New Snake-like Lizard Discovered in India

Article from MongaBay.com

A previously unknown species of legless lizard as been discovered in a remote Indian forest, reports the Associated Press. Sushil Kumar Dutta, leader of a team of researchers from NGO Vasundhra and the North Orissa University, found the 7-inch long creature in the forests of Khandadhar near Raurkela in Orissa state, about 625 miles southeast of New Delhi.

"Preliminary scientific study reveals that the lizard belongs to the genus Sepsophis," Dutta told the Associated Press. "The lizard is new to science and is an important discovery. It is not found anywhere else in the world." The closest relatives of the newly discovered species are found in Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Photo by Indian zoologist Sushil Kumar Dutta

Scientists say limbless forms of lizards have evolved independently several times, probably to facilitate underground movement. Most limbless lizards live under leaf litter or in upper levels of soil. Limbless lizards are not snakes. They can be distinguished by their external ear holes and flat, non-forked tongues.

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Beach Sand May Harbor Disease-causing E. Coli Bacteria

Article from ScienceDaily.com

New evidence implicating beach sand as a reservoir for E. coli -- the bacterium that is used as an indicator that water has been contaminated by fecal material -- has been reported by scientists at the University of Minnesota.

In the report, published in the April 15 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, Michael J. Sadowsky and colleagues cite several previous studies showing that E. coli and bacteria indicating fecal contamination can accumulate and grow in beach sand. "These results indicate that E. coli originating from several sources may survive and potentially replicate in sand and sediment, possibly increasing fecal counts found on beaches," the report states. The researchers point out that while most E. coli strains are harmless, some strains do cause gastrointestinal diseases in human. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea, as well as more serious conditions.

The 2-year study tracked seasonal variations in E. coli in water, sand, and sediment at the Duluth Boat Club Beach in Duluth-Superior Harbor on Lake Superior. It concluded that beach sand and sediment serve as sinks and sources for E. coli from humans and waterfowl that can contribute to beach closures.

Original article: "Beach Sand and Sediments are Temporal Sinks and Sources of Escherichia coli in Lake Superior" Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Chemical Society.

Reggie Captured In True Hollywood Style with Fans All Around

Article from KABC-7.com
Pic from PhotoBucket.com

Reggie the Alligator could have remained on the run, or should we say swim, but not forever. On Friday, Reggie woke up in his new home at the L.A. Zoo. The huge reptile eluded professional and amateur wranglers for the better part of two years in Lake Machado.
He was captured after being spotted sunning himself on the banks of the Lake Thursday afternoon. After 90 day quarantine, Reggie will eventually be on display to the public.

FYI: The cost of security and fences around Lake Machado, and payments to alligator wranglers who failed, the total cost to taxpayers for capturing Reggie is about 180-thousand dollars. Video of Reggie can be seen on the KABC-7 website.

Worries Rise Over Wounded Wayward Whales

Wayward Whales in Sacramento River Show Signs of Distress As Worry Over Wounds Grows By MARCUS WOHLSEN / AP / ABCNews
Hope dimmed Wednesday for two lost, wounded whales as scientists spotted the humpbacks wildly slapping their tails on the water in possible distress as they lingered far from their ocean home. Deep cuts on the mother whale and calf, likely caused by a run-in with a boat, were worsening after more than a week in fresh water that the pair are not physically well-equipped to inhabit, biologists said. "I wouldn't say there's a lot of optimism right now," said Brian Gorman, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "They may surprise us again. They may just take off and head down river. But as long as they continue doing what they're doing, we're very worried about them."

For a third day, the whales frustrated efforts to herd them past a Sacramento River bridge about 70 miles from the Pacific, where they have lingered since Monday. They first were spotted in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on May 13. Biologists would not estimate how long the whales could survive in the delta but said the tail-slapping behavior, known as "lobbing," was cause for concern. "The whales were fairly quiet for a period of days. Then they weren't so quiet. So the question is, why have they changed?" said Trevor Spradlin, a NOAA whale biologist.

Boat crews resumed playing underwater recordings of humpbacks feeding to try to coax the whales downriver when startling them by banging on metal pipes failed to work Wednesday morning. If the feeding sounds are not effective, scientists planned to try a new scare tactic playing recordings of orcas, also known as killer whales, attacking a mother whale and her calf. Rescuers planned to back off over the Memorial Day weekend if the twosome remained stranded.

The biggest concern remained the wounds on both whales, especially a 3- to 4-foot cut on the calf's side that appeared to pierce the blubber layer down to the muscle. The freshwater environment was taxing the whales physically, turning their skin from its normally smooth, shiny texture to rough and pitted, "like when you sit in a bathtub for too long," Spradlin said. The stress of that continued exposure "may be impeding their natural healing abilities," he said.

The challenge facing the scientists trying to push the pair back to salt water was to encourage them to move quickly without causing them anxiety that could create more physical stress. "Stressing even a healthy whale is not good. Stressing an injured whale is worse," Gorman said. More forceful techniques, such as using nets to drag the whales downstream or create a barrier across the river, could cause undue stress and threatened to harm the whales by entangling them, scientists said.

The humpbacks, which apparently took a wrong turn during their annual migration to feeding grounds in the northern Pacific, traveled 90 miles inland to the Port of Sacramento before turning around. They were making progress Monday until they reached the Rio Vista Bridge and began swimming in circles. Scientists theorized the whales started circling because vibrations from traffic on the bridge upset them, though the pair continued to circle even when traffic was halted.

New Celebrity at Berlin's Tierpark Zoo

Article from AP /FOXNews.com

Photos from Tierpark Zoo & SeattlePI websites

Berlin has a new animal celebrity — a baby elephant who immediately followed his abrupt birth at the weekend with a spectacular splash in the pool. The as-yet-unnamed male elephant was born suddenly on Sunday at the elephant enclosure in the capital's Tierpark zoo.
"It got up, walked into the pool, fell down and had to swim in deep water," zoo director Bernhard Blaszkiewitz told AP Television News on Wednesday, when the animal made his first public appearance since his birth. "Our people pulled it out of the water right away," he added.
The zoo said the young bull was the third baby born to 26-year-old African elephant Pori, and the twelfth at the zoo since 1998. He weighed 258.4 pounds at birth and had a back length of 35.8 inches. In reports accompanying pictures of Sunday's elephant rescue, some media portrayed the elephant as having been rejected by his mother, but the zoo said Pori and her 6-year-old daughter, Tana, were "taking exemplary care of the newborn."
"The mother nudged the baby to make it get on its feet but on the pictures it looks like she wanted to flatten it," Blaszkiewitz said. "However, elephants always do that and they do it very carefully with their feet and their trunk."
The new arrival comes five months after the birth of a major Berlin animal star — Knut the polar bear (Knut der Eisbar), who was rejected by his mother and hand-raised by zookeepers at the capital's other major zoo. So potent is Knut's appeal that zoo attendance has roughly doubled to 15,000 on average daily since his debut. He has attracted exhaustive media attention, including his own blog and TV show, and appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Rome Zoo Breeds Rare Egyptian Tortoises

Article from the AP / chron.com
Photo by Peir Palo Cito
Rome's main zoo has successfully bred several rare Egyptian tortoises whose parents were rescued from a smuggler's suitcase in 2005, officials said. The first egg hatched in April, six more followed this month, and there are still several eggs waiting to hatch, said Stefano Micarelli, the head reptile keeper at Rome's Biopark zoo.

"These animals are so rare in nature that we are trying to breed them so we can have a stock of these animals also in captivity," he told AP Television News. The Egyptian tortoise, known as Testudo Kleinmanni, is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES. It is an Appendix I reptile, meaning it is afforded the highest protection. Trade in such animals, many of which are threatened with extinction, is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. The Egyptian tortoises, distinctive by their small size and golden hue, are very difficult to maintain in captivity, requiring the very warm and dry temperatures they find in their native desert habitats. Currently they are found primarily in Libya.

On Oct. 26, 2005, authorities at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport became suspicious when they noticed a passenger on a flight from Libya waiting impatiently for his luggage. They stopped to check his luggage, and found 275 of the rare tortoises, all but four of whom were alive, packed in a bag. Ivan Severoni, an investigator with the forest rangers, said the tortoises were destined for illegal traffickers in southern and central Italy who can command hundreds of dollars for each living specimen. "We did some investigations after we sequestered these animals, and we discovered that the people who were transporting and selling these tortoises were not aware of what they were selling, their rarity and their economic value," he said.

Breeders at Rome's Biopark (Bioparco) had tried for two years to breed the surviving tortoises, but without success until this spring. Micarelli said the Italian government was working with Libyan officials to return some of the tortoises to the Tripoli zoo.

Indonesian Fisherman Catches Rare Ancient Fish

Article from FOXNews.com
Photo of 1998 Sulawesi coelacanth (at right)

An Indonesian fisherman hooked a rare coelacanth, a species once thought as extinct as dinosaurs, and briefly kept the "living fossil" alive in a quarantined pool. Justinus Lahama caught the four-foot, 110-pound fish early Saturday off Sulawesi island near Bunaken National Marine Park, which has some of the highest marine biodiversity in the world.
The fish died 17 hours later, an extraordinary survival time, marine biologist Lucky Lumingas said Sunday. "The fish should have died within two hours because this species only lives in deep, cold-sea environment," he said. Lumingas works at the local Sam Ratulangi University, which plans to study the carcass. The coelacanth (pronounced see-la-kanth) was believed to be extinct for 65 million years until one was found in 1938 off Africa's coast, igniting worldwide interest. Several other specimens have since been discovered, including another off Sulawesi island in 1998. The powerful predator is highly mobile with limb-like fins, and it gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.