Round Island Boas Reintroduced after a 150 Year Absence

[findi]

Hi All,

Some promising news about an endangered species…for a change! Please let me know your thoughts – is the program worthwhile?
Mauritius, an island nation off the coast of southeast Africa, is best known to naturalists as the site of the Dodo Bird’s extinction (Mauritius also is, in a sense, the reason I was hired by the Bronx Zoo and spared life as a lawyer – see article below for the story!). Herp enthusiasts, however, know it as the habitat of several unique reptiles, all of which are now very rare or extinct. But we can delight in some news just released by the Durrell Wildlife Trust - a new population of the Round Island or Keel-scaled Boas, Casarea dussumieri, will soon be established in the wild. This unusual snake disappeared from nearly all of its range in the 1860’s, and its return is the culmination of 40 years’ worth of captive breeding and habitat restoration efforts. Read article here http://bitly.com/Ut6sJa and let me know what you think…is it worthwhile, will it work?
Comments and questions appreciated. As I do not place notices here each time I post a new article on That Reptile Blog, you may wish to check in periodically or subscribe; you can do so here http://bitly.com/JJNk9h. Please also check out my posts on Twitter http://bitly.com/JP27Nj.

Thanks, Frank
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[lizardminion]

First, we establish them on the island, then we establish them in the pet trade...

 

[findi]

First, we establish them on the island, then we establish them in the pet trade...

They are very "conveniently" sized! I just posted an article elsewhere mentioning how all the ancestors of all the bearded dragons in the US were smuggled into Europe years ago; I'm sure private keepers could have bred RI Boas easily. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out as well as with the BD, which I doubt anyone would bother to collect today; most Madagascan tortoises, for example, have not benefited all that much, and continue to decline...Best, Frank

 

[Tarac]

Hard to say if it will work of course but at least there is the right spirit and science behind it rather than a desire for a new kind of snake leather or something. Kudos for effort at least! Interesting to see what happens with the population over time.

 

[findi]

Well put, thanks...I imagine all will go well - in any event, the Durrell Institute can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned! Best, Frank

 

[Tarac]

Snakes to do seem to be fairly resilient being generally not very picky. Probably of most re-introductions, a snake species such as this has the best shot so long as they weren't extirpated due to some new introduced predator (non-human I should say I guess), I agree. Sounds like the rat/goat/rabbit pressure has been alleviated so I wish all the new inhabitants the best of luck for the future. Durrell sounds like an amazing organization, I'm going to have to do more reading. I love that they emphasize the lesser "charismatic," non-panda types. Very cool, thanks for posting.

 

[Shrike]

Thanks for sharing! I'm happy to see efforts like this taking place.

 

[findi]

Snakes to do seem to be fairly resilient being generally not very picky. Probably of most re-introductions, a snake species such as this has the best shot so long as they weren't extirpated due to some new introduced predator (non-human I should say I guess), I agree. Sounds like the rat/goat/rabbit pressure has been alleviated so I wish all the new inhabitants the best of luck for the future. Durrell sounds like an amazing organization, I'm going to have to do more reading. I love that they emphasize the lesser "charismatic," non-panda types. Very cool, thanks for posting.

Thanks...yes, Gerard Durrell focused on ignored rare creatures decades before most others, and the organization continues to do so. His many popular books are great reads...fun and informative at same time...Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons actually helped me to land a job at the Bx Zoo; you might enjoy this article : http://bitly.com/WmxTeg.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

I loved Durrell's books.

 

[findi]

I still pick them up and re read from time to time, he was very special; wonderful that his work is going on with the same spirit and focus, Best, Frank