BTS in HONOLULU

[Fuscus]

The BTS is the same species that has been established in Guam and now may have been sighted in Hawaii
http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/news/3653962/detail.html
http://64.29.65.199/sb/ros_btm.html
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Aug/14/ln/ln22a.html

 

[instar]

Another story from the cutting edge of "nature news", you beauty Fuscus. Scarey stuff, lets hope its a misidentified local (hawaiian) species. Are there any species native to hawaii? I say there rapid response idea is a good one, we need one here for cane toad sightings along the outer boundrys and front line of their spread. After seeing whats happened to guam, no wonder they are worried. I wonder if they did find one, would they hunt for others(if it was a juvenile) or assume its an accidental one off import , via freight?

 

[Tommo]

i dont think hawaii has any recorded natural occouring snakes, i think i heard that they can t get them as pets there, if the storys true there will be alot more snakes very soon

 

[ackie]

olive-green bts? i reckon its a misidentification but better safe than sorry i guess.

 

[dobermanmick]

They should have done someting like that years ago for the cane toad here .
At least its proactive

 

[Fuscus]

MIck, ter government sponsered the introduction of the cane toad

 

[dobermanmick]

Yeah i know it was them .
They wernt very smart were they

 

[Guest]

Maybe they should put people in government that actually know what they are doing? might be a first.

 

[instar]

"They" will, if enough folk stop voting for the same mob time after time. Time for a "Herper's Party" i say!

 

[Fuscus]

...stop voting for the same mob time after time...

Or a different version of the same party.

 

[instar]

Touche!

 

[craig23]

Wouldnt be very nice if it happened to Hawaii. Ive been to Guam, very strange to not hear or see a single bird other than the few that the hotels have in cages... and even they are large parrots so the BTS cant get into the cages and eat them as well... snake traps everywhere. Something I wonder about tho is what the BTS are eating now... there is no birds, surely they would have wiped out any other form of food source by now as well....... but yet they continue to multiply... what are they eating?

 

[Fuscus]

The story still has legs
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Aug/21/ln/ln07a.html

 

[Hickson]

Hawaii has only one species of land snake - the Blind Snake (Typhlina bramina) - which is native to the Philippines. However, it has been accidently introduced to many of the islands of the Pacific and is now found on all the Hawaiian islands. First sighted in 1930 in a school in Honolulu.

Occassionally there are Yellow-bellied Sea-snakes seen on the beaches, but that is infrequently.

BTS have been found in the past attached to the landing gear of Continental flights from Guam to Honolulu, and on several of military flights out of Guam. Every flight that lands in Honolulu out of Guam has the landing gear thoroughly checked.

Incidentally, Hawaii is full of introduced reptiles. They had the Cane Toads before we did (with the same problems we have), they also have Green Iguanas (calm down Bry); Anolis, Jackson's Chameleon, Mourning Gecko, a skink (possibly more), and the Chinese Softshell Turtle.

And I think the BTS are feeding on rats/mice (when I was there Agana was a real pigsty - ideal for introduced rodents) or possibly on other smaller BTS.

Hix