Rat Snakes, African Knife Fish, and Golden Poison Frogs will remain uncontrolled in Maine - via Herp Digest

By  George Smith’s Blog,  Maine Woos, 2/16/14

Maine won’t get control anytime soon of rat snakes, bearded dragons, African knife fish, Alligator lizards, Spiny-tailed monitors, Golden poison frog, Gargoyle geckos – or lots of other exotic animals that you can currently possess without permits.

And the confusing laws and rules governing the critters you do need permits to possess won’t get any legislative attention either, nor will the agency’s high costs of administering this program.

While management of exotic animals in Maine is shared by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, most of the job rests with DIF&W which receives no public funding for it, so sportsmen are paying all the bills. And now, they will continue to do so.

The permits are priced at just $23, which doesn’t come close to covering DIF&W’s costs. For example, the agency is supposed to examine the cages of the animals before permits are issued, and annually ever after. And the rules governing cages covers 14 pages!

Black Rat Snake

Wardens are called out to check on exotic animals that are here in Maine without permits, and they have no training that would help them identify the animals or confiscate them if necessary. Many are dangerous. Other than firearms, they’ve got no equipment to deal with these animals.

Several DIF&W staff members spend a great deal of their time dealing with exotic animal issues and problems. That’s why I had high hopes that the agency and legislature would come to grips with this problem and fix it.

Recognizing these problems, last year the legislature ordered up a task force to “consider the effect of the importation and possession of wildlife and the issues of possession and exhibition of wildlife in the State.”

Among the tasks assigned to this group are: developing recommendations for a list of restricted, unrestricted, and banned species; amendments to current permit structures and fees; and the establishment of appropriate penalties for noncompliance with requirements. Findings and recommendations were due back to the legislature by January 14, 2014.

Deputy Commissioner Andrea Erskine told me last week that there would be no report and recommendations for the legislature this session, because the issues are complex and the task force needs more time to work on them.

Andrea is certainly correct about the complexity. I attended the first meeting of the exotic animal task force last October and wrote about it in my weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. You can read that here. You may find some of the stories amusing, like the one about the Auburn fire department that mustered out in July for an apartment house fire, encountering more than 30 large Ball Python snakes crawling around on the floor.

But the issues and concerns are serious and complicated. At the October 1 task force meeting, Warden Lieutenant Chris Cloutier reported that two children were killed recently by a Boa Constrictor in Canada, a snake that requires no permit in Maine.

Alligator lizard

Jim Connolly, DIF&W’s top professional in charge of both the Fisheries and the Wildlife Divisions, asked the best question at the first task force meeting: “What’s a reasonable process including informing people about health issues with each species?”

I still remember another good question Connolly asked at 2012 meeting: “Should the department be considering any request from anywhere in the world just because somebody wants to have something?”

Alas, neither those nor any other questions will be answered this session. But I will make one suggestion.

Let’s take this in steps, rather than try to deliver the entire solution at one time. Perhaps this session the permit fee for exotic animals could be increased, so sportsmen don’t have to pay for this work. Maybe DIF&W could focus first on a list of animals that ought to be prohibited.

Gargoyle Gecko

I’d put rat snakes, bearded dragons, African knife fish, Alligator lizards, Spiny-tailed monitors, Golden poison frog, Gargoyle geckos on that list. Easy decision!

Conservation victory for one of world's deadliest animals

New reserve created to protect Golden poison frog
May 2012. Conservationists are celebrating the establishment of a new nature reserve in Colombia that provides the first sanctuary for the endangered golden poison frog, an animal that also has the distinction of being possibly the world's deadliest animal. Its poison is so toxic that even coming in contact with a paper towel that has touched the frog has been fatal to animals. Although they are only two inches long, it is estimated that each golden poison frog has enough toxin to kill ten adult people within minutes.

                                                      Golden poison frog, ProAves proaves.org 

In one of the wettest tropical rainforests in the world, along the Pacific coast of western Colombia, World Land Trust, American Bird Conservancy, and Global Wildlife Conservation have helped purchase 124 acres of threatened Chocó forest, creating the Rana Terribilis Amphibian Reserve named for the Spanish word for frog - rana - and the frog's Latin name Phyllobates terribilis. The reserve is owned and managed by Fundación ProAves, Colombia's leading conservation organization. This is the second amphibian reserve owned by ProAves in Colombia - the first is the Ranita Dorada Reserve.

Death within minutes
This frog is named because of its bright orange skin that is covered by a secretion of deadly alkaloid poison (batrachotoxins). The toxin prevents nerves from transmitting impulses, leaving muscles in a constant state of contraction - leading to heart failure. Death comes within minutes.

The species has long been recognized by indigenous cultures for its lethal poison and is strongly embedded within cultural traditions. The Chocó Emberá Indians use the frog's toxin as poison in their darts used to hunt food; by gently brushing the tips of arrows and darts on the frogs back, without harming it, the weapons can keep their deadly effect for over two years.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/golden-poison-frog.html

Protection for Golden poison frog, the world's most poisonous vertebrate

Nature reserve to help save it from extinction

February 2012: The golden poison frog lives deep in the heart of the Colombian rainforest. This tiny creature is considered to be the most poisonous vertebrate on Earth. International conservation charity, World Land Trust (WLT), has now created a nature reserve to save this spectacular species from extinction.

The golden poison frog is listed on the IUCN Red List as ‘Endangered' and recent years have seen a dramatic decline in numbers, linked to the loss of the frog's habitat. Until WLT secured the Rana Terribilis Amphibian Reserve, this species did not occur in any other protected areas and its survival hung in the balance.

Drenched in enough poison to kill ten men

Just 55mm in length, this tiny creature carries enough poison to kill about ten humans, with just a single milligram of toxin.

The frog's skin is drenched in an alkaloid poison that prevents nerves from transmitting impulses, leaving the muscles in an inactive state of contraction, leading to heart failure and death within minutes.

Long-recognised by the indigenous cultures in Colombia for its lethal poison, the Choco Emberā Indians would gently brush the tips of the arrows and darts on the frog's back (which causes it no harm), rendering the weapon lethal for over two years after.

But even the frog's lethal poison cannot protect it from the threats that humans pose. Deforestation, illegal gold-mining and illicit coca cultivation have all taken their toll. The frog is dependent on primary forest, and occurs across less than 150 sq miles of rainforest in Colombia, making it extremely vulnerable.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/golden-poison-frog.html