Saved a snake today

[Bench Warmer]

I went for a late afternoon herp today in a section of bush a 20 minute hike from my house that was being developed,machines everywhere and huge ammounts of trees felled,it's on the base of a small mountain,and i got half way up and found a dumping ground of tin and boards etc,and i jumped the fence,and got told off for that and not wearing a safety vest..

then the bloke told me that the whole area is getting fully deforested over the 8 weeks,so after he left as ya do i went round the back way and got back in there,so i walk over to the boards and first board i flipped i found a small eyed snake! my first ever small eyed.

i think it was in hibernation because it was in a weird position and covered in mud,and shared the board with 2 cane toads,so i caught the snake and brought it home for the night and i'm gonna let it go in the morning somewhere safe,so i'll have some pics then.. this place is probably worth a second going over,to rescue whatever else is there,today i saw several birds that i dont see anywhere else,black cockatoo's,galahs,the white galah looking things lol,and saw roo's and a few different native frogs.

 

[thesilverbeast]

that sucks they are pulling it out but good on ya for saving them! what are the laws there in regards to what your doing? are you allowed to bring them home to relocate them?

lets hope you find a few more things!

 

[Fennwick]

hey, where abouts are you from? it might be worth contacting your local WIRES branch and letting them know. im a WIRES volunteer, and recently they were given permission from a developing company to wander around the site to rescue any animals before it was all cut down.

 

[MrBredli]

Yeah good on ya Bench Warmer. If WIRES can't do anything, get a couple of mates together and go rip the place apart, screw the law, nobody can tell me or you that leaving them there to die is the 'right' thing to do.

 

[Bench Warmer]

i'm on the sunshine coast,i'm not allowed to do it i think,but the circumstances called for it in my oppinion,and i'm sure everyone would have done the same.. thats a great idea,i'll call wires and see what they can do about it,the guy who is developing the upper half and the majority of the bush has my phone number,because i said if your moving the tin and board to call me and i'll meet him there,this is where the "conservation" laws in australia are working against reptiles..

there are alot of species on this hill,lots beside reptiles.. but the herps are good.

Eastern browns,carpets,small eyeds,yellow face whip snakes,green tree snake,brown tree snake.

and it's all being developed,and queensland parks and wildlife wont come get them,so who is?? (waiting on calling wires of course).

and if a herp enthusiast finds a snake,and saves it and does right by the snake by letting it go,even if it has to be kept over night by giving it water and hides etc, they are STILL breaking the law.

if your driving and see a snake sitting in the middle of the road,and fire on one side of the road and you get out and help the snake to the other side,you'll be done for "interfering with wildlife"

man its a joke

 

[Bench Warmer]

haha for sure Mrbredli,i'll record all the species i see why im at it,i'll demolish the place and release them all in the national park down the road,they cant justify leaving them there.

 

[Australis]

No Wires in QLD mate.

 

[Fennwick]

ah, bugger! must be a NSW thing. is there a Qld equivilent?

 

[Bench Warmer]

i might try wildlife warriors at australia zoo,they were really helpful with a matter i called them about before,man its a big task,theres 52 acres all up

and i dont have many mates into herps,just a few,anyone that wants to help will be welcomed

 

[krusty]

good work.......

 

[thesilverbeast]

yeah i thought it would be classed as illegal, doesn't matter as long as you dont get caught.


im sure this is one law that you wont get flamed here for breaking

 

[COOP]

money always comes before wildlife, gotta love the mentality of the governments/councils to allow this all the time > lots of under the table deals

 

[Jonno from ERD]

There are a few businesses in SEQ that do what they call "Spotter/Catcher" work. Normally they are only employed when sensitive habitat is being altered.

Unfortunately, whether you relocate the animals you capture or not, they are as good as dead. Most, if not all, will be common species anyway (if there are rare/endangered species on the property, they development approval won't go through...usually), and are all prevalent in suburbia.

If you really want to do something positive, I would suggest having a polite conversation with the construction foreman, and supply him with the contact details of a few local snake catchers. Explain that you are worried about the well being for some of the native animals, and you would appreciate if they would contact a snake catcher if they came across one.

As I said, most of the species are common in suburbia, and adapt to change in environment readily, so there is probably no need to relocate them (which is a certain death sentence, compared to a possible death sentence). Engaging the foreman in a polite conversation will get his attention, as he is probably used to dealing with middle aged hippy women who haven't showered in a month, and have never been introduced to a razor.

Good luck,

Jonno

 

[monix]

its not just government that we have to educate.. its more than that...
similar instance.. i complain about a stray branch from a tree next door (business) that was hitting my bedroom window earlier this week. This morning I woke to them cutting ALL THREE trees completely down. Now i have NO trees at all around my apartment.
What a progressive society we live in

I had never heard of wires before, and then i got all excited thinking there was possible smtg for me to do... then none in qld eh? oh well.. i will investigate more when i move to melbourne next year. As qld is such a fast growing state, its a shame there is no org as wires.. with the rate of development... so sad. Big props to the few that do venture out and dedicated to this work. BIG props.

Perhaps qld people there is a calling for you. ANd heck, I am SURE there are some purdy girls in the qld herp community that can talk their way in with the foreman....

and until i move to melbourne... perhaps anyone who is in the know and is wanting to do carry out some inspections/relocations in the brisbane area.. PM me as I am interested to come assist. (plus i have PMd you bench)

 

[dansfish4tea]

If you really want to do something positive, I would suggest having a polite conversation with the construction foreman, and supply him with the contact details of a few local snake catchers. Explain that you are worried about the well being for some of the native animals, and you would appreciate if they would contact a snake catcher if they came across one.


Good luck,

Jonno

Sorry to say but i dnt think the foreman will have (in his eyes) better thing to worrie about
unless he is a fellow herper i dnt think he will have the time to organize a snake catcher

i suggest excactly wat other ppl have said get a bunch of ppl together and go rescue the herps and critters
if u did get caught at least it will be a good charge:lol:
and the courts mite be leaniant?

 

[moosenoose]

Yeah good on ya Bench Warmer. If WIRES can't do anything, get a couple of mates together and go rip the place apart, screw the law, nobody can tell me or you that leaving them there to die is the 'right' thing to do.

Agreed, good save IMO!

 

[Pythons Rule]

when I was living in qld I had rung the parks and wild life people on numerouse acounts and they never came out and did there job they don't do there job. There was a guy in a town next to my grandmas place that had caught a wedge tail eagle and kept it in a tiny chicken pen smaller than a small shed never fed it and never looked after it, I called them on nurerous times and they never came, so what are you serposed to do I thought of jumping the pence to save it but that would have ment getting mourled by his hunting dogs and haveing the eagle rip me apart trying to get to freedom . unfortunitly it died and the Parks and Wild life couldn't give a rats asse.

 

[TrueBlue]

jono,- why do you say that relocating reptiles off a 52 acre property will definitley be a death sentance for them.? No offence but i disagree with this statement and find it quite unusual indeed.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day Rob,

A lot of people find it strange, but it has been backed up a few times. I don't have any exact references at the moment as I am on my laptop, but I believe there was studies carried out in Sydney area on Diamond Pythons by David Slip and Richard Shine, and somebody also did some research on Tiger Snakes in Melbourne. Brushtail Possums have been worked on too, I think.

The theory behind the statement is pretty easy to understand. Basically, a certain ecological niche will sustain a certain amount of certain animals. It will always support the maximum amount, with the current animals utilising all the available food, shelter and space the area has to offer. If you remove an animal from one area that is about to be modified, and release it into an untouched area, the population will "overflow".

The best analogy I have heard is a full glass of water, which represents all wildlife. You can't condense all that water into a smaller area, so if you drop a pebble into it (which represents development etc), then some of that water will overflow.

I will try and dig up some references when I get some time...

Cheers

Jonno

 

[TrueBlue]

To an extent yes, but not from a 52 acre property, the surrounding area is still part of most of those reptiles stomping grounds, plus as a rule within 12 months the area will be developed, land scaped and housed, which will actually help some species belive it or not.
Put it this way, ive seen relocated pythons live for many years without a certain death sentance.??