Natural Environment Blog

A Rhino Rat Snake hatches from an egg at a London zoo. Photo: Ferry van Stralen.

Eight Rhino Rat Snakes have hatched in a London zoo, making it the first time a Rhino Rat Snake has bred in a European Zoo.

The snakes, which were born in the Zoological Society of London’s Reptile House, were captured on camera as they hatched. 

Three of the eight snakes have already been moved to other zoos in Europe as part of an exchange program to increase the captive population in Europe.

Appearance

Although the snakes are brownish gray in color, as they mature, they will turn into a steel gray and later into bluish green. Once they have fully matured (after about 2 years), they will turn green. There have been known cases where a specimen has remained at the subadult color (steel gray), but this is very rare.

Hatchlings start at between 300 to 350 mm in total length. Rhino Rat Snakes typically grow to between 100-120 cm in total size but sometimes up to 150 cm.

Distribution In The Wild

In the wild, the Rhino Rat Snake, is found in Northern Vietnam and southern China. The snake lives in subtropical rainforests between 300 and 1100 m elevation and has often been seen in stream valleys.

Common Names

The scientific name for the Rhino Rat Snake is Rhynchophis boulengeri. It is also commonly known as Rhinoceros Snake, Rhinoceros Snake, and Vietnamese Longnose Snake.

Consumption of wildlife in China is on the increase according to a new report released by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. 

It is also revealed that many of the wildlife species being consumed are threatened species. 

The report, entitled State of Wildlife Trade in China 2007, is the second in an annual series produced by TRAFFIC on emerging trends in China’s wildlife trade. TRAFFIC works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

Although wildlife consumption dropped following the SARS virus scare in 2003, it has since picked up again.

Wildlife For Sale

Dried plants and animals used for traditional Chinese medicine. Included are dried lingzhi, snake, turtle plastron, Luo han fruit, and ginseng.

TRAFFIC surveyed markets and restaurants in five cities in southern China. The survey revealed that 52 percent of markets and 40 percent of restaurants had wild animals for sale. 

A total of 56 species were found and, of these, eight are protected under Chinese law and 17 are protected under CITES, which prohibits or strictly controls international trade.

Wildlife found at the markets and restaurants included giant lizards, snakes, freshwater turtles, hawks, geckos, pangolin, bear paw. 

The wildlife consisted of:

• 39 reptiles (accounting for 70%)
• 4 mammals (7%) 
• 10 birds (18%) 
• 2 amphibians (4%)
• 1 fish (2%)

Most Popular Animals

The majority of illegal wild animal trade was in freshwater turtles and snakes. In particular, the report mentions the following:

• 600 freshwater turtles were found on sale at Qingping market (excluding those in warehouses) in Guangzhou, including the Malayan Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis), Elongated Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) and Black Marsh Turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis)
• Almost 3,000 snakes were recorded in the survey, including the Taiwan beauty snake (Elaphe taeniura), Rat snake (Ptyas korros) and Tri-rope beauty snake (Elaphe radiata). The snake market was concentrated in Dongwang Frozen Product market (also known as the Chatou Wild Animal market) in Guangzhou.

Breakdown By City

The following table shows how many markets and restaurants were surveyed, along with the number of wild animals traded.

As mentioned previously, 52 percent of markets had wildlife for sale, as did 40 percent of restaurants surveyed.

Traditional Medicines

Although wildlife is often eaten from a dinner plate, it is also used in traditional medicines. 

The international trade in Chinese traditional medicine is growing at any annual rate of 10%. This, together with habitat loss, has impacted medicinal plant and animal populations, which have shrunk rapidly, with 15% to 20% of medicinal plants and animals now considered endangered.

Increasing Demand, Dimishing Supply

WWF, the global conservation organization, are calling on the Chinese to step up their efforts against illegal wildlife trade.

Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International’s Species Programme says ”The trends seen in this report that show increasing demand in wildlife products and diminishing supply should be a wake up call for law enforcement, policy makers and consumers,”

She added, “We call upon Chinese authorities to enhance enforcement and public education efforts, to stop illegal trade and reduce consumption of threatened species from around the world.”

Illegal Ivory Trade

The survey, which also looked at the Chinese ivory trade, found that the illegal ivory trade is actually declining.  

While this is good news, TRAFFIC does point out that, due to increased enforecement, the illegal ivory trade is being pushed underground. Illegal ivory trade is more likely to take place in a hotel or via an online or offline auction.   

“The reduction in the illegal ivory trade is very welcome, but we urge the authorities to remain vigilant, particularly to ensure there is no laundering of illegal ivory,” said Professor Xu Hongfa, co-ordinator of TRAFFIC’s China Programme.

The World’s Second Largest Wood Importer

The report also looked into supply of wood, with China being the world’s second largest wood importer.

While Russia China’s largest wood supplier, are growing percentage of the nation’s wood comes from Africa. This increased demand is stimulting illegal timber trade in Africa.

“Chinese companies buying African timber must ensure the benefits of the timber trade are equitably shared, right down to the African rural communities on whose land the trees are growing,” said Professor Xu.

The Report

• View the TRAFFIC press release regarding the report (Word 332 KB)
• View the full report (PDF 2,311 KB)

Tuatara eggs that were recently found at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in New Zealand. Photo: Karori Wildlife Sanctuary

The first known tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) nest in over 200 years on the mainland has been found at Karori Sanctuary in New Zealand.

The nest contains at least 4 eggs but it is likely to contain more, as tuatara usually lay around 10 eggs at a time.

Staff at the wildlife sanctuary uncovered the nest accidentally.

“We knew of two suspected nests but didn’t want to disturb them to confirm whether or not they contained eggs. The nest in this photo was uncovered by accident, and is the first concrete proof we have that our tuatara are breeding. It suggests that there may be other nests in the Sanctuary we don’t know of.” said Sanctuary Conservation Manager Raewyn Empson.

The eggs were immediately covered up again to avoid disturbing their incubation. Sanctuary staff say that the eggs would have been laid almost exactly a year ago. Female tuatara lay their eggs into a shallow trench and then backfill it. 

About Tuatara

Scientists refer to the tuatara as a 'living fossil'. Photo: Karori Wildlife Sanctuary

Native to New Zealand, the tuatara is a reptile with distinctive soft spines down its backbone. Although it looks superficially like a lizard, tuatara is actually the only surviving member of the order Sphenodontia. 

Tuatara are greenish brown, and measure up to 80 cm (32 in) from head to tail-tip. It can take as many as 30 to 35 years for a tuatara to reach full size. This makes it the slowest growth rate of any reptile.

Tuatara usually lives to around 60 or 70, but they have been known to live to more than 100. In fact, one tuatara was seen mating last year at the ripe old age of 111.

The tuatara’s ancestory dates back to the dinosaur time. Ancestors of the tuatara and many other sphenodons were roaming the world 225 million years ago. This was about the time the first dinosaurs appeared. 

All other sphenodons disappeared around 65 million years ago and exist only as fossils. As a result, scientists often refer to tuatara as “living fossils”.

Tuatara Mating & Breeding

Tuatara mating last year at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in New Zealand. Photo: Karori Wildlife Sanctuary

Staff at the wildlife sanctuary suspected that tuatara were about to breed. They witnessed tuatara mating for the first time in March/April last year. Then around this time last year, they witnessed a female tuatara carrying eggs.

Tuatara reach sexual maturity at around 10 to 20 years of age. 

The female, on average, lays between 5 and 18 eggs only once every 4 years, which gives it the longest reproductive cycle of any reptile.

Mating season for tuatara is between January and March. Female tuatara then lay their eggs between October and December. Hatchlings appear between 12 to 15 months later.

Tuatara - Threatened Species

The nest is a significant find for New Zealand because, until the sanctuary was established in 2005, the tuatara was thought to have been extinct on the mainland.

The tuatara, which only occurs in New Zealand, was almost wiped out by rats - an introduced species - by the 1700s. In fact, in 1895, the tuatara was one of the first animals in the world to become fully protected by law.

Since then, significant tuatara populations have survived on 32 remote islands around New Zealand.

Officially recognized as a new species, this lizard could almost pass for a snake. Photo: Agustin Camacho

A legless lizard discovered earlier this year in Brazil’s Cerrado grasslands has been given a scientific name, officially making it a new species.

The scientific name, Bachia oxyrhina, is derived from the Latin oxy (sharp) and rhinos (nose).

The lizard was recently described for the first time, in a study published in September by the scientific journal Zootaxa.

To an untrained eye, the lizard could easily pass for a snake. It’s very long and thin, and doesn’t appear to have any legs.

However, although it appears legless, the lizard does have small limbs. It’s just that, they don’t really do much. As a result, the lizard moves about by slithering like a snake. 

Apart from having legs (albiet, undeveloped), there are other factors that differentiate ”legless” lizards from snakes. One factor is the lack of extreme modifications in cranial morphology that enables snakes to ingest large prey. 

In fact, all you’re likely to see this legless lizard munching on is small bugs, termites and ants.

Recognition Happened Very Quickly 

The name Bachia oxyrhina was named after the lizard's sharp nose. Photo: Agustin Camacho

Given the species was only discovered in January this year, the recognition of the lizard as a new species has happened relatively quickly. The process of recognition for new species often takes many years. This depends on the accumulation of basic of scientific knowledge about the group to which it belongs.

“Recent research with lizards of the same genus, together with the large amount of data collected on the diversity of lizards living in the Cerrado and the experience of the team of herpetologists (zoologists who study reptiles and amphibians) involved in this project, contributed to the quickness of the recognition process,” said Miguel Trefaut Rodrigues Leading Brazilian zoologist from the Universidade de São Paulo, and first author of the description of the lizard.

13 Suspected New Species

The lizard is one of 13 suspected new species that were found during an expedition to Cerrado in Brazil. Out of the 13, this is the first species to be officially identified.

“It’s very exciting to find new species and data on the richness, abundance, and distribution of wildlife in one of the most extensive, complex, and unknown regions of the Cerrado,” said the expedition leader  CI biologist Cristiano Nogueira at the time of the expedition.

The wooded grassland once covered an area half the size of Europe, but is now being converted to cropland and ranchland at twice the rate of the neighboring Amazon rainforest, resulting in the loss of native vegetation and unique species.