A snake which made its way into New Zealand from Vanuatu has been intercepted at a Manukau scrap yard. The boa was discovered dead inside a container of scrap metal last week, shortly after arriving in Auckland.
Full story here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10859039
Massey University Researcher Jenny Laycock explains how the pet trade in introduced frogs could be threatening our endangered endemic frog species.
http://blog.forestandbird.org.nz/pet-trade-potentially-endangering-native-frogs/
ScienceDaily (Oct. 9, 2012) — Just because a lizard can grow back its tail, doesn't mean it will be exactly the same. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona examined the anatomical and microscopic make-up of regenerated lizard tails and discovered that the new tails are quite different from the original ones.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121009092416.htm
If you missed the story on SUNDAY on Poaching New Zealand's native lizards, here is the link.
NZ's Geckos can fetch as much as $10,000 each in Europe, which means the lizards are being plundered to extinction. On SUNDAY, the smugglers, their modus operandi and the losing battle.
http://tvnz.co.nz/sunday/2012-10-07-video-5119582?ref=facebook
Reptile collectors are using scientific papers and online photos to identify sites where geckos can be caught for smuggling out of New Zealand.
Smugglers use web to locate rare NZ lizards
KIRSTY JOHNSTON
DOC
Rare creatures such as this jewelled gecko are often the target of smuggling operations.
Reptile collectors are using scientific papers and online photos to identify sites where geckos can be caught for smuggling out of New Zealand.
Tuesday, 11 September 2012, 3:04 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Government
Hon Kate Wilkinson
Minister of Conservation
11 September 2012 Media Statement
Cabinet has agreed to tough new measures for people caught attempting to smuggle native wildlife out of the country, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson says.
The unique way tuatara chew their food challenges a widespread perception that complex chewing ability is closely linked to high metabolism.
An interesting article and a video that explains it all.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/7016662/Tuatara-chew-spits-on-theory.
Smuggler jailed
A German reptile poacher has been jailed for four months today for trying to smuggle rare native geckos out of New Zealand.
Today at Christchurch District Court he pleaded guilty to charges of hunting and possessing the geckos, which he claimed he intended to swap for gila monsters, which he collected. See more of the news on NZ Herald.
The croaking gave it away! A new species of frog has been found in the heart of the city, Manhatten, New York
"On a foray into the wilds of Staten Island in 2009, Jeremy A. Feinberg, a doctoral candidate in ecology and evolution at Rutgers University, heard something strange as he listened for the distinctive mating call of the southern leopard frog — usually a repetitive chuckle. But this was a single cluck.
Conservationists conduct a bioblitz to find out what wildlife is living on Denniston Plateau
TVNZ 20:20 news 4th March 2012 - background to the video.