May 2015 HERPUTOPIA NEWS REPTILE RAMBLINGS. Committee Members. Promoting the care and enjoyment of reptiles and amphibians through education.

Transcription

1 May 2015 HERPUTOPIA NEWS Promoting the care and enjoyment of reptiles and amphibians through education. REPTILE RAMBLINGS by Aaron Baker. Well, what a night! We were privileged enough to hear from Gavin Bedford. Gavin owns one of the largest Australian native reptile collections in the world and displays them all at his reptile park/zoo Crocosaurus Cove in the Northern Territory. Gavin is an extremely experienced herpetologist with many years of knowledge. Gavin not only produced some of the first albino Olives, he has just been the first person to successfully and legally breed the Oenpelli python. Oenpelli pythons are one of the three largest pythons in Australia along with scrub pythons and olives. He has also just brought out a book for young beginner reptile keepers which he was happily signing copies of, for our members on the night. We also had our annual reptile show on 12 April where, for the first time, we had guest speakers catering for beginner keeper up to the experienced enthusiast. With many smiles and reptiles bought, I d say the day was a success. A massive thanks to everyone who made the day possible. Until next time, happy herping, guys. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month at 6.30pm at Fairy Meadow Community Centre, Guest Park, cnr Princes Hwy and Cambridge Ave, Fairy Meadow (opposite Woolworths) LUCKY DOOR PRIZE at each meeting! Sausage Sizzle $2.00; Drinks $1.00; FREE tea and coffee For enquires, contact PO Box 183 Albion Park NSW 2527 Committee Members President: Aaron Baker Secretary: Treasurer: Jo Payne Nina Markwell Newsletter Editor: Tina Gray Committee Members: Kathy Hicks; Stevie Leigh-Fuller; Rhiannon Clarke. Page 1 of 8

2 Dates for your diary May 4 Illawarra Reptile Society meeting at Fairy Meadow Community Centre. 6.30pm start. Special guest: Colin South. Come along to our May meeting to listen to Colin South talk about the plight of the Bellenger River turtle. May 17 Family Symbio 11am start. Symbio have just become a GOLD sponsor of the Illawarra Reptile Society and have announced that they will host a family day for members of IRS. Enjoy a great day out, sausage sizzle and see the new reptile house. Let Jo Payne know if you would like to come along. HAINES GLASS - DAPTO 298 Princes Highway, Dapto PHONE FAX MOBILE COVERING THE SOUTH COAST FOR ALL YOUR GLASS REQUIREMENTS New Members GLASS FOR REPTILE CABINETS A SPECIALTY.*Domestic Specialists *Laminated Glass *Table Tops Shower Screens. Framed Mirrors. Rear view Mirrors We are excited to welcome the following people who have recently become members of the Illawarra Reptile Society: Justin Merdith; Brittany Rodgers; Michael Griffiths Page 2 of 8

3 The Illawarra Reptile Society s Reptile Show was a hit! The 13 th Illawarra Reptile Show was held on Sunday, 12 th April and saw more than 3000 people come through the turnstiles. Despite the rain, the show was a success. The speakers were interesting and catered for everyone from the newbie reptile keeper to the more experienced herpers. There were hundreds of beautiful reptiles on display for everyone s viewing pleasure and many stalls to spend some cash ;) Thanks to our judges Gavin Bedford, Mike Cannon and Peter Birch, here is the list of the winners from the show: Large Python category: 1 st : Ricky Cole 2 nd : Shannon Kelly Small Python category: 1 st : Phill Harrington 2 nd : M. Payne Ven category: 1 st : J. Hinde 2 nd : Bradley Foy Dragon category: 1 st : M. Payne 2 nd : Hanna Polly Skink category: 1 st : Hanna Polly 2 nd : Simone Reeves Monitor category: 1 st : Matt Hicks 2 nd : Matt Hicks Page 3 of 8

4 Gecko category: 1 st : Simone Reeves 2 nd : Danea Atkinson Turtle category: 1 st : Bob Tefler 2 nd : Bob Tefler Frog category: 1 st : Jack Hinde 2 nd : Shannon Kelly Morph category: 1 st : Phill Harrington 2 nd : Andrew Horlor Junior Snake category: 1 st : Cody Troy 2 nd : Cody Troy Junior Lizard category: 1 st : Tom Hicks 2 nd : Collum Lobzin Best in show category: Perentie - Matt Hicks Page 4 of 8

5 This happened last month By Jo Payne On the 10th of April, we had the absolute pleasure of hosting Dr Gavin Bedford for a talk. Gavin has been at the forefront of reptile conservation in Australia. His work has been mainly concentrated on the capture, keeping and breeding of the Oenpelli Python. Gavin spoke on how he came to work with the Oenpelli python after talk from the aboriginals about the rainbow serpent that inhabited the steep rocky outcrops in Kakadu National Park. Gavin had to negotiate a lot with national parks to get permission to even look for these pythons. The next step was then to collect specimens from the wild, easier said than done. The photos Gavin showed us were of impossibly steep outcrops and such a harsh landscape. What really blew me away was when he said he was dropped in the outback by helicopter and the nearest road was 80km away!! And that wasn t a main road, just a dirt track. I can t imagine how desolate that would be. Gavin s search has taken a long time but has culminated with him keeping Oenpelli s and now breeding them. It has been a long hard road with the pythons being incredibly hard to get feeding as they like birds and only native birds so then Gavin needed permission to collect the birds. He has managed to get a female to lay and 2 eggs have hatched. Gavin has also written a book specifically for the younger beginner reptile keeper called My First Reptile and he gladly signed copies for us on the night. He also spoke of his work at Crocosaurus Cove up in Darwin and amused us with his stories on what happens to people when they go into the cage of death, a Perspex tube lowered into a pool with a 5m saltwater crocodile. I can tell you, I won t be going in there with Gavin around haha. Gavin entertained us all for over an hour and then hung around chatting and signing books for a long time after. Gavin has told me that he thinks we are a top group of people and he will be happy to come back anytime!! Thankyou Gavin. Page 5 of 8

6 In the news Snakes alive: Baby pythons make hisstory One of Australia s largest and rarest snakes, a creature likened to the Rainbow Serpent in Aboriginal mythology, has been bred in captivity for the first time, prompting calls for Canberra to relax export restrictions to help save threatened wildlife from extinction. The snake, the enigmatic Oenpelli Python, is part of a private-sector led initiative to promote sustainable use of wildlife in partnership with Aboriginal people. If successful, the project could open the way for commercial operators to become more involved in conservation, including by encouraging young Australians to keep native species as pets. Almost nothing is known about the Oenpelli Python, which lives only in harsh rocky country around Kakadu National Park and can grow to 5m. Aboriginal traditional owners concerned about the snake s wellbeing say they rarely see it in the wild; some fear the species may be close to disappearing. Several years ago, Gavin Bedford, a renowned herpetologist and python breeder based in Darwin, began a project to create a captive insurance population. The idea was to lease several animals from traditional owners, breed them and then release some to the wild and sell others to collectors to generate funds, with royalties paid to Aboriginal people. Initially frustrated by red tape, Bedford obtained support from Parks Australia and the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission only after his ideas drew national attention. Now The Australian can reveal that the first babies hatched earlier this year. The first Oenpelli Python bred legally in captivity hatched on January 30th, and the second on February 5th, Mr Bedford said. The three things we ve learnt about so far is that these snakes are mainly bird eaters; they don t eat much; and they almost never hide that shows how rare they really are. Animal rights groups have opposed commercial captive breeding of native wildlife for fear of animal cruelty and unnatural pedigrees. But Andy Ralph, who has lived in Kakadu for 27 years and married into one of the Aboriginal families involved in catching Mr Bedford s snakes, says the project is a win-win for traditional owners and reptile enthusiasts. No one has done any research on these snakes: it s very difficult to go and camp out in Arnhem Land for six months, knowing you ll probably never see one, Mr Ralph said. Greg Miles, a former Kakadu ranger and advocate of captive breeding, says Mr Bedford s success shows even the most difficult animals can be bred in captivity in the right hands. The success at breeding this gentle giant is a great example of how government conservation agencies can work co-operatively with the private sector to improve the conservation situation of native animals that are at risk of extinction, Mr Miles said. Page 6 of 8

7 Mr Bedford, who has just published a children s book on reptile husbandry and will speak at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney this week, said young Australians had been disenfranchised for 30 years by being taught they could keep as pets only dogs and cats animals that wreak havoc on native wildlife in the bush. Mr Bedford, who has already invested tens of thousands of dollars in his Oenpelli Python breeding project, said that to be truly viable, he needed access to international markets. Let s see if the Australian government can get their heads around the idea that exporting native wildlife for commercial reasons, if done sensibly, can actually help conservation and combat the illegal trade, he said. At the moment we re watching species go down the gurgler because too many people have got their blinkers on. Source: theaustralian.com.au Page 7 of 8

8 Classifieds - Bearded dragons; red hypos; het hypos; hypo leatherbacks; het hypo leatherbacks. Brad Northern Velvet Gecko, female Frances Longneck turtle hatchlings; green tree frog Craig Caramel zebra $1800 Jake Mertens monitors Matt Longneck turtles WANTED mature Kreffts female Bob Blue Tongue lizard food Kieren Page 8 of 8