Round Island Boas Reintroduced after a 150 Year Absence

[bronxzoofrank]

Hi All,

Some promising news about an endangered species…for a change! Please let me know your thoughts – is the program worthwhile?


Mauritius, an island nation off the coast of southeast Africa, is best known to naturalists as the site of the Dodo Bird’s extinction (Mauritius also is, in a sense, the reason I was hired by the Bronx Zoo and spared life as a lawyer – see article below for the story!). Herp enthusiasts, however, know it as the habitat of several unique reptiles, all of which are now very rare or extinct. But we can delight in some news just released by the Durrell Wildlife Trust (http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/good/durrell-wildlife.html)- a new population of the Round Island or Keel-scaled Boas, Casarea dussumieri, will soon be established in the wild. This unusual snake disappeared from nearly all of its range in the 1860’s, and its return is the culmination of 40 years’ worth of captive breeding and habitat restoration efforts. Read article here Round Island Boa Back in Wild after 150 Years That Reptile Blog (http://bitly.com/Ut6sJa) and let me know what you think…is it worthwhile, will it work?
Comments and questions appreciated. As I do not place notices here each time I post a new article on That Reptile Blog, you may wish to check in periodically or subscribe; you can do so here That Reptile Blog (http://bitly.com/JJNk9h). Please also check out my posts on Twitter http://bitly.com/JP27Nj.

Thanks, Frank
My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with That Pet Place welcomes Zoologist/Herpetologist Frank Indiviglio to That Reptile Blog | That Reptile Blog That Reptile Blog (http://bitly.com/LC8Lbp)
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[millertime89]

This is really cool, hopefully it works.

[bronxzoofrank]

This is really cool, hopefully it works.

Thanks for your interest...I'll stay abreast of developments and will post updates (will be awhile, I'm sure). Best, frank

[Zoo Nanny]

I love reading of successful reintroduction programs of animals on the brink! Great work being done by the Durrell Wildlife Trust.
I'm interested in reading some of the articles on the other animals that have been brought back from the brink.

[bronxzoofrank]

I love reading of successful reintroduction programs of animals on the brink! Great work being done by the Durrell Wildlife Trust.
I'm interested in reading some of the articles on the other animals that have been brought back from the brink.

Hi, thanks,

I believe you saw the note on Spray Toads Kihansi Spray Toads, Extinct in the Wild, Return to Africa That Reptile Blog (http://bitly.com/Ok7ckQ), which is the most recent I've come across. I'll check around, best, Frank

[Zoo Nanny]

Excellent! I'm sure it bothers you as it does me when you hear animal rights groups condemn zoos as being prisons for animals. So few people take the time to find out just what todays zoo are all about. One of the most exciting things I've seen in the wild was at the Grand Canyon just a couple of years ago. Standing on the edge we could see a bird flying straight up the cliff at our feet. It was so below us that no one could identify it. As it climbed closer and swooped past us less than 20 feet away I realized what it was, a gorgeous California Condor! Something that was doomed to so few animals brought back. I was lucky to learn about and work with a few different species being reintroduced including the Mexican grey wolves, red wolves, Amur Leopards, Snow leopards, Siberian cranes, Red crown cranes, Red-vented Cockatoos and even the Burying Beetle. The Red Crown eggs were shipped to Russia for reintroduction. At one point our area lead actually carried in a foam package a Red Crown Crane egg on the plane all the way to Russia. Very exciting.
Thank you for the link, as you can see I enjoyed it!

[bronxzoofrank]

Excellent! I'm sure it bothers you as it does me when you hear animal rights groups condemn zoos as being prisons for animals. So few people take the time to find out just what todays zoo are all about. One of the most exciting things I've seen in the wild was at the Grand Canyon just a couple of years ago. Standing on the edge we could see a bird flying straight up the cliff at our feet. It was so below us that no one could identify it. As it climbed closer and swooped past us less than 20 feet away I realized what it was, a gorgeous California Condor! Something that was doomed to so few animals brought back. I was lucky to learn about and work with a few different species being reintroduced including the Mexican grey wolves, red wolves, Amur Leopards, Snow leopards, Siberian cranes, Red crown cranes, Red-vented Cockatoos and even the Burying Beetle. The Red Crown eggs were shipped to Russia for reintroduction. At one point our area lead actually carried in a foam package a Red Crown Crane egg on the plane all the way to Russia. Very exciting.
Thank you for the link, as you can see I enjoyed it!


Thanks, same here; in fact I helped flesh out some condor rearing techniques many years ago with S Americans here, then traveled to San Diego to go over details there; also involved with Arabian orynx and others way back when. Was very interested in the burying beetle work, I was involved with the Ovate Amber project, site surveys and breeding, but could not arrange to do much more invert conservation work, unfortunately. Nice to hear from you as always, Frank