A Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) was observed during a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources fire destruction survey in southern Utah with burn scars from the most recent Turkey Farm Road fire in July and the 2005 Mill Creek fire.…
Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis), the largest lizards on the planet live on just a few islands in the Indonesian archipelago. There are only an estimated 4,000 Komodo dragons left in the wild, and scientists say that they are threatened by…
Researchers in Australia have released a list of reptiles that they say will disappear in just 20 years if no action is taken to protect them. The reptiles, all snakes and lizards, are restricted in range. Three of the species…
Officers with the Fort Collins Police Services in Fort Collins, CO happened upon a wayward snapping turtle on a busy roadway. The police officer carefully picked the turtle up, which proceeded to snap its jaw as it was picked up.…
When turtles are taken illegally from the wild, they can’t readily be returned, because they usually don’t survive. Turtles generally have a known range and taking them out of that range and placing them elsewhere is not good for the…
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has seized nearly three dozen venomous snakes from an Idaho man, including several exotic species from Asia, Central and South America and Africa. The IDFG served a search warrant on the Boise…
A 50-year-old ball python (Python regius) living in the Saint Louis Zoo has laid eggs, but hasn’t been with a male ball python in more than 15 years, the zoo wrote on its Facebook page. "On July 23, something incredible…
The Burmese roofed turtle (Batagur trivittata), a river turtle native to Burma, now known as Myanmar and other rivers in Asia was thought to be extinct about 20 years ago. Conservation efforts for the species were launched after several individual…
The Cunningham’s skink (Egernia cunninghami), a large skink native to southeastern Australia, protect their young from predators, according to a new study published in the Australian Journal of Zoology. The relatively large skink has been observed fighting off eastern brown…
The Wyoming toad, (Bufo baxteri) thought to have gone extinct in the wild in 1985, has made tremendous strides since a captive breeding effort began a few decades ago from just 10 toads as broodstock. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department,…
The United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service will continue its conservation efforts of the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)and its critical habitat, the USDA announced in a press release August 31. The NRCS released its five year plan,…
Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources Urban Wildlife Program picked up a dead ball python that was killed in someone’s backyard. The Walton County homeowner killed the reptile and turned it in to the DNR’s local extension office. It was confirmed…
Researchers Dr. Luis Ceriaco and Mariana Marques are such big fans of Metallica, that the scientists named an African bush viper after James Hetfield, the frontman for the heavy metal band. "Both me and Mariana Marques, the second author of…
Researchers From Japan and Malaysia have discovered a unique feeding behavior with the blunt-headed snail-eating snake, (Aplopeltura boa) whereby it uses its mandible, or jaw, to cut off a snail’s operculum, the indigestible part of a snail, before it consumes the…
Biologists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute were checking traps last week that were set for the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis), and were surprised with what they had captured, a 100-pound male and a 46-pound female.…
Blue Iguana Conservation on the Grand Cayman Islands announced that its breeding facility has so far produced 60 hatchling blue iguanas (Cyclura lewisi) in 2020. The hatchlings are housed in a custom enclosure that is sectioned off from the rest…
A species of frog of the genus Platymantis has been discovered in the montane forests of Leyte and Samar islands in the Philippines. The frog, Platymantis navjoti, is the 32nd species in the genus. They are often called ground frogs,…
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources announced today that it has captured an adult female black and white tegu (Salvator merianae) in Lexington County. The SCDNR says that there have been reports of sightings in both Lexington and Aiken counties…
An international group of researchers in China have discovered a five meter Ichthyosaur fossil with a 4m Thalattosaur in its belly, marking what the researchers believe to be the first documented instance of predation on megafauna (animals equal to or…
