Surveys of the Arnhem land escarpment in recent years have reported plummeting numbers of all major vertebrates, and this largely preceded the arrival of Cane Toads. Of course oenpelliensis is a mammal/bird feeder as an adult, but like GTPs and others, the juvies are probably very fond of frogs. In any event, toads kill mammals ond birds, thus reducing the biomass, and availability of food for pythons.
The writings of John Woinarski (spelling - I'm at Mowanjum community near Derby WA as I write this...) and Greg Miles make compelling reading.
Western Australia is the only state that allows the collection of species to be 'established in the hobby."
Jamie.
I have read some of Woinarski's papers that relate to west arnhem land and i have not found any citation that states that oenpelli's numbers are in decline. If you have a paper that states that they are i would love to know about it. Woinarski states that the species is vunerable but does not attribute it to toads, infact he says it is more likely due to their specific habitat, changed fire regimes and paoching.
Have you come across many of these pythons Waruikazi? And can you give insight into the 'other reasons' why oenpelliensis cannot be collected to be established in the hobby?
No i haven't come across any. I've only been in Oenpelli for 6 months and for the majority of it we've been cut off by flood waters. The name Oenpelli is a bit of a misnomer, they may turn up occasionally on the outskirts of the area but they do not 'live' in oenpelli. We are where the flood plain and escarpment country meet, which i think makes for less than ideal country for them. Hunting pressure on large macropods and other mammals along with senseless killing of snakes i think has driven them out of the area if they ever really were here.
The NT gov does allow the collection of animals to be sold into the pet trade. Permits can be obtained from parks and wildlife if you fulfill the required criterea. Thats how David Reed makes his living and think about all the wild caught animals that come out of the NT.
What are you basing your statement on Waruikazi?
I'm basing
MY statement on the readings i have done on oenpellis and snakes in general along with my own meandering experience. My own experience has shown me that snakes that do not eat frogs as adults generally will not eat them as juvies. To top that off, even frog specialists such as GTS and slatey greys are still around the NT in their appropriate habitats despite the toads (but i will concede that i have found
one case of a slatey eating a toad, however it did not die.) The only snakes that i have seen take a significant hit in numbers across the top end with the advance of toads were the death adders and mulgas.
Oenpellis and cane toads have different habitats, one of them cannot live on rocky escarpment plateus. Also the traditional owners of the escarpment country in Arnhem Land tell me that they are still around in good numbers, seriously who would know best?
Young Oenpelli's would feed upon smaller reptiles and frogs, that grow into predominantly mammal and bird feeding adults. The population could be declining due to the young specimens feeding upon toads and little recruitment into the population, with mainly long lived adults in evidence around the rock escarpments. Without a research scientist out there collecting data we can only speculate, regardless of the convictions of some.
Reptiles yes, frogs no, toads even more no. Especially considering that many of the frogs that live on the flood plains in our area are poisonous, very few snakes eat them. But you are right in saying that the estimations of population size comes from adult animals and not from the young. BUT for the population to sustain istself, each animal in its entire life only has to replace itself once to keep the population in the same numbers.
Folks i am all for the conservation of this species, but the argument that they need to be brought into captivity to help save them from extiction does not wash because they are not under any immediate threat. I think making them available to the public could increase paoching pressure which would have a negative impact on their numbers.
(It's late and i haven't proof read this post, i'm sorry if i ahve made any mistakes.)
