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Posted by regalringneck on February 08, 2002 at 17:21:08:
In Reply to: on programs to re-esablish indigos with cb babies..LONG POST posted by Dean Alessandrini on February 08, 2002 at 15:49:34:
Dean, Lots of good stuff below. The first rule of Conservation Biology is " do no harm to the system". & I'm pleased to see you're cognizant of its potential here...
I'd like to know more about known extirpated pops: How was this determined (systematic surveys, etc.)? How interrelated is the gopher tortoise; do extirpated tortoise areas result in the loss of the guardians? If so, do we need to re-establish the tortugas first? Unless we know why an extant population dropped out, re-stocking (w/o dealing w/ the root causes) is unlikely to result in re-establishment.
I assume (hope) any gumment types involved w/ this...will be astute enough to use wild stock from the nearest healthy pop. rather than CB. A host of disease/genetic diversity/behavior/ issues are circumvented that way. If CB is to be used, a university/zoo; animal production facility should be employed & yearling snakes released to greatly reduce the initial mortality.
The value of the current CB program is the provision of legal specimens to the citizenry & as you mentioned; support important education efforts that will also reduce unlawful wild take.
Good stuff to think about...
Posted by Dean Alessandrini on February 08, 2002 at 15:49:34:
Ok, In the past I’ve been quick to shoot down any intentions of re-introduction plans of CB babies…but I’m waffling now here. Here’s the thought: Try it on a S. GA or Florida island (closed eco-system) with suitable habitat and no more indigos…and see how it works out. The challenge will be documenting how the snakes do. We have a better understanding from the KSC studies as to how many snakes a given amount of habitat can support…so that will help determine an ideal number and sex ratio of snakes to release.
Please read the following and add any comments you have, I’m interested in your opinions. I will be discussing this issue with other members of the eastern indigo snake working group. Please be aware that such an effort would need to be lead by a government agency, such as US Fish and wildlife, or GA or FL dept. of natural resources. It would otherwise be ILLEGAL, since this animal is both state and federal listed.
OH, AND BY THE WAY, BREEDERS...WOULD ANY OF YOU BE WILLING TO DONATE A BABY OR 2 TO SUCH AN EFFORT? I know it’s a lot to ask…but if it could really help save a species…All comments I get via e-mail on this subject from breeders will be kept confidential.
Here are (as I see it) positives and negatives of such an effort:
Positives
1- Public awareness: One objective of the indigo recovery plan is public awareness. The general public loves to see little baby endangered animals being released into the wild. I think the average person wants to help endangered species or think they are supporting such an effort…and this is a big deal PR wise. News crews like to cover such events and this could bring awareness to the endangered and harmless status of the indigo, as well as the fragile nature of the ecosystem at large.
2- If adult snakes are spotted on the island in several years, we will be able to say with some assurance that they were our released snakes, since no other populations were on the island, and snakes swimming from the mainland is very unlikely.
3- If it works on an island, at LEAST we will know that WHERE SUITABLE HABITAT EXISTS on the mainland, we CAN re-establish populations using captive bred snakes.
Negatives
1- Possible risk of spreading disease to other island fauna from CB snakes. Many breeders keep exotic species too…and no telling what these snakes may have been exposed to that may not effect the indigos…but may affect other wildlife.
2- Tracking the snakes will be extremely difficult. As far as I know, there are no effective radio transmitters small enough to be implanted in baby indigos
3- Baby CB snakes seem to be the only option. They would need to be released shortly after hatching. Snakes that adjust to captive life would not last long.
4- There is a HIGH mortality rate in the wild among all baby snakes. CB indigo snakes have high commercial value, and are not readily available. The majority of the released snakes would likely perish in their first year. It’s very risky there.
5- Finding a suitable place? Should be relatively uninhabited area free of roads and development, and protected. This may be difficult to find.
Remember…I still personally have not made up my mind whether I think the positives out weigh the neg. or not…I’m looking for your input
