Archive for the Category » reptiles «
Friday, March 23rd, 2012 | Author: reptilesalive
May 3, 2012
Herpetology Survey, Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve
Sponsored by the Virginia Herpetology Society, the Friends of Dyke Marsh and the U.S. National Park Service
Leaders: Caroline Seitz and Brent Steury
This survey will have three segments – morning, afternoon and evening. Participants are welcome to do one, two or three. It will occur rain or shine, but not during a storm with thunder and lightning. Park in the BelleHaven picnic area parking lot.
The Schedule
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Terrestrial survey in several areas of the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve. Meet at 10 a. m. in the Belle Haven parking lot to form teams. Look for the “Reptiles Alive” van.
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch (bring a picnic lunch) & Survey Recap/Count for the AM survey
2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Water survey via kayaks and canoes [bring your own boat] Meet at the Belle Haven Marina Boat Launch area
5 p.m. to sunset Dinner (on your own)
7:45 p.m. to9 p.m. (starting at sunset) Evening survey for frogs calling [bring a flashlight] + Final Species Tally and numbers Meet at the Belle Haven Parking area – look for the Reptiles Alive van
What to Wear and Bring
Prepare for all weather, for walking through brambles and woods, in muck, over rocks and on uneven surfaces. Wear waterproof shoes/boots or old shoes that can get muddy and wet. No one will be expected to wade into deep water.
Bring sun protection, camera, binoculars, notepad, pen, a garbage bag.
Bring lunch and/or dinner. There will also be time to leave and buy lunch and dinner.
Bring a flashlight if you are doing the evening walk.
RSVP: Please let one of the following know if you plan to participate and when:
Caroline Seitz, Virginia Herpetology Society, reptilesalive@gmail.com
Glenda Booth, Friends of Dyke Marsh, gbooth123@aol.com
Brent Steury, National Park Service, brent_steury@nps.gov
Category: reptiles
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Sunday, February 26th, 2012 | Author: reptilesalive
Reptiles invade Pocomoke for day of fun
Caroline Seitz and Logan the Nile Monitor Lizard
POCOMOKE CITY — A prehensile tailed skink hanging from its tail like a monkey, a fat, black and white Tegu lizard with a flicking forked tongue, and an amazon river turtle named “Podocnemis” were among the reptiles that held kids rapt at the Delmarva Discovery Center’s Reptile Festival.
Caroline Seitz, director of the Reptiles Alive animal show, made lessons about habitat and adaptation interesting with stories of tarantula-chomping and rotten fruit-slurping lizards.
“I liked the turtle,” said 10-year-old cub scout Wilson Davis, who was accompanied by his brother and fellow scout, 7-year-old Noah Davis.
“She really brings things to life,” said their mother and cub scout leader, Sandy Davis, after watching Seitz’s show. “She really interacts with the audience and the kids.”
While the presentation was aimed at younger audience members, Davis and other adults clearly enjoyed the show, which featured a dynamic Seitz handling several exotic species.
“You can’t do this with other lizards,” Seitz announced, letting a prehensile tailed skink wrap its tail around one of her hands as she pulled her other hand from the leather glove it clung to with its sharp claws. “Some people call them monkey skinks for this ability.”
As the skink hung from its tail, gripping the empty glove, she went on to explain how the lizard adapted to the forest canopy with its sharp claws and strong tail for climbing.
While the tengu and other reptiles in Seitz’s show are naturally rainforest natives, Reptiles Alive literature explained most of the animals in its shows were rescued as abandoned or confiscated pets.
Reaching out to those looking for an experience closer to home, the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas group was in attendance, signing people up to volunteer with its efforts to document species in the area.
As part of its conservation efforts, the group will establish a baseline for monitoring changes in the distribution of reptiles and amphibians in Maryland.
MARA’s statewide coordinator, Heather Cunningham, said the group is looking for MARA observers to report day-to-day with animals, as well as MARA surveyors to conduct more formal surveys of nearby blocks or quadrants.
“It’s not just common species found,” Cunningham said. “We’ve had volunteers find a number of rare and uncommon species, like the mountain earth snake.”
Visit the MARA website at www.marylandnature.org/mara for the latest information. Visit www.meetup.com/marylandnature to join the Natural History Society of Maryland Meetup Group and help plan searches in your area.
Category: reptiles
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Thursday, January 26th, 2012 | Author: reptilesalive
On Tuesday morning, January 24, we drove to Richmond to meet with other Virginia wildlife educators, zoo directors, animal rescues, wildlife veterinarians, and small business owners who will all be negatively impacted if Virginia Senate Bill No. 477 and/or House Bill No. 1242 are passed. We also spent time meeting with senators and house members to let them know the unintended consequences that would happen if these bills were passed.
We learned a few things that would be helpful for anyone interested in helping us stop the passage of these poorly written bills:
1. Write hand written letters to the Senators and House Members on the committees in charge of the bills. The letter should give reasons why the bill, if passed as is, will impact you personally. A one page letter is best. We were informed that emails are rarely, if ever read. Also, form letters are often thrown out before being read. Hand written letters, from a personal perspective, are the most likely to have impact on a representative.
A list of state Senators, including all contact information, involved in the bill is at http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+com+S01
The list of house members, including all contact information, involved in the bill is at http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sub+H01001
To find out who your Virginia representatives are, visit http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform
2. Be kind, cooperative, and respectful when addressing your representatives, their aides or any office staff, whether in writing or in person. Keep the door open with the legislator so that he/she will continue to listen to you in the future. The goal is to have the bill thrown out – but sending the bill “out for study” is good too. We agree that people need protection from dangerous animals, but these bills, as they are written, will not stop dangerous animals from being kept in unsafe conditions in Virginia, they will only put a stop to responsible animal ownership and education.
3. Meet with committee members in person, especially if the member represents your district. Plan ahead. Be ready to make your point in 3-5 minutes. Bring a lots of copies of the bill itself and a one page list of bullet points that summarize your position against the bill that you can give to each representative or his/her aide. Many of the representatives may not have read the bill or may not be fully aware of what it says. Also, remember to dress properly: business attire is best. You can find your district’s representatives and other great information on planning a visit to the Virginia General Assembly at http://legis.virginia.gov/1_cit_guide/cit_welcome.html
Thursday, January 19th, 2012 | Author: reptilesalive
The Commonwealth of Virginia will lose valuable resources currently offered to state and local animal and wildlife agencies, school systems, library systems, and the tourism industry, if SENATE BILL NO. 477 is passed.
An entire professional community of law abiding, tax paying Virginia citizens will be penalized due to the act of a single mentally ill individual in Ohio if the proposed code in SENATE BILL NO. 477 is passed.
As the founder and director of Reptiles Alive LLC, a successful outreach wildlife education organization, I currently provide jobs to four Virginia citizens and support my family with the income I earn in my professional endeavors. I am not alone – there is an entire industry of tax paying, law-abiding Virginia citizens and their families who will be financially damaged if SENATE BILL NO. 477 is passed.
SENATE BILL NO. 477 will exempt organizations accredited by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The majority of wildlife organizations, including mine, are not AZA accredited. The AZA is a private association, a “club”, which has developed its own accreditation requirements without any public input or oversight. The requirements to become an accredited member in the AZA are unreasonable for most private organizations and family run businesses. Most AZA facilities are operated using tax dollars collected from state and county citizens.
I have been licensed by the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) as a Wildlife Exhibitor and Wildlife Rehabilitator since 1993. During this time, my staff and I have presented educational live animal shows to approximately 850,000 people. We receive no funding from state or local government agencies to educate the public about wildlife and other environmental issues – including most of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL’s) in Science. We are a self-sufficient environmental education organization and provide a tremendous educational resource to Virginia students, schools, and citizens.
The passage of SENATE BILL NO. 477 will be a huge loss for Virginia environmental education. Across the Commonwealth of Virginia, hundreds of thousands of students and other citizens are exposed, by non-AZA wildlife professionals, to environmental concepts deemed important by the Virginia Department of Education. There is no way the handful of AZA member organizations in Virginia will be able to make up for the loss of the permitted Wildlife Exhibitors currently teaching environmental education in Virginia.
I have also offered my services, at no charge, to the VDGIF and various local animal control agencies. These free services have included: providing housing for exotic reptiles involved in court cases; identification of exotic reptiles; removal of exotic reptiles from hotel rooms, abandoned and condemned buildings; assistance with husbandry of exotic reptiles in state or county custody; advice to animal control and VDGIF officers dealing with boids, venomous snakes and crocodilians; and finally, providing permanent, safe housing for reptiles that had no where else to go.
If SENATE BILL NO. 477 is passed, it will not stop people from owning exotic animals, especially the snakes, listed in the proposal. However, it will end the assistance the Commonwealth and local Virginia jurisdictions receive from many of the professionals who currently help with animal situations when needed.
AZA facilities will not make up for the loss of the non-AZA state licensed wildlife exhibitors and permitted animal rescue groups. AZA facilities rarely, if ever, take in “rescued” animals. Private organizations including non-AZA zoos and wildlife exhibitors, licensed by the state, regularly assist in the placement of such animals.
At Reptiles Alive LLC, nearly all of the animals we have in our collection have to come us from local animal control agencies, game wardens, or citizens who no longer could provide care for their pet. Outlawing the ownership of certain species (especially Boids) will not eliminate them from being privately kept in Virginia. If these species are outlawed, the disposition options for unwanted or confiscated animals will be primarily limited to euthanasia.
I agree that the ownership of the species listed in SENATE BILL NO. 477 should be regulated – and the Commonwealth of Virginia already has such regulations successfully in place. As a state licensed Wildlife Exhibitor, each year I must submit to the VDGIF my: Permit to Exhibit Wild Animals application; list of species to be exhibited; annual wildlife exhibitor report; and a $50 fee. An annual inspection of my facility along with the possibility of unannounced inspections from a state game warden is part of the conditions of my permit. I carry a liability insurance policy and a Workers Compensation policy that covers the activities Reptiles Alive LLC engages in.
It will not cost the Commonwealth any additional taxpayer dollars to continue the permitting and wildlife enforcement process it already has in place.
The passing of SENATE BILL NO. 477 does not make sense for the Commonwealth of Virginia or its citizens.
Sincerely,
Caroline Seitz
Director/Owner
Reptiles Alive LLC
703 560-0257
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