Our annual Hoosier Herpout will take place May 14 at Monroe Reservoir, in Bloomington. If you are into field herping and camping, this is the weekend for you! June 26 is another live herp display at Holiday Park. HHS volunteers are needed. Please contact me for more information. I d like to thank Roger and Holly Carter for their efforts in contributing articles for the Monitor. Without our original articles, we wouldn t have this quality newsletter offered every month to our members. Our trip to the Feline Rescue Center last month was a big hit! The weather turned out great and everyone had a great time learning about those incredible big cats. Thanks to our HHS members who participated. The HHS is in the process of designing new shirts. We ll keep you posted when they are ready. We are also in the works of creating a poster featuring the native snakes of Indianapolis. This poster will be an educational effort that will be donated to local non-profit institutions. Thanks to Mark and Sue of Hoosier Mouse for their donation of rodents to our raffle! Renewals Maryann Watson Paul Hofsommer Carl Schwartz DVM Welcome New Members! New Members Sara Saypack Michael Tharpe Jessica Cooley

2 April HHS Meeting Wednesday April 20th 7:30 p.m. Guest Speakers: Stacey Summitt & Ty Hoskins Topic: "Amphibians of Panama" Butler University, Room #150, new wing of Pharmacy Building The Hoosier Herpetological Society is proud to welcome Stacey Summitt and Ty Hoskins as April's guest speakers. Their topic will be "Amphibians of Panama". Stacey is in her second year teaching biology at University High School. She is a 2009 alum of Butler University, graduating magna cum laude with honors in Biological Sciences. She was the first intern in the Butler-Stri Internship Program, working in the Dr. Mike Ryan's field lab in Panama for the summer. Ty is a current student at Butler University and will graduate this May with a degree in Biological Sciences. He is currently working on his undergraduate thesis and has contributed much to Butler's Biology Department. Ty was also an intern in the Butler-Stri Internship program working in the field lab in Panama this past summer. They will be speaking on the various Amphibians of Panama and their experiences with field work in the Butler-STRI program. Be sure to check out all the cool frogs and other herps they found in the field! 20 th Annual Herpetology weekend - May 6&7 Slade, KY The weekend includes Saturday full of expert-led field trips to areas in the Red River Gorge and surrounding areas where adults and children alike are welcome to assist in locating as many species of herps as possible. The weekend also includes evening presentations (with pictures!!!) from field herpetologists accentuated by cool t-shirt sales, raffles, door prizes, and lots of other activities unique only to Natural Bridge State Park s Herpetology Weekend. Most Saturday fieldtrips will be offered at 9am and 1:30pm. Collection is prohibited. Friday and Saturday evening presentations will focus on reptile and amphibian natural history and conservation. Some demonstrations will include live venomous snakes! Registration fee upon arrival. $10/adult, $3/ages and free for ages 12 and under. 7:15 P.M. - 9:30 P.M. For more information, please call the park s Naturalist Office at or tyler.morgan@ky.gov. Friday Night Frogwatch Programs Eagle Creek Park Lean about frogs that call Eagle Creek Park home and then go out to visit a pond in search of frogs. April 15 (8:30pm-10pm), May 27 (9pm-10:30pm), June 3, 17 (9pm-10:30pm), July 8 & 22 (9pm-10:30pm), August 5 (9pm-10:30pm) $5.00/person - Meet at the Earth Discovery Center (in park) Pre-registration required or

3 KNIVES AND HERP ART (Part 6) Photos & story by Roger Carter This is a long, thin blade that could almost qualify as a small machete. The entire knife is eighteen and one-half inches long with the blade being twelve and three-quarters inches long to the snout of the snake figure and only one and five-sixteenths of an inch wide. The handle is the image of a snake coiled up with the blade held in its mouth almost as if the snake was swallowing the blade. There is no text engraved anywhere on the knife so I don t know what material it is, although there is a little rust on the back side of the blade which I didn t know was there until I examined this knife recently when I was taking pictures for this knife series and the image of the snake seems to be a copper like color with the eyes painted red. This blade is not sharp. Feline Rescue Center trip A review Jim Horton March 12 was a sunny, somewhat warm Saturday for spending some time outdoors. About 20 members of the HHS did just that. The drive to Centerpoint, Indiana is just around an hour west on I-70. While waiting for others to arrive at the entrance area, we saw several house cats wandering around the grounds. A large enclosure featured leopards is just to the right of the entrance. road kills (deer). This rescue is a 501-c non-profit so they rely heavily on donations from the private sector and from other sources. The rescue center has placed over 200 big cats such as tigers, lions, and cougars. They also house bobcats, servals, leopards, and other orphan species of cats. The E.F.R.C. offers more of a chance to get much closer to these majestic beasts than most zoos. Our tour guide told us that it takes a full day (8-5pm) of feeding before all cats are fed. Some of their donated feed comes from dairy farms and Ok, so big cats aren t herps but I did get to hear my first calls of the year from Chorus frogs which were sounding off in a swampy pond of a lion exhibit!

4 HHS Meeting Review March 16 Show and Tell Our last meeting was off to a late start but our members were able to show their favorite herps to members in the audience. We ve compiled a list of participating members: Roger Carter Carpet Python Holly Carter - Cribo Angela Thomas Fire skink, Schneider s skink, tokay gecko, labradorite frog statute. Ed Ferrer Bart Burmese Python, Rainbow Sinaloan milk snake, Rex California kingsnake Becky Edginton red phase Blood python Mark and Anthony Stokes Bearded Dragon Pat Hammond Pearl Island Boa, Costa Rican Boa, Cay Calker Boa Jim Horton Rubber Boas Cold weather and the potential range of invasive Burmese pythons Biological InvasionsVolume 12, Number 11, , DOI: /s Michael L. Avery, Richard M. Engeman, Kandy L. Keacher, John S. Humphrey, William E. Bruce, Tom C. Mathies and Richard E. Mauldin Abstract The Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) is established in Everglades National Park and neighboring areas in south Florida. Beyond its substantial ecological impacts to native fauna in south Florida, concerns have been raised as to its potential to occupy other parts of the USA, even as far north as Washington, DC. During a recent period of cold weather, seven of nine captive Burmese pythons held in outdoor pens at our facility in north-central Florida died, or would have died absent our intervention. This cold-induced mortality occurred despite the presence of refugia with heat sources. Our findings cast doubt on the ability of free-ranging Burmese pythons to establish and persist beyond the subtropical environment of south Florida. (Herpdigest Volume # 11 Issue # 14-3/24/11) HHS at Garfield Park, Indianapolis Holly Carter shows a carpet python If you are interested in an exhibit or presentation with live amphibians and reptiles, contact the HHS

5 11 th Annual Hoosier Herpout Saturday, May 14-9:00 A.M. Hardin Ridge Recreation Area (Hoosier National Forest), Monroe Reservoir, Bloomington, IN Meet at the shelter house near the boat ramp. Rain or shine There is an entry fee at the gatehouse. Campers will waive the fee. Schedule: we will leave to herp the area shortly after 9:00 a.m. and return before 12:00 p.m. for the cookout. The HHS will present a live and Powerpoint presentation at the Amphitheater at 8:30pm Several members will be camping at Southern Point campground. We will also herp on Sunday. The herpout is a chance for our members to get out and field herp the hills of beautiful Southern Indiana. We should see a variety of herps with the possibility of venomous species. We will also be taking counts on our finds in the wild. Wear the proper gear and herp at your own risk. The H.H.S. assumes no responsibility for accidents or injuries. Please be careful and have fun!! The Barbeque The H.H.S. will provide the burgers and dogs. Please bring a covered dish and your own beverages. Hardin Ridge offers class A camping (showers, electrical hookup) and class B (showers) camping. For more information, call or Jim Horton (317) stardali84@hotmail.com EVENTS April 20, 2011 HHS monthly meeting. Guest Speaker: Stacey Summitt, Teacher at University High School, Carmel, IN. Topic: Tropical Frogs of Panama April 29, 2011 Save the Frogs Day May 1, 2011 Indiana Reptile Expo, Hamilton County Fairgrounds, 10am-4pm, Admission $ May 1, 2011 Midwest Reptile Show, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Southwest Pavilion, Indiana State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis. $5.00 admission, reptiles, amphibians, books, cages, feeder animals, and other supplies. Sell your herps and dry goods free of charge at our H.H.S. information booth. Other dates: 11/13, 12/18 For info: (317) , May 6 & 7, 2011 Herpetology Weekend, Natural Bridge State Park, Slade, KY May 14, 2011 Hoosier Herpout, All HHS members invited for field herping, a cook out, and camping. June 26, 2011 Scaly and Slimy Day at Holiday Park, Indianapolis. Live herp exhibit by HHS members. All current members are welcome to display their amphibians and (or) reptiles. 2:00-3:30PM August th International Herpetological Symposium, Fort Worth, Texas

6 Classifieds For sale: Decorative Quality Amish built sweater box rack system. Has 28 Clear sweater boxes, heat tape, Helix temperature controller, has rollers, storage space top and bottom, ready to plug in and use (with out Helix heat controller ). Can send pictures or welcome to come and see in person. Mike Wood twobears@embarqmail.com Wanted: Veterinary Technology student looking for internship, volunteer, or part-time employment opportunity that will provide additional hands-on experience with pets (reptiles, exotic pets, large and/or small animals) while earning my degree. Please contact Amanda Weigand at or by at: riflegiraffe3@yahoo.com if interested or to recommend possible leads. Thank you! The Hoosier Herpetological Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of its membership and the conservation of all reptiles and amphibians. General monthly meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Butler University, Gallahue Hall, Room 105 or 108. Membership is open to all interested individuals. No venomous animals are allowed at the General Meetings. (Note: Meetings are currently held at the Pharmacy building, room # 150) Don t forget our new web address! Your HHS Board of Directors for 2011 PRESIDENT Jim Horton (317) stardali84@hotmail.com VICE-PRESIDENT Ed Ferrer (317) pythonpals1@msn.com SECRETARY Holly Carter (317) drymarchonzz@hotmail.com TREASURER/MEMBERSHIP Dave Mitchell (317) turtlelovin@att.net SERGEANT AT ARMS Will Brown wrbrown15@aol.com Appointees for 2011 EDITOR Jim Horton (317) Stardali84@hotmail.com PROGRAM DIRECTOR Ed Ferrer (317) pythonpals1@msn.com Cell WAYS AND MEANS Angela Thomas (317) necali@comcast.net WEBSITE COORDINATOR Barbara Filtri barbara.filtri@hughes.net MEMBERS AT LARGE Roger Carter (317) drymarchonzz@hotmail.com Rick Marrs (317) Mike Wood twobears@embarqmail.com Brittany Davis bluemoosey8@yahoo.com Amy Baird pjbacm@aol.com Pat Hammond (317) gnawbone92@yahoo.com

7 The Monitor is printed courtesy The Harding Poorman Group Got Rodents? Hoosier Mouse Supply can take your orders for rodents and they will deliver to the monthly meetings. (317) EARPS, Exotic Animal Rescue and Pet Sanctuary (EARPS, Inc.) is a 501(c)3 non-profit rescue group made up of volunteers working together to improve the quality of life for pocket pets, exotic pets, and non-traditional pets through fostering, adopting, and educating, as well as helping control the pet population through spaying and neutering. The North American Field Herping Association (NAFHA) Common Indiana Herps (photos - Jim Horton) Midland water snake (Nerodia sipedon pleuralis) Redback Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) Five-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus) Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis t. triangulum)