tagged w/ Reptiles
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http://current.com/groups/animal-rights-veganism/
PLEASE add your names to the "Animal Rights = Veganism" group and start contributing and commenting and helping make more and more humans aware of what's going on, and what each and every human can do to make life good and safe and happy for all sentient beings.
I see 62 "members" of the Veganism group, but only 13 in the Animal Rights = Veganism group. Of course, I hate groups and joining, and all that kind of stuff but, at the same time, since Current HAS groups, we need to make better use of them to speak our minds, share important information, ask for help, get petitions signed, and ever and ever so much more.
Thanks, all!http://current.com/groups/animal-rights-veganism/
PLEASE add your names to the... more
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YALE (US) — The asteroid collision widely thought to have killed the dinosaurs also caused extreme devastation among snakes and lizards, including the newly identified Obamadon gracilis.
“The asteroid event is typically thought of as affecting the dinosaurs primarily,” says Nicholas R. Longrich, a postdoctoral associate with Yale University’s department of geology and geophysics and lead author of the study. “But it basically cut this broad swath across the entire ecosystem, taking out everything. Snakes and lizards were hit extremely hard.”
The study appears today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Earlier studies have suggested that some snake and lizard species (as well as many mammals, birds, insects, and plants) became extinct after the asteroid struck the earth 65.5 million years ago, on the edge of the Yucatan Peninsula.
But the new research argues that the collision’s consequences were far more serious for snakes and lizards than previously understood. As many as 83 percent of all snake and lizard species died off, the researchers say—and the bigger the creature, the more likely it was to become extinct, with no species larger than one pound surviving.
The results are based on a detailed examination of previously collected snake and lizard fossils covering a territory in western North America stretching from New Mexico in the southwestern United States to Alberta, Canada. The authors examined 21 previously known species and also identified nine new lizards and snakes.
They found that a remarkable range of reptile species lived in the last days of the dinosaurs. Some were tiny lizards. One snake was the size of a boa constrictor, large enough to take the eggs and young of many dinosaur species. Iguana-like plant-eating lizards inhabited the southwest, while carnivorous lizards hunted through the swamps and flood plains of what is now Montana, some of them up to six feet long.
“Lizards and snakes rivaled the dinosaurs in terms of diversity, making it just as much an ‘Age of Lizards’ as an ‘Age of Dinosaurs,’” Longrich says.
The scientists then conducted a detailed analysis of the relationships of these reptiles, showing that many represented archaic lizard and snake families that disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous, following the asteroid strike.
Continued at linkYALE (US) — The asteroid collision widely thought to have killed the dinosaurs... more
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CBS News...
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‘Major Wildlife Trafficker’ Gets 21 Months For Smuggling Live Turtles, Tortoises In Snack Food Boxes
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April 30, 2012 1:30 PM
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LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A man federal authorities call “a major wildlife trafficker” was sentenced Monday to 21 months in federal prison for smuggling 55 live turtles and tortoises inside snack food boxes into the United States last year.
Atushi Yamagami, 39, of Osaka, Japan, was sentenced Monday morning and additionally ordered to pay a $19,403 criminal fine.
Yamagami pleaded guilty to smuggling the 55 reptiles from Japan in August. Most of the smuggled animals were species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Federal prosecutors had also argued that the method of cramming the turtles into snack food packages, that were then stuffed into suitcases, constituted animal cruelty and that the animals posed the risk of transmitting salmonella.
Since his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2011, Yamagami has been held without bail.
Federal agents say Yamagami was the leader of an organized group of Japanese nationals responsible for smuggling protected turtles, tortoises, chameleons and lizards into and out of the U.S., primarily through airports in Honolulu and Los Angeles. After smuggling them into the country, Yamagami would sell or trade them at reptile shows across the U.S., using the proceeds to buy snakes, turtles and tortoises native to North America, prosecutors said.
An investigation determined that between 2004 and 2011, Yamagami and his couriers took 42 trips to and from the U.S., according to federal agents.
Norihide Ushirozako and Hiroki Uetsuki, two of Yamagami’s couriers from Osaka, were arrested and prosecuted for wildlife smuggling in 2011. Ushirozako was sentenced in August to time served — approximately seven months — and Uetsuki was also sentenced to time served, approximately six months.
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‘Major Wildlife Trafficker’ Gets 21 Months For... more
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The discovery in Turkey, not a small reptile fossil sheds new light on the amazing evolution of the group long before the dinosaurs. These prints were uncovered by a team of French paleontologists and geologists Turkish.The discovery in Turkey, not a small reptile fossil sheds new light on the amazing... more
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Los Angeles Times...
San Francisco considers banning the sale of all pets
The proposal started with dogs and cats, expanded to birds and hamsters, and now includes any animal that walks, flies, swims, crawls or slithers — unless you plan to eat it.
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By Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times
June 26, 2011, 6:29 p.m.
Reporting from San Francisco—
The first vision was simple and straightforward: To curtail puppy mills and kitten factories, the sale of cats and dogs should be banned in San Francisco, where the loving guardians of animal companions come to regular blows — politically — with the loving parents of children.
The ban was put on hold last year after animal advocates broadened it to include anything with fur or feathers. Now it's back, with a new name and a new strategy: More is more. The Humane Pet Acquisition Proposal is on its way to the Board of Supervisors, and it hopes to protect everything from Great Danes to goldfish.
Yes, goldfish. And guppies, gobies, gouramies, glowlight tetras, German blue rams. No fish, no fowl, no reptiles, no amphibians, no cats, no dogs, no gerbils, no rats. If it flies, crawls, runs, swims or slithers, you would not be able to buy it in the city named for the patron saint of animals.
Representatives of the $45-billion to $50-billion-a-year pet industry call the San Francisco proposal "by far the most radical ban we've seen" nationwide and argue that it would force small operators to close. Animal activists say it will save small but important lives, along with taxpayer money, and end needless suffering.
"Why fish? Why not fish?" said Philip Gerrie, a member of the city's Commission of Animal Control and Welfare and a coauthor of the proposal. "From Descartes on up, in the Western mindset, fish and other nonhuman animals don't have feelings, they don't have emotions, we can do whatever we want to them. If we considered them living beings, we would deal with them differently.… Our culture sanctions this, treating them as commodities and expendable."
The commission voted earlier this month to send a proposal to the Board of Supervisors recommending a ban on the sale of all pets in the city to shore up the adoption of unwanted creatures from shelters and rescue organizations. Commissioners are now looking for a supervisor or two to sponsor such an ordinance.
Snake food was almost exempt from the proposal. After all, pythons have to eat, and they like their lunch alive. But at a heated meeting, Commissioner Pam Hemphill questioned how it could be humane to sell live animals to be fed to other live animals.
"If a snake is caught with a rodent in a box, the rodent can scratch its eye and cause an infection," said Hemphill, who noted that reptiles on display at the California Academy of Sciences eat dead, frozen prey. "The snake can't escape, and the rodent might be stuck for one or two days in the box with the snake because the snake's not hungry right then.
"So it doesn't seem very humane to me," she continued. "And if the frozen [food] works, then I think the killing of the animals to be food is probably more humane."
It is legal in San Francisco to sell live animals for eventual human consumption, and the proposed ban would not stop markets from selling live fish, poultry, turtles or seafood for that purpose.
Rebecca Katz, director of San Francisco Animal Care and Control, said her agency supports a ban on pet sales — particularly one that includes the so-called smalls, such as hamsters, which are euthanized at her city shelter at a higher percentage than any other domesticated animal. Although she did not advocate for the inclusion of fish, she is not against it.
"We're the agency that receives the old, filthy fish bowl with the goldfish at risk and have to determine whether we can make them healthy and adopt them out or flush them down the toilet," Katz said. "These are the lucky ones. Most people just flush them themselves."
Jennifer Scarlett, a veterinarian and co-president of the San Francisco SPCA, notes that only a handful of stores in San Francisco sell animals of any kind and that the effect of a ban would be largely symbolic. But she said that symbolism, and the conversation that it raises, is critical in improving the lives of millions of helpless creatures.
"For us as an organization, we've identified the larger problem of online purchasing of dogs, and we hope this is an avenue to get to that," she said. Still, when it comes to birds and fish, "there's a lot of cruelty around where they are sourced from. We see the cruelty."
But Jonathan Ito finds the proposal to be far more than symbolic. To the owner of Animal Connection — who has sold fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, rats, mice and hamsters for a generation — the ban is a threat to his livelihood.
"It would put us out of business and our employees out of work," said Ito, who believes there is "no cause and effect" to the proposal.
Pet stores, he said, do not cause overcrowding at the shelters. They do not promote impulse buys of small, cute creatures that will later be tossed aside by bored children. And they work hard to educate prospective pet owners.
"The animal-rights activists are trying to drive a wedge any way they can in order to get a foothold on changing the ownership of animals," Ito said. "They don't believe they should be bred. They don't believe people are responsible to care for them.… They are about eliminating animals as pets."
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PHOTO: Jonathan Ito is the owner of Animal Connection in the Sunset District. The city's Commission of Animal Control and Welfare voted earlier this month to send a proposal to the Board of Supervisors recommending a ban on the sale of all pets in the city to shore up the adoption of unwanted creatures from shelters and rescue organizations. (David Butow, For The Times / June 22, 2011)Los Angeles Times...
San Francisco considers banning the sale of all pets
The... more
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Established basically as the private zoo by late Prime Minister Juddha Sumsher J.B. Rana in 1932, The Central Zoo is the only zoo in Nepal. The Government of Nepal finally opened the zoo to the public in 1956. The Zoo remained under the management of various Departments of the Government for various years. It was only when the zoo was managed meeting the standards when it was handed over to The National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) in December 1995. The Trust has developed plans and policies to maintain the zoo and improve the living conditions of animals.Established basically as the private zoo by late Prime Minister Juddha Sumsher J.B.... more
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bhutri
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45 Australian Species Face Extinction in 20 Years
by David DeFranza, Washington, DC on 03.24.11
wild donkeys photo
Photo credit: asibiri/Creative Commons
For decades, the remote Kimberley region of Northern Australia has stood as a stronghold for dozens of rare native species of mammals, birds, lizards and other vertebrates. Now, these species are under serious threat from encroaching invasive species and a series of fires.
The pressure is so severe, researchers believe, that as many as 45 species could face extinction within 20 years.
"We're in the midst of a massive extinction event in Australia and the north has really been the last stronghold for many species of birds and mammals and reptiles," Tara Martin, a researcher with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, said, "the Kimberley is really their last chance on Earth."
SLIDESHOW: The World's Most Lovable Invasive Species [Click on link above.]
The threat, a new report explains, comes from feral cats, wild donkeys, and a series of forest fires. The cats, researchers found, are opportunistic hunters devastating native populations. Donkeys and goats compete for the scarce food and water resources in the region.
The simplest means of defense, conservationists say, is to reduce the population of goats and donkeys. Educating the public on the impact stray house cats have on local ecosystems is also critical.45 Australian Species Face Extinction in 20 Years
by David DeFranza, Washington, DC... more
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More "Quetzalcoatl",...Less Centerfold ! - more dignified title; I'm tired of seeing naked dinosaurs
by Brian Switek | Science | guardian.co.uk
-While walking through a natural history museum gift shop a few years back, I spotted a plush Velociraptor among the piles of dinosauriana. Frankly, it looked pretty stupid. Covered in a soft, fuzzy coat of faux-feathers, it lacked the reptilian menace of the predatory dinosaurs I remembered from my youth. This theropod looked more likely to cuddle someone to death than sink its hyperextendable toe claws into its hapless victim. Surely the feathers were just speculation based on the close relationship between some dinosaurs and birds? Velociraptor never would have looked so silly.
-But I was wrong about the dinosaur's plumage. Many theropod dinosaurs – Velociraptor included – sported downy coats, but it took a lot of digging through the scientific literature to overcome my bias towards more reptilian dinosaurs. Even though I had heard of a few genera that had been found with feather impressions intact, the imagery of cold-eyed, scaly dinosaurs from the books and documentaries I saw as a child stuck with me so strongly that it was difficult for me to believe that any dinosaur could have had feathers unless there was direct evidence to the contrary. I was thinking only in terms of what had been found etched in stone, and I lacked the evolutionary and historical perspective required to understand why scientists had recently started sticking feathers on some of my favourite dinosaurs.
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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/11/4/1288875514630/A-bristly-Styracosaurus-d-001.jpgMore "Quetzalcoatl",...Less Centerfold ! - more dignified title; I'm... more
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Blaze engulfs dozens of homes in California neighborhood
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 10, 2010 4:35 a.m. EDT
[This is the original submission. Please see updates further down.]
San Bruno, California (CNN) -- Firefighters were still battling a deadly gas-fueled blaze Friday that engulfed dozens of homes and sent fireballs shooting into the air in this neighborhood near the San Francisco airport, emergency management officials said.
At least one person died in the fire, Kelly Huston of California Emergency Management said.
Local hospitals reported Thursday night that at least 28 people were being treated for injuries from the fire, some with critical burn injuries. The number of dead and injured was "likely to climb," Huston said.
At least 53 homes were severely damaged and up to 120 homes have some damage from the fast-moving fire, San Bruno Fire Chief Dennis Haag told reporters.
The fire was about 50 percent contained four hours after it began, he said. But the persistent flames had kept crews from searching the area for victims.
Firefighters had not yet been able to access the high-pressure gas line that appeared to be the source of an explosion that proceeded the blaze, he said.
City officials said they were trying to account for residents in the area. Haag said about 100 had evacuated to shelters.
"A terrible, terrible tragedy has fallen on our city this afternoon," San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane said.
People as far as a half-mile away said they felt the boom and heat of the blast, KGO reported.
iReport: Ground level view of fire
"I was standing next to a police officer who'd been in Baghdad and he said he had never seen anything quite so bad as this," John Hampton, a freelance photographer who witnessed the fire, told CNN affiliate KGO. "It looks as if this area was fire-bombed."
San Bruno resident Tim Gutierrez, who lives in a neighborhood near where the blast occurred, told CNN affiliate KRON that people living in the area have smelled natural gas for the past three weeks.
"Every day after work, I would smell the heavy smell coming from the gutter and sewer," he said.
When asked about that account Thursday night, Haag told reporters it was "the first time the fire department's ever had any notice of it."
Pacific Gas and Electric spokesman Jeff Smith said it was too early to tell what caused the blast, and declined to comment on any posibility of gas smells proceeding the blast.
"At this time we don't want to speculate on comments such as that. However, if it's determined that PG&E was responsible, we will take accountability," he said.
California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado declared a state of emergency in San Mateo County.
Windy weather and water supply problems have complicated efforts to combat the flames.
iReport: Lone fireman fights flames
Water pressure in the area was low because the fire compromised a water main, California State Sen. Leland Yee told CNN affiliate KRON, so firefighters had to truck in water.
"It's going to be a long, long fight on this one. Mainly it's a tough terrain up there," he said.
Sergio Campos, 21, said he was on his way to class at Skyline College when he saw the fire and pulled over. Even from a distance, the blaze "sounded like a big, ongoing roar," he said.
"A lot of us were confused because we didn't know if it was a natural explosion or an airplane crash," he told CNN's iReport.
A "major gas line explosion" occurred at 6:15 p.m. (9:15 p.m. ET) and "immediately erupted into fire," San Bruno city spokeswoman Dena Gunning said.
Authorities are worried about winds that could spread the fire and embers that are falling on adjacent houses, Huston said. Helicopters were dropping retardant on homes to try to stop the fire's spread.
iReport: Another view of the fire
Two evacuation centers have been set up and at least 100 people are being cared for at one of the locations, Melanie Finke of the San Francisco Red Cross said.
Church of Highlands Staff Pastor Leigh Bishop told CNN he witnessed a "devastating explosion" that caused the fast-moving fire.
Bishop said two people from his church had lost their homes and at least one person had burn injuries.
California's state fire department was sending 25 fire engines to the area to help battle the blaze at the request of the local fire department, spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
The fire is in a populated area about two miles west of San Francisco International Airport, Huston said.
All flights and operations there were normal Thursday evening, airport spokesman Michael Brown said.
At least 5,000 customers were without electricity, KGO reported.
CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet, Dan Simon, Ninette Sosa, Shawn Nottingham, Anderson Cooper, Karan Olson, Sonya Hamasaki, Deanna Proeller, Greg Morrison, Scott Thompson and Amanda Watts contributed to this report.Blaze engulfs dozens of homes in California neighborhood
By the CNN Wire Staff... more
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eva2
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A culinary extreme adventure uncovering the powers behind dangerous foods, and why for centuries man has continued to eat them despite the risk of sudden death.
Every Tuesday at 9pm
Sky channel 183
Virgin Media 155A culinary extreme adventure uncovering the powers behind dangerous foods, and why for... more
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Hundreds of Gulf-Area Pets Now Homeless
Added On July 15, 2010
Gulf families who can't afford to keep their pets are being forced to send them to shelters. CNN's Randi Kaye reports.Hundreds of Gulf-Area Pets Now Homeless
Added On July 15, 2010
Gulf families... more
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Six out of seven of the world's marine turtle species are at risk of extinction. Fisheries aren't helping.
Millions of already endangered turtles are accidentally killed each year as a result of global fisheries. Kasey-Dee Gardner explains what this means for the already dwindling turtle populations and explains how to help solve the problem.
Video: http://news.discovery.com/videos/animals-millions-of-turtles-killed-due-to-bycatch.htmlSix out of seven of the world's marine turtle species are at risk of extinction.... more
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It appears in the Philippine forests that a new, giant lizard species has been officially discovered. Coming in at 6 feet long and weighing roughly 22 pounds, it may have been so elusive because it spends most of its time in the trees. The new species, unlike its carnivorous cousin the Komodo Dragon, is a vegetarian, hence why it spends so much time in the trees.
How one misses a 6 foot long giant lizard for so long is beyond me. Makes you realize just how vast and diverse these forests really are.It appears in the Philippine forests that a new, giant lizard species has been... more
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With Madagascar containing nearly two-third's of the world's chameleon species, Christopher Raxworthy, Associate Curator of Herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History, recently embarked on an expedition to the island in search of these special lizards.With Madagascar containing nearly two-third's of the world's chameleon... more
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This documentary explores the impact of illegal breeding and selling of exotic pets on not only the lives of the animals, but the lives of the people around them. We explore many causes of why these animals are abandoned and focus on Shirley Cannan owner and operator of Fallin' Pines Critter Rescue, a non-profit organization that takes in exotic animals which have been neglected or abandoned.This documentary explores the impact of illegal breeding and selling of exotic pets on... more
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ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2010) — "A team of scientists has documented that Yasuní National Park, in the core of the Ecuadorian Amazon, shatters world records for a wide array of plant and animal groups, from amphibians to trees to insects.
The authors also conclude that proposed oil development projects represent the greatest threat to Yasuní and its biodiversity.
"This study demonstrates that Yasuní is the most diverse area in South America, and possibly the world," said Dr. Peter English of The University of Texas at Austin. "Amphibians, birds, mammals and vascular plants all reach maximum diversity in Yasuní."
The study is published in the open-access scientific journal PLoS ONE.
"We have so far documented 596 bird species occurring in Yasuni..."ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2010) — "A team of scientists has documented that... more
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The gharial, Gavialis gangeticus, and king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, are two of India's most iconic reptiles, and they're endangered because of polluted waterways. Conservationist Romulus Whitaker shows rare footage of these magnificent animals and urges us to save the rivers that sustain their lives and our own.The gharial, Gavialis gangeticus, and king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, are two of... more
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This is yet another fascinating stop-motion video of the creation of artist Carel Brest van Kempen's painting, Brown Anole Portrait. Probably Florida's most common reptile, the Brown Anole was introduced from Cuba.This is yet another fascinating stop-motion video of the creation of artist Carel... more
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