THE MONITOR. Volume 28 Number 9 September Monthly H.H.S. Meeting Holliday Park Nature Center Wednesday September 20 th, 7:00 p.m.

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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 28 Number 9 September 2017 Monthly H.H.S. Meeting Holliday Park Nature Center Wednesday September 20 th, 7:00 p.m. Guest Speaker: Ethan Estabrook, Purdue University Topic: Herp Trip in the Everglades This month's speaker is Ethan Estabrook. Ethan graduated from Purdue University in 2012 with a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology. At Purdue, he worked in Dr. William's herpetology lab where he helped conduct research on population genetics of Eastern box turtles, repatriation of Eastern hellbenders, and field studies of timber rattlesnakes in Indiana. He enjoys "herping" and has visited the Everglades, Snake Road, and Michigan for herp trips. Ethan now works at Fumigation Service and Supply where he became a boardcertified entomologist and protects food products from stored product pests. He will take us on trip through his recent trip through the Florida Everglades in search of herps and other wildlife.

2 President s message Jim Horton The seasons are changing and our favorite animals are heading for their winter quarters. Cooler temps and less daylight means less time for us to view them in the wild. There is one destination where you can still see them. Snake Road in southern Illinois is an active spot until mid-october. Many of us make the trip there every year. You might want to look it up on the internet and make a trip down if you get a chance. The Holliday Park Fall Festival is November 5 th from 1:00 to 4:30 at the nature center. We re always a big hit here every year! All members are welcome to show your animals at this event. Again, please be courteous and professional during our public events. We ask that you have clean, well lit enclosures with proper identification of each animal. I d like to thank Todd Pierson for his presentation at our meeting last month. Todd gave us an eye opening presentation on the current changes in herptile taxonomy. He presented solid evidence as to why some of the recent changes are valid. There were great questions from the audience regarding these ongoing changes in herpetology. The Indianapolis Zoo just announced nominees for the 2018 Indianapolis Prize. The Indianapolis Prize awards $250,000 to the most successful animal conservationist in the world, while five Finalists each receive $10,000 Among the 32 finalists is Rick Hudson of the Turtle Survival Alliance. Let s hope Rick wins big! If you have anything you d like to have published in the Monitor, please it to me and it can be in the next issue. Just a reminder that our website features an Indiana native snake ID field guide. We will be adding more herps in the coming year to this online field guide. Check it out when you get a chance HAND HELD HERPS Article and photos by Roger Carter The Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene Carolina Carolina, has a shell that measures five to six inches long and, in adult turtles, the background color of the shell can be dark with yellow or orange spots with the markings on the legs and head also either yellow or orange. The plastron of the male has a slight concave area while the female s plastron is usually flat. The males have red eyes and the female s eyes are darker. These have a large range through many states and are found in most of Indiana except for the far northwest corner and inhabit woodland areas. Box turtles eat vegetable matter as well as animals such as insects and slugs. We often find Eastern box turtles during the Hoosier Herp Out, the picnic and field trip of the HHS. Figure 1 shows a hatchling that we found during the Herp out in May 2014 out in the open. This one still had an egg tooth. We were all thrilled to find this. Figure 2 shows one that we found during the Herp out in June this year. This one may have been a few years old and it was found under some old roofing tin. We sometimes find box turtles under objects like old roofing tin. This one was very active and just wouldn t hold still for decent photographs. Figure 3 shows the remains of a baby box turtle that Holly and I found on July We were hiking one of the wide logging/fire trails in southern Indiana and found this turtle on the trail. We have no idea why it died. It wasn t crushed or anything which would indicate that it might have been stepped on or a vehicle having driven across it. Poor little thing.

3 A visit to the Indianapolis Zoo by Ed Ferrer & Robert Tyler On Tuesday July 25th the Indianapolis Star ran a front page article claiming that the Indianapolis Zoo was rated among the Top Ten Zoos in the United States! Robert Tyler and I decided to take a tour of our home town zoo. As we entered the zoo, to our left we saw about 15 beautiful macaws free flying across the zoo to perches in the Bicentennial Pavilion's Perch. There the handlers fed the birds and told the audience that the zoo was part the World Parrot Trust that was working to save these endangered birds and protecting their natural habitat. Then they flew off to their cages. There were five shows a day. It was an impressive performance! We then toured the forest area. I told Robert that whenever I visit the zoo I make a stop at the tiger exhibit my first and last stop, since tigers are my very favorite animal in the world. The zoo currently has two tigers, one male and one female that they show one at a time. The information posted at the display described how the zoo was part of an international organization working to protect these beautiful, endangered cats. I remember years ago that the National Geographic Magazine ran a cover story of four new born cubs that were found in the Russian far eastern forests. Their mother was killed by poachers. Two of the cubs did not survive the cold but two did. The female cub, Lena, was brought to our zoo and the male cub, Tommy, was sent to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Both were very important parts of the world breeding program since they added much needed genetic diversity to the gene pool. Lena was very successful mother and had many litters throughout the years. Since there are only about 400 Amur (Siberian) tigers in the wild, it was a big boost to the program. Unfortunately she died a couple of years ago. As we passed through the zoo we were impressed by many trees and other plants that offered beautiful naturalistic backgrounds and shade. As "herpers" we naturally went to the desert dome where we saw many different lizards and a few tortoises. The Indy zoo started breeding the rare blue iguanas of the Cayman Islands several years ago. But since we are both "snake enthusiasts" we really enjoyed the Drop Dead Gorgeous" snake exhibit. We were very impressed with the back display. Originally the snakes were displayed on a background of round colorful beads. Now they are shown in naturalistic exhibits that shows how they often blend in with their environment. I think our favorite snakes were the large timber rattler, the red spitting cobra and the large, beautiful Gabon viper. We were impressed by the number of wild life organizations in which our zoo was participating, making a positive difference to save various endangered species. The Conde' Nast Traveler gave the Indianapolis Zoo such high marks in part because our zoo was the only park in America certified as a zoo, aquarium, and zoological garden. For families with children there are many activities for children of all ages and roller coasters, train rides, sky line rides just to name a few. In another article we will feature some other exhibits of our zoo.

4 Our annual float down the Driftwood River was of great success! The weather was near perfect! Water level and temps were as good as it gets. HHS Canoe/kayak trip By Jim Horton Some of the adult turtles stay on the logs just long enough to get a photo and then plop in. The tiny young turtles just stick around. We got right up close to them and they never moved. This allowed for some handheld shots. Queen snakes also live along the waterways. And they re off! We had about 15 members show up for this 7-mile float. We saw turtles only a short distance. Softshells were sliding off logs as we quietly cruised by. Both the spiny and the smooth softshells are found along this river. Break time! Map turtles were most abundant. Three species make their home here. Common maps, false maps, and Ouachita map turtles. Others found were painted turtles and red-eared sliders. Ouachita map turtle Two species of water snake occur here as well. The northern banded water snake was by far the most prevalent along the river. We saw over two dozen! Ian Slabach was able to secure his first water snake in the wild! He was a happy herper! Ian Slabach and water snake Queen snake (Regina septemvittata) They are a type of water snake but not in the same genus as the northern or banded. Queens feed exclusively on freshly molted crawfish! One unlikely candidate on a boat trip is a lizard. Neill Jones found a five-lined skink on some rocks near the shoreline. A first for us! We always make a stop at a sandy shoreline for lunch. Here we saw several species of fish, small toads, and numerous butterflies. Most of our group was ahead of us and they were lucky enough to see an adult bald eagle! Another great trip in the books! Thanks to all who came along! HHS at Zionsville s Creek Fest The annual creek cleanup event in Zionsville included some extra booths this year. One of them was ours. Holly Carter and I kept people interested throughout the day with an assortment of native Indiana herps. As always, our tent was the most popular! We were happy to take in the many questions regarding identification, biology, and husbandry with our collection. Thanks to the town of Zionsville for having us out!

5 The Monitor is printed courtesy of: Harding Poorman

6 2017 HERPETOLOGICAL EVENTS September 20, 2017 HHS meeting, Holliday Park Nature Center, Guest Speaker: Ethan Estabrook. Topic: Herp Trip in the Everglades. October 20-22, 2017 Midwest Herpetological Symposium. Bloomington, MN, Hosted by Minnesota Herpetological Society November 5, 2017 Holliday Park Fall Festival, HHS will be exhibiting/educating visitors. All HHS members are encouraged to attend. Time is 1:00-4:30 November 5, 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 (HHS members only) December 2, 2017 HHS Christmas party. Location MCL south. More info. to come. HHS at Bradford Woods HHS members assembled at Bradford Woods for the annual HandiCapable Camp. The event is centered around individuals with developmental disabilities. The annual event offers attendees a chance to participate in a wide variety of outdoor activities. Boating, drumming, crafts, miniature golf, archery, and other sports (just to name a few) were offered to our visitors. Our hands-on exhibit is one of the most popular at Bradford Woods during the weekend. In fact, we were requested back this year due to the continued interest in our display. We had a good showing of participating members. I d like to thank the following for volunteering their Saturday for these folks and the HHS! Neill Jones, Kimberly Scott, Tom and Tami Raymond, Roger and Holly Carter, and Jim Horton.

7 Welcome new members! RENEWALS NEW Kimberly Scott Martha Horton Richard Nohr Carl Schwartz Johnny P. Martinez Cody M. Barnhart Payton N. Kellerburger Anastasia M. Marsh More photos from the Kayak trip! Your HHS Board of Directors for 2017 PRESIDENT Jim Horton (317) VICE-PRESIDENT Heather White ( SECRETARY Holly Carter (317) TREASURER/MEMBERSHIP Roger Carter (317) SERGEANT AT ARMS Neill Jones (317) EDITOR Jim Horton (317) PROGRAM DIRECTOR Ed Ferrer (317) WAYS AND MEANS CHAIR Angela Thomas (317) WEBSITE COORDINATOR Barbara Filtri MEMBERS AT LARGE Pat Hammond (317) Rick Marrs Dale Schoentrup Will Brown (765) Mary Hylton (317) 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 7:00 p.m. at Holliday Park Nature Center. Membership is open to all interested individuals. No venomous animals are allowed at the General Meetings.

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