Edward Cope's 170th Birthday

One-hundred seventy years ago today was born Edward Drinker Cope, arguably the single most influential American herpetologist of the nineteenth century. Though his primary passion was paleontology--he was a powerhouse discoverer-namer of many North American dinosaurs--he was a prolific author in the fields of ichthyology and herpetology. So great is his influence that in 1913 the newly formed American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists named their journal in commemoration -- Copeia. Cope named dozens, possibly scores, of reptile and amphibian genera and species, the most well-know, perhaps, being the Gila monster.

Much has been written about Cope, and I doubt that I could add anything new. But older herpetologists know and revere the man and his works. The younger generation would do well to learn a bit about him. He may very well have been America's first professional herpetologist, and for that alone he deserves remembering.

Please help me out: Tell Animal Planet to stop promoting Rattlesnake Republic and the slaughter of rattlesnakes

My Facebook friend and fellow herpetologist Sara Viernum has used the remarkable petition-creating site (change.org) to lead an attack on the barbaric and inhumane rattlesnake roundups that still, somehow, survive in many U.S. States. I am offering you, here and now, a chance to vote on this issue that should be near and dear to ALL of us.  

NO LIVING CREATURE SHOULD HAVE TO ENDURE THIS KIND OF TORTURE! 

You don't have to LIKE rattlesnakes to DISLIKE such cruel and inhumane treatment of ANY animal.

You don't have to LIKE rattlesnakes to be a humane human being!

So, PLEASE: Stand up and be counted!!!

THANK YOU!

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-animal-planet-to-stop-promoting-rattlesnake-republic-and-the-slaughter-of-rattlesnakes

U.S.A.: Land of the Deprived and the Home of the Trembling Fearful?

From the time I was 15 years old, I have seen the rise and growth of laws and regulations that had the good intentions of protecting our planet's wildlife. I have also seen the same degree of excessive restrictions, ill-informed criteria, and self-serving politics transform the good intentions into near mindless pandering. We who work with (or try to) reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife have been the objects of considerable harassment as the varies regulations become selectively enforced. We are a minority group, with very little political presence, and a very conspicuous passion. That translates into the people in power easily being able to think, "Well, this group is easy to attack, like scary things, and has no ability to hurt my re-election!" I wrote about the specifics many times over the years, most recently in the second edition of my book, Giant Lizards:

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"...the emphasis given to arresting and prosecuting people with live animals is not warranted by either threat to society or to the animals. When I was reviewing CITES numbers for a report, I found out that, for 1984, of 1,066,502 Nile monitors imported into the United States, only 988 were for the pet trade. That amounts to less than one live lizard per 1,000 skins imported for the leather trade. Similarly in that same year, of 545,031 water monitors imported, only 1,797 were live animals, or just 30 for every 1,000 skins. This unreasonable disparity might be explained by the far greater financial influence wielded by the designers who produce fashionable leather garments and accessories, or it may reflect the fact that one headline certainly trumps another. Consider these two samples, and decide which one makes a better newspaper headline:

“Wildlife officials nab cobra and monitor at airport”

“Wildlife officials nab 1,500 illegal wallets”

[You may purchase your own copy of Giant Lizards at: http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Lizards-Definitive-Breeding-Monitors/dp/0793805813/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339865181&sr=1-1&keywords=sprackland+giant+lizards] 

Well, the Python Ban has passed at the Federal Level, followed by similar exotic animal ownership bans at state and local levels. MY objections to the ban extend far beyond my right to own a python (which I do not; I neither have nor intend to have any large snakes in my home, so understand that PYTHON ownership is NOT the main issue I oppose) are these:

1) I am opposed to the elimination of yet another freedom in a supposedly free country;

2) I am opposed to legislation being passed based on faulty/incomplete science; the government papers on the putative dangers caused by invasive pythons is refuted by many non-governmental scientists, including some of the most knowledgeable python researchers on the planet (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/python-ban-moves-forward-despite-questionable-science-78949462.html);

3) I oppose the use of pythons for fear-mongering and the release of inaccurate and downright false hyperbolic media reports; we in herpetology have fought long and hard to reduce the general fear of snakes in our society. The media reports foster new fears that are at best overly exaggerated and largely non-existent (http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2012/04/loose_python_houston_statement_042812.html);

4) I oppose the idea that rights - ANY rights - are limited or revoked for all because of the abusive or negligent actions of a very few;

5) I am opposed to legislation and regulation being implemented in violation of the established procedures required prior to enactment of such rules; (https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=210869022265803)

6) I oppose the ban because it establishes precedent for easy elimination of additional rights, further restrictions on legitimate animal-keeping, and passing conspicuous "headline" legislation against minority groups (as in there are fewer python keepers than, say, gun owners);

7) I oppose any legislation that is of such minor importance because of money, personnel, and other resources it takes away from far more serious issues, especially in times of troubled economics;

8) I oppose enactment of Federal rules where, at best, state legislation is far more appropriate;

9) I oppose legislation for which enforcement, barring exceptional cases, is nearly impossible, and;

10) I oppose legislation that turns a long-standing legitimate activity into one that will turn a great many otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals.

I am tired of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave being chipped away into a Land of the Deprived and the Home of the Trembling Fearful!

THAT is why I am so actively fighting the Python Bans and related proposed laws and regulations.

--Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D.
Herpetologist, author, teacher, and, apparently, defender of liberty and rationalism.

Expos: Substitute for Spring Herpetology Exploring?

It is finally March in the Northern Hemisphere, and with it come hopes for an early spring (meaning warmer, drier weather) and the renewal of the annual cycle of reptile expos. Expos can be enjoyable, giving us the chance to talk herpetoculture with other aficionados, see a variety of fascinating creatures at close quarters, and, for many of us, to lighten our wallets in a way we find less difficult than, say, forking over the car payment. This is so different from the spring rituals of the time when I was a young reptile collector, and it saddens me to realize that the current generation will not experience spontaneous field collecting.

Here's what I (we?) miss. The freedom to just put on some wading boots, grab a few old pillow cases and jars, a few other odds and ends, and take off into the local bush. On a given night I might encounter several species of frogs and toads, a salamander or two, and, along the roads basking on warm asphalt, a few snakes. There they were, to be photographed or collected. No permits were needed, and no laws broken to follow my passion. The generation before me -- the likes of Conant, Smith, Ditmars, Allen, Kaufeld -- did the same thing, and for decades. Their meet ups, sometimes planned and sometimes by chance, provided time to exchange information, see unusual specimens, and just revel in being the Big Game hunters of the small. Some of the stories from their exploits are wonderful memories (I particularly like the tale of the lavender rat snake), especially because the included native wildlife, local people, and local habitats. What could beat the tale of Ross Allen when he was extracting a large Eastern Diamondback Rattler from a gopher hole only to find the head coming up behind him -- he thought the snake he was pulling by it's tail was the ONE he saw going into the hole. His description of wondering what to do next (drop the snake he had by the tail and try catching the other, keep the one by the tail and "dance" to keep away from the second, or try to catch both??) was true comedy.

Now what have we? At Expos, we share stories about what one person did to breed a new leopard gecko morph in a terrarium and how so-and-so has bred out the first black and purple Goth morph of a ball python in a terrarium. Certainly interesting and even noteworthy, but where's the story? Where's the adventure, the unexpected, the learning we get by facing our creatures in their habitats? Those few lucky blokes who do still manage to get out and about are either academically-funded anachronisms or hands-off photographers. For then rest of us...  there are Expos. I am NOT putting Expos down; far from it, they are the new "spring herping" much as Facebook has replaced mailing letters and electric power is the new camp fire. They are different, and bring different things to our experiences. After all, I never found a good deal on an old reptile book in a swamp! And just because something is both different AND good doesn't mean I can't still miss something else, old and wonderful, that I too long took for granted.

Maiden Voyage

My name is Robert Sprackland and this is my first foray into publishing a blog. I became interested in herpetology 52 years ago, and pursued it as a career. When I started my interest the number of books about reptiles and amphibians was rather limited. You could either buy copies of old books that were mainly descriptive and taxonomic or anatomical treatments, or you could purchase the few volumes written for the "general audience." For the 1950s and 1960s, the major books in English were Raymond Ditmars's Reptiles of the World (first published in 1910 and not updated), Clifford Pope's World of Reptiles, Roger Conant's Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of the Eastern United States, Robert Stebbins's Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of the Western United States, Doris Cochrane's Amphibians of the World, and Karl Schmidt and Robert Inger's Reptiles of the World. There were additional titles that were aimed at a slightly more herpetologically savvy readership, such as those by James Oliver, Hobart Smith, Albert Wright, and others, but the variety was rather limited. Most of those books had only or primarily black and white illustrations, and the focus was overwhelmingly on the fauna of North America.

But in the late 1960s, and ever since, the number of books about reptiles, amphibians, or both has exploded into a sub-industry of its own. I think there are four reasons why this happened. First, people became more concerned about nature, natural resources, and the other creatures with which we share this planet. Rachel Carlson's Silent Spring and the marble-sized image of Earth as seen from the moon made our world more comprehensible as a single precious outpost for life. I believe it was Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, who remarked the he could hold up his hand and blot out the entire Earth with his thumb -- and, symbolically, all the history of the planet. Everything we are, or were, or would be, he noted, could be covered by the tip of his thumb. In essence he ws saying, "like it or not, we're all passengers on the only ride in town."

Second, those herpetology books I mentioned did a wonderful job of spreading the word that amphibians and reptiles are not, as Linnaeus thought, foul and loathsome creatures. They have a splendor and beauty that easily equal and often surpass that of other more familiar and popular creatures. To people like me, they considerably exceed the competition, and in that view I am not alone.

Third, as more biologists came to learn that reptiles and amphibians are model organisms for studying different aspects of life, their study became more and more widespread. There are few fields of biological exploration that have not benefited from studies using herpetofauna, among them neurology, psychology, pharmacology, wound repair and tissue regeneration, ecology, evolution, behavior, learning, stereotypical behavior, mate choice, the role of fever, and so many other topics. As anyone familiar with the academic world knows, a prime requirement for advancement is publishing; "publish or perish." With so many scientists from so many disciplines studying reptiles and amphibians, it naturally follows that a vast number -- dare I say uncountable numbers -- of books and articles was produced. Great news for the booksellers, not so great news for my wallet!

Finally, towards the end of the 1980s there began a upwelling of general interest in these terrific animals by people who wanted to keep them in their homes. In a few years that upwelling was a large wave as reptiles became pets, school demonstration animals, and investments for breeders. The people who kept such animals were no longer part of a rather small and voiceless cast of oddballs. By the 1990s, in fact, so many laypersons were keeping or breeding "pet" reptiles and amphibians that a new word entered the language; herpetoculture.

Simultaneously with all this was the development of an even bigger "fad," the Internet. Anyone with the technical know-how can set up a blog or website and publish whatever they want. Anything. Legal or not, true or not, whatever. Unlike conventional publishing, where any manuscript gets (or usually gets) at least some input from educated colleagues and editors, no one fact-checks (or, sadly, spell- or grammar-checks) what goes onto a website. And because so many people believe that if something is in print it must be true, an awful lot of unadulterated junk gets passed along to the unsuspecting readers as fact.

So here's my mission in this new blog:

I shall be writing about a variety of herpetological topics. Sometimes I'll stray into broader zoological or even biological themes, but always with a single goal. I plan to present unbiased information that is based on solid scientific fact. What you read here will be based on the best available information that I can obtain and post in legible English. Then, in separate paragraphs that I shall clearly mark as such, I shall add my interpretation and comments. So yes, I shall editorialize, but only after I clearly show you where I change the channels from fact-based reporting (and hence, no value judgments) to my opinions.

That's all for now. Stay tuned, though. A lot of information is forthcoming.
Thank you for visiting!