From sgrenard at si.rr.com Mon Jun 9 20:56:36 2008 From: sgrenard at si.rr.com (sgrenard at si.rr.com) Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2008 14:56:36 -0400 Subject: CROCLIST: Die-Off Crocodiles- SoAfrica Message-ID: <23811920.920151213037796617.JavaMail.root@hrndva-web23-z02> ********************************************************************* A ProMED-mail post ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases Date: Wed 4 Jun 2008 Source: South African National Parks Official website [edited] Crocodile deaths puzzle ecologists ---------------------------------- A think tank of veterinary surgeons, scientists, researchers, rangers, and managers met in Skukuza in the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Tue 3 Jun 2008 to discuss the discovery of at least 30 crocodile carcasses found in the Olifants River last week. "We are in unknown territory and we certainly don't have the answers as to why these crocodiles seem to be dying, so we need to look at the problem closely and find a solution," said the KNP's head of Department for Scientific Services, Mr Danie Pienaar after the meeting. Carcasses were first spotted by trails rangers from the Olifants Wilderness Trails on Tue 27 May 2008 and these were reported to Skukuza. A veterinary surgeon from Phalaborwa went to the Olifants River and found one decomposed crocodile with a distinctive yellow-orange hardened fat in its tail. In turn, this information was reported and, on Thu 29 May 2008, a helicopter with researchers and veterinary technologists on board flew over the entire length of the Olifants River within the boundaries of the park and the Letaba River from Letaba Rest Camp to the confluence of the Letaba and Olifants rivers. During this aerial survey, some 30 crocodile carcasses were discovered in various stages of decomposition and sample tissue of the yellow-orange hardened fat was taken, as well as a fresh crocodile carcass, and sent to the University of Pretoria's Onderstepoort for further analysis. It is believed at this stage that the yellow-orange fat is a condition known as pansteatitis, which is usually associated with the consumption of rotten or rancid fish. "The carcass and the samples have been sent for a thorough post mortem and further tests as we are not sure, at this stage, what caused this condition in the Olifants Gorge as there were no recent fish kills reported from this river in the KNP. We have decided that further samples of crocodiles, fish, water, and sediments are needed for detailed analysis before we can identify the cause," added Mr Pienaar. KNP rangers, trails rangers, and scientists will continue monitoring the situation along the Olifants River with regular flights of the Bantam Ultralight Aircraft and reports from the rangers, trails rangers, and guides based in the area while the situation is extensively researched. "We will be looking at this problem from all angles and have not ruled out any possibility. Although a clear cause/effect relationship cannot be found at this stage, it is clear that the Olifants River system is strained beyond it capacity to deal with this level of stress," added Mr Pienaar. Mr Pienaar concluded that the Olifants River is the most polluted of all the rivers in the KNP and the system now has further strain from the Massingir Dam that has pushed back into the Olifants Gorge, causing sediments to be deposited. Visitors to the KNP need not worry about their own health as water utilized from the Olifants River is exhaustively monitored before declared fit for human consumption. [byline: Raymond Travers] -- communicated by: Wolfgang Preiser Professor and Head Division of Medical Virology Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences Stellenbosch University and NHLS Tygerberg PO Box 19063, Tygerberg 7505 South Africa [According to the information above, the current event involves crocodiles exclusively. Are other wildlife species exposed to the same polluted water without being affected? Such information may have public health implications. Earlier reports on wildlife mortalities in the KNP, posted in April 2008 and November 2007, addressed various mammal species in the area of the Silolweni Dam, reportedly affected by blue green algae (cyanobacteria) poisoning. The event led the authorities to drain the dam, reportedly "putting an immediate end to this point source bio-intoxication outbreak"; see details and Mod.TG commentary in ProMED-mail posting 20071107.3617. For a review on crocodile diseases, including a picture of pansteatitis in a Nile crocodile (fig. 13), see FW Huchzermeyer's paper in Rev sci tech Off int Epiz 2002; 21(2): 265-76, available online at . Laboratory results from Onderstepoort, desirably addressing toxicological and infectious aspects of the event, are anticipated with interest. - Mod.AS Kruger National Park in northeastern South Africa is the largest game reserve in the country. It can be located on the map at . - CopyEd.MJ] [see also: Blue-green algae, wildlife deaths - South Africa: (Kruger NP) 20080418.1388 2007 --- Blue-green algae, wildlife deaths - South Africa: (Kruger NP) 20071107.3617] .................arn/mj/sh From bryan at alligatoralley.com Thu Jun 12 05:01:11 2008 From: bryan at alligatoralley.com (Bryan Swinney) Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:01:11 -0000 Subject: CROCLIST: Any Suggestions for Croc Watching in Cancun? Message-ID: <60512.1213239686@pop.hypermart.net> We are planning to visit Cancun next month. Does anyone know of a reputable kayak rental outfitter in the area--preferably somewhere not overrun with motorized watercraft? We would like to try to see some wild crocs in a less "touristy" place, if possible. Thanks, Bryan Still offering a $500 finder's fee for the first person to put me in touch with an albino alligator under $8,000 that I end up purchasing. From jjundt at dzs.org Mon Jun 16 13:50:04 2008 From: jjundt at dzs.org (Jeff Jundt) Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:50:04 -0000 Subject: CROCLIST: Gauging interest in dwarf caiman Message-ID: I'm checking to see if anyone is interested in hatchling dwarf caiman, P. palpebrosus. Our female looks like she'll be building a nest soon and we'll only be keeping eggs if someone is interested in them. Thank you. Cheers, Jeff Jeff Jundt Curator of Reptiles Detroit Zoological Society 8450 W. 10 Mile Road Royal Oak, MI 48067 (248) 541-5717 ext. 3159 (248) 691-4194 fax http://www.detroitzoo.org Celebrating & Saving Wildlife -------------------------------------------------------- This email contains information from the sender that may be confidential, legally privileged, proprietary or otherwise protected from disclosure. This email is intended for use only by the person or entity to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying, distribution, printing, or any action taken in reliance on the contents of this email, is strictly prohibited. If you received this email in error, please contact the sending party by replying in an email to the sender, delete the email from your computer system and shred any paper copies of the email you printed. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.gatorhole.com/pipermail/croclist/attachments/20080616/d8c8d241/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: DZS email no address 70.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 39362 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.gatorhole.com/pipermail/croclist/attachments/20080616/d8c8d241/attachment.jpg From sgrenard at si.rr.com Wed Jun 18 18:18:11 2008 From: sgrenard at si.rr.com (sgrenard at si.rr.com) Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:18:11 -0000 Subject: CROCLIST: Cane Toad (toxin) killing Australian crocs Message-ID: <24135762.518721213805931000.JavaMail.root@hrndva-web19-z02> Crocodile populations down by 75% in some parts of Australia after Cane toads arriveThe first evidence has been found for the destructive effect of the cane toad invasion on one of northern Australia's top predators, the freshwater crocodile. A University of Sydney team led by Dr Mike Letnic from the School of Biological Science found up to a 75 per cent reduction in the numbers of freshwater crocs in the Victoria River District of the Northern Territory following the toads' recent arrival in the river system. "During surveys of the Victoria River in the semi-arid tropical region of the Northern Territory, we documented massive mortality of freshwater crocodiles at the toad invasion front," said Dr Letnic. The Sydney team found that population densities of crocodiles plummeted as much as 77 per cent in some areas following toad invasion, with some of the dead crocs found to have undigested toads in their stomachs. "The impact of invasive species is particularly important as their removal can generate a substantial cascade of secondary effects in the local environment," said Dr Letnic. From sgrenard at si.rr.com Sat Jun 28 12:18:19 2008 From: sgrenard at si.rr.com (sgrenard at si.rr.com) Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:18:19 -0000 Subject: CROCLIST: Is this news? Message-ID: <26579648.614561214648319846.JavaMail.root@hrndva-web19-z02> I seem to think that this is not new and we've always pretty well known this to be true but the following story appeared in the L.A. Times today: June 28, 2008 Crocodile babies 'talk' before birth Baby crocodiles start calling to one another and their mothers just before they hatch, perhaps signaling that it is time to be born, according to a report Monday in the journal Current Biology. Researchers tested 10 crocodiles and their eggs, recording sounds the babies made. When the sounds were played back, the babies hastened to break out of their shells and eight of the mothers tried to dig up their eggs. Researchers said that many baby reptiles are eaten by predators right after birth, so it may be important for them to hatch together and for the mother to be there as they do.