FaunaClassifieds - View Single Post - Guam Brown Tree Snake Eradication: Bad News for People & Wildlife

03-17-2014, 09:24 PM

Hi, Frank Indiviglio here. I’m a herpetologist, zoologist, and book author, recently retired from a career spent at several zoos, aquariums, and museums, including over 20 years with the Bronx Zoo.
As a Bronx Zoo animal-keeper in the early 1980’s, I became involved in a breeding program for Guam Rails and Micronesian Kingfishers. Both birds were facing extinction due to a most unusual threat – the introduced Brown Tree Snake, Boiga irregularis. Back then, major problems caused by trans-located snakes were unknown. Although Burmese Pythons had been established in Florida since the early 70’s, these now-famous invaders had not yet grabbed the public’s attention. A zoologist friend journeyed to Guam to investigate, and he was soon regaling me with fantastic stories. In keeping with its species name, this snake was most “irregular” – biting at the moving eyelids of sleeping children, stealing burgers from grills, and often being found in bird cages – too engorged to slip back out after having swallowed the family pet! Today, the rail and kingfisher are gone from Guam, and other birds, lizards and bats have become extinct. Yet the Brown Tree Snake has not, as was predicted, eaten itself into oblivion. Huge populations – to 13,000 snakes per square mile – are sustained by other prolific invaders, one of which is the Green Anole! Read the rest of this article here http://bit.ly/1oleJ3U
Please also check out my posts on Twitter http://bitly.com/JP27Nj and Facebook http://on.fb.me/KckP1m

My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with: http://bitly.com/LC8Lbp

Best Regards, Frank

03-17-2014, 09:24 PM	#1
zookeeperfrank	Guam Brown Tree Snake Eradication: Bad News for People & Wildlife Hi, Frank Indiviglio here. I’m a herpetologist, zoologist, and book author, recently retired from a career spent at several zoos, aquariums, and museums, including over 20 years with the Bronx Zoo. As a Bronx Zoo animal-keeper in the early 1980’s, I became involved in a breeding program for Guam Rails and Micronesian Kingfishers. Both birds were facing extinction due to a most unusual threat – the introduced Brown Tree Snake, Boiga irregularis. Back then, major problems caused by trans-located snakes were unknown. Although Burmese Pythons had been established in Florida since the early 70’s, these now-famous invaders had not yet grabbed the public’s attention. A zoologist friend journeyed to Guam to investigate, and he was soon regaling me with fantastic stories. In keeping with its species name, this snake was most “irregular” – biting at the moving eyelids of sleeping children, stealing burgers from grills, and often being found in bird cages – too engorged to slip back out after having swallowed the family pet! Today, the rail and kingfisher are gone from Guam, and other birds, lizards and bats have become extinct. Yet the Brown Tree Snake has not, as was predicted, eaten itself into oblivion. Huge populations – to 13,000 snakes per square mile – are sustained by other prolific invaders, one of which is the Green Anole! Read the rest of this article here http://bit.ly/1oleJ3U Please also check out my posts on Twitter http://bitly.com/JP27Nj and Facebook http://on.fb.me/KckP1m My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with: http://bitly.com/LC8Lbp Best Regards, Frank