Bad news

Of course, feral cats, wild pigs or other non-native species had nothing to do with the decline.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20120131/D9SJL7VG0.html

oh n on of course not!! that would defeat the purpose of them blaming it on the snakes causing mass histeria. why blame it on everything that is to be the cause when you can just go to giant snakes? yea seems logical to me no prob.

....in case ya'll didnt all figure it out by now the whole ^^^^ is just dripping with sarcasm ^_^

Morta_Dae13 wrote:

....in case ya'll didnt all figure it out by now the whole ^^^^ is just dripping with sarcasm ^_^

Good thing you said something, cause I was a little confused.

This reinforces that it is a Florida issue and not a national one.
I'm happy to see John Wilson and Mike Dorcas conducting a study on the issue. They are both well respected researchers and dedicated herpetologists.

haha realy ryan?

jw wrote:

This reinforces that it is a Florida issue and not a national one.
I'm happy to see John Wilson and Mike Dorcas conducting a study on the issue. They are both well respected researchers and dedicated herpetologists.

This what is needed - science, not emotion and knee jerk reactions.

Studies are what's needed but, studies require them to read and understand what's being said. And then to precede with the good of all in mind. and they don't understand why we keep reptiles so they tend to overlook our side.

There is really little, if anything, that can be said against this report until further studies are done. It is such an unfortunate situation. Florida was already overrun with invasive species before the pythons came along. The problem for herpers is dainty little invaders such as Anolis sagrei rarely catch the public's attention, however a giant snake that can devastate local wildlife and small pets will do it in a heartbeat. I absolutely agree that feral cats are a horrible threat to wildlife, however short of some sort of feline plague this problem is probably never going to go away. It seems that the pythons are also there to stay and this fact is only going to make various proposed legislations easier to push. I am bored at work at the moment I do not have any real point to make other than we, as herpers, should expect the obvious with these studies. A large introduced predator that is here to stay is of course going to cause a decline in prey populations. Enthusiasts of giant snakes are living in perilous times. This is why it is more important than ever to be responsible...make sure that your animals are housed properly, do not buy them unless you are prepared for the adult size, do not be displaying your snakes in public unless it is through a proper venue as many people have a very real fear of serpents and that must be respected, do not do anything stupid that is going to put your snake in the local newspaper, etc I know that I am mostly preaching to the choir here but in these times we must be diligent. Stepping off of soapbox now..
Chip