A frog introduced for hunting and food has become a threat to one of Arizona’s native snakes. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service species assessment traces bullfrogs’ arrival in Arizona to 1926, following a systematic introduction effort by the State Game Department to provide opportunities for sport hunting and a source of food. The assessment … Read more
Deep in the Florida Everglades, a vast and difficult landscape, scientists are trying a new way to find invasive Burmese pythons; they are looking from above. Researchers are testing small drones fitted with radio tracking equipment or cameras to locate snakes more efficiently, follow their movements across difficult terrain, and cut the cost of searching … Read more
Burmese python coiled in the grass in the Everglades. Image Credit: Wikipedia Burmese python males in South Florida undergo a marked seasonal change in testosterone as the breeding period approaches, while another hormone linked to stress and energy use follows a less predictable pattern. A study published in General and Comparative Endocrinology tracked testosterone and … Read more
A season of tracking Burmese pythons across the difficult terrain of southwest Florida ended with 177 snakes removed and more than 4,100 eggs taken out of the ecosystem. The work, carried out by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and its python action team, covered about 200 square miles of Collier County between November 2025 and … Read more
In 1995, the Antiguan racer was perilously close to disappearing from the wild. Just 51 of these rare Caribbean snakes were estimated to survive, all confined to tiny Great Bird Island off the coast of Antigua. The species had little room to recover. Yet what followed became an extraordinary conservation turnaround. Over the next 21 … Read more
Capuchin monkeys (Representative Image/ Canva) For most people, monkeys are closely associated with fruit, leaves and insects. But when their preferred plant foods become harder to find, some capuchin monkeys appear willing to switch strategies. They hunt and eat small vertebrates, including mammals and reptiles, turning to animal prey as an important source of energy … Read more
A few snakes disappearing into a backyard mulch pile had seemed like a worrying but manageable problem for a family in Sydney’s west. Then snake catchers started digging through it. At a property in Horsley Park, the reptiles had been slipping into the mulch for about two weeks, prompting the homeowners to call professionals after … Read more
In 1979, about 30 mongooses were released on Japan’s Amami Oshima to control habu snakes Japan has officially declared the successful eradication of the invasive small Indian mongoose on Amami Oshima, ending a decades-long ecological crisis on the UNESCO World Heritage-listed island. According to an official announcement from Japan’s ministry of the environment, expert panels … Read more
At a cave on the slopes of Mount Carmel, thousands of small reptile bones accumulated alongside the remains of animals hunted and gathered by people more than 11,000 years ago. For years, their presence raised a straightforward but difficult question: were the snakes and lizards food, or had they ended up there through the activity … Read more
In Spring 2026, conservationists released 42 eastern indigo snakes into their historical habitats in Florida and Alabama. After a year of specialized care, these reptiles have adapted well, with monitoring indicating successful survival and breeding in the wild. This significant reintroduction effort seeks to restore self-sustaining populations of this unique snake species to their native … Read more