Search found 1586 matches

by gbin
October 27th, 2014, 10:50 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Possible Country Records for the US
Replies: 196
Views: 629516

Re: Possible Country Records for the US

Welcome back doc, even if it is w/ your mamalogist hat on ... 300 miles & across the US border isn't a mere modest range extension when it comes to our legless friends! Such a (possible) range extension distance might be more impressive for a snake than a mammal, rxr, but that doesn't mean it's...
by gbin
October 26th, 2014, 2:48 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Possible Country Records for the US
Replies: 196
Views: 629516

Re: Possible Country Records for the US

The best part of this thread in my opinion: ... Science has a way of correcting itself: that is what it is intended to do and why it is an open-ended process available to amendment with additional data... I find biogeography very interesting, but I've never understood why people get so excited over ...
by gbin
October 25th, 2014, 11:39 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Need trash or rocks
Replies: 41
Views: 10739

Re: Need trash or rocks

For the record, I have no aliases on FHF. Those days have been gone for 10 years. I'm thinking of resurrecting Manual Labor though...just for old times sake...I theen so... I thought it had been a good long while since I'd seen a post by one of your aliases, Brian. Please don't go back to using the...
by gbin
October 25th, 2014, 8:17 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Need trash or rocks
Replies: 41
Views: 10739

Re: Need trash or rocks

So my asking is really a nothing to lose and everything to gain type scenario... This is the exact same motivation as that behind the Nigerian prince scam... :lol: Folks here know that I see nothing wrong with sharing herping information - including on locations where one has had success finding th...
by gbin
October 21st, 2014, 1:31 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Jobs Board?
Replies: 5
Views: 3819

Re: Jobs Board?

Check out Texas A&M's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Job Board

There are other such internet job boards out there, but this is the most comprehensive one I'm aware of.

Gerry
by gbin
October 17th, 2014, 7:27 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: zoos in the US that have best representation of China herps?
Replies: 19
Views: 8699

Re: zoos in the US that have best representation of Asian he

Does the AZA have a way of searching for zoo holdings on their website? Another organization maintains a database of zoo animal holdings, ISIS (International Species Information System) . They used to allow internet searching of their database, but don't at present. Apparently one can e-mail them w...
by gbin
October 14th, 2014, 4:19 pm
Forum: Invertebrate Forum
Topic: Is This Spider Story For Real?
Replies: 2
Views: 3000

Re: Is This Spider Story For Real?

My wife and I once lived in a rental house in rural north-central FL that was infested by an amazing number of spiders. We attributed it to the fact that the previous tenants were disgusting pigs who apparently routinely threw edible garbage into the backyard for their dog, which dragged it all unde...
by gbin
September 23rd, 2014, 5:01 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

I frankly dismiss the question of where animals are better off, on grounds of both inadequate information and irrelevance. I'm not sure if this was directed at me... Not personally, cj0000. It's directed at any and all who pose this question about zoo animals, or believe they can answer it. ... it ...
by gbin
September 23rd, 2014, 12:03 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

I miss spending the occasional morning alone in the company of those tigers, too... :| We really got to know each other during my time working with them. I was even blood brother to one of them, having accidentally stuck myself with a syringe full of his blood while transferring it to a red-top tube...
by gbin
September 23rd, 2014, 10:12 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

I don't differentiate between zoos and aquariums, except that I do recognize we've much further to go with respect to keeping large aquatic organisms (e.g. cetaceans). If I recall correctly, hippos kill more people in Africa than do any other kind of animal there. Elephants and tigers not too infreq...
by gbin
September 21st, 2014, 8:04 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

I don't know what if any role grudges play in it, but I do know that chimps are also quite dangerous to work with. When they really go after someone - which they seem to do without warning, as if someone simply flipped a switch inside their heads - they start by biting/tearing into the person's limb...
by gbin
September 20th, 2014, 8:08 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

Back when my dad was first looking for a zoo job, he applied to 100 zoos, which I think wasn't far from every institution in the country... I was much more selective when I graduated from college, sending resumes to only 52 zoos across the country. :lol: And I got 0 interviews or offers for my trou...
by gbin
September 19th, 2014, 7:02 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

... turned down the chance to head up the Reptile House at the Santa Barbara Zoo because their pay scale was to low... I know where you're coming from there, too! One can have all kinds of education and experience, and yet the zoo job one applies for will offer an astonishingly low salary and still...
by gbin
September 19th, 2014, 5:28 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

... they wanted me to work with Elephants (the most dangerous job at a Zoo)... We certainly agree on this, Jim! I worked with tigers for years and loved it, even after one genuinely close call. Though I've had opportunities to work with elephants, the closest I've been willing to come to doing so i...
by gbin
September 18th, 2014, 11:49 am
Forum: Mammal Forum
Topic: What was your last lifer?
Replies: 121
Views: 191230

Re: What was your last lifer?

On the topic of squirrels, I saw my first (and second, and third...) Kaibab squirrel(s) while visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon last week. Beautiful species, very similar but in my opinion even prettier than its close cousin the Abert's squirrel on the South Rim. Tried hard to get pictures,...
by gbin
September 17th, 2014, 10:40 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

I meant to include in my post above but forgot: I'm sorry if some think I'm being overly defensive of zoos (and I don't even work for one anymore) or overly harsh toward some of their critics, but I have seen too much nonsense posted about them on these message boards at times in the past. Zoos in g...
by gbin
September 17th, 2014, 10:29 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

... like you said, they run it like a business, and the gate receipts most often take precedence over everything else... That's not actually what I said. To clarify: - I said there is a tendency toward zoo administrations trying to run their zoos strictly as businesses, i.e. with an eye toward noth...
by gbin
September 17th, 2014, 7:57 am
Forum: Mammal Forum
Topic: Perdido Key Beach Mice
Replies: 3
Views: 12250

Re: Perdido Key Beach Mice

Very cute!

I used to keep a colony of another Peromyscus polionotus subspecies, P. p. subgriseus (oldfield mice), not at all endangered nor as cute, but still quite adorable and interesting. I'll have to look around and see if I have any pictures from back then to share.

Gerry
by gbin
September 17th, 2014, 7:42 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhibit
Replies: 55
Views: 26379

Re: Zoo destroying Alameda Whipsnake habitat for Bison exhib

Sam, considering my background I think I'm as well aware as anyone of the profit-driven nature of zoos. However, they have to maintain a public image of caring about education and conservation*. That causes them to do some positive things in that direction, and hold their hand back from other thing...
by gbin
September 9th, 2014, 1:16 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Chameleon exploration
Replies: 28
Views: 8932

Re: Chameleon exploration

Well that seems the best course of action for biancacao626 to take, then. S/he can join the SFL Herp Society, get to know some of the folks there (and vice versa), and then maybe get some help learning what field herping is like in the area.

Problem solved! :beer:

Gerry
by gbin
September 9th, 2014, 8:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Chameleon exploration
Replies: 28
Views: 8932

Re: Chameleon exploration

It seems to me that getting to know other herpers and, if new to the hobby, learning from them used to be a major purpose of regional herp societies. I don't really know the current state of such societies, though, and haven't personally belonged to one in a very long time. Has the internet more or ...
by gbin
September 9th, 2014, 7:01 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Chameleon exploration
Replies: 28
Views: 8932

Re: Chameleon exploration

Point taken, Josh, but the possibility of gunfire (which I certainly didn't mean to make light of) isn't normally what motivates folks to stonewall/scold people who ask for herp locations here.

Gerry
by gbin
September 9th, 2014, 3:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Chameleon exploration
Replies: 28
Views: 8932

Re: Chameleon exploration

It surprises me how often people ask questions, I mean really take the time to write it out, when they couldve just as easily typed it out into google or do a little research and found their answer faster than asking a person. Doesn't this suggest that they're really after more than just an answer,...
by gbin
September 4th, 2014, 4:29 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Big Atrox?
Replies: 11
Views: 6515

Re: Big Atrox?

My favorite comment thus far for that FB post: Marie Turney Morrison Those from NM know it is not photoshopped. I remember 40 years ago as a camp counselor out of Cuba, NM, a rattlesnake was slithering up the stairs to come into our cabin door. I jumped out the window of the cabin with a hoe, the ho...
by gbin
September 2nd, 2014, 12:25 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Weller's Doom
Replies: 24
Views: 15079

Re: Weller's Doom

... a rhododendron hell, a three-dimensional maze that goes downslope and seems to be really safe because you are embedded in branches. However, these clumps hang off cliff faces and are attached sometimes hundreds of feet above, and the part you're in can very easily break off well before you see ...
by gbin
August 27th, 2014, 4:22 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: There are books, and then there's Herp Canon
Replies: 18
Views: 9696

Re: There are books, and then there's Herp Canon

... I checked out the Golden Field Guide "Reptiles and Amphibians of North America" (the 1980s green-cover, comprehensive guide, not the "Little Golden Guide" VERY old, chintzy book) multiple times, back-to-back, and typed out (on a manual typewriter!) all the dichotomous keys. ...
by gbin
August 27th, 2014, 9:30 am
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: There are books, and then there's Herp Canon
Replies: 18
Views: 9696

Re: There are books, and then there's Herp Canon

My wife gives me a hard time about buying new books. I do read every night, or nearly every night. Since I was a child I've had an insatiable appetite for natural history. My mother also stretched the family budget a few times to get me books that I really wanted. I never wanted to return books to ...
by gbin
August 25th, 2014, 5:25 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: There are books, and then there's Herp Canon
Replies: 18
Views: 9696

Re: There are books, and then there's Herp Canon

I have around 430 herp books... Ok, Justin, you've impressed me! :shock: I've more books than I care to count, easily enough to fill a respectable home library, but my holdings certainly don't include anywhere near 430 herp books. Even my herp and fish books combined (I actually have more of the la...
by gbin
August 23rd, 2014, 5:50 am
Forum: Mammal Forum
Topic: What was your last lifer?
Replies: 121
Views: 191230

Re: What was your last lifer?

Lucky you, Chris! Despite all the time I've spent in Central America, I haven't yet seen a jaguarundi in the wild, myself - and I'm quite envious!

Gerry
by gbin
August 22nd, 2014, 11:54 am
Forum: Fish Forum
Topic: Downrigging Lake George for lake trout
Replies: 3
Views: 12774

Re: Downrigging Lake George for lake trout

There are indeed landlocked salmon in Lake George, Tim, and trophy-class northern pike, too; no muskies that I've heard of, though. Speaking of geography lessons: When I first met my wife, who was born in NY and whose family has been coming to Lake George every year since before she was born, I pret...
by gbin
August 21st, 2014, 7:38 am
Forum: Fish Forum
Topic: Downrigging Lake George for lake trout
Replies: 3
Views: 12774

Downrigging Lake George for lake trout

I'm sorry this isn't all that much of a post, but I promised to share a recent outing as (very modest, as it turns out) payback for all the fun posts others have put up here. I went downrigging for lake trout on the Adirondacks' Lake George a few days ago. Truth be told, I've never been much for tro...
by gbin
August 20th, 2014, 6:11 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Grace Olive Wiley
Replies: 17
Views: 5921

Re: Grace Olive Wiley

I don't know, perhaps it's not fair to any of the other folks we've mentioned to group them with Treadwell. At the very least he was on the far end of whatever continuum they all might have been on, a real extremist when it came to the emotional part of this disorder. (I don't know whether "dis...
by gbin
August 19th, 2014, 6:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Grace Olive Wiley
Replies: 17
Views: 5921

Re: Grace Olive Wiley

Tamara, lots of people (myself included) thought Irwin was recklessly dangerous in his interactions with wildlife because it made for sensational television. And it certainly could be argued that one such interaction ended his life. That's not to say he did no good, but just to say that he did a fai...
by gbin
August 19th, 2014, 6:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

This composition is a written confession to data skewing left by the guilty party... Actually, it's a rather sarcastic admonition from its author to other scientists on how not to do things. Here's what Ernie neglected to copy/paste from the paper: Unfortunately, it is easier to add up the ways in ...
by gbin
August 19th, 2014, 4:55 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Milksnake species delimitation
Replies: 4
Views: 2263

Re: Milksnake species delimitation

The Real Snake Man wrote:... I absolutely agree on L. elapsoides...
Me, too. I'm not yet sure what I think of the other divisions.

Gerry
by gbin
August 19th, 2014, 4:51 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Grace Olive Wiley
Replies: 17
Views: 5921

Re: Grace Olive Wiley

During the era in which she lived, and during the period of her performing activity, she could have been termed "innovative" and "ahead of her time" -- someone who researched the innate behavior of snakes that were armed and dangerous. Her observations could have been parallel t...
by gbin
August 17th, 2014, 5:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Grace Olive Wiley
Replies: 17
Views: 5921

Re: Grace Olive Wiley

I vote for both. She had skills, that's clear. But she applied them recklessly, to the endangerment of others as well as (and especially) herself. She was popular with the media and unpopular among colleagues because of her recklessness with venomous snakes, and it ultimately cost her her life. Not ...
by gbin
August 17th, 2014, 4:51 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

I don't think Ernie ever said they were skimming money. I don't recall whether he's ever used those exact words, but I don't see that it matters. He routinely talks about huge sums of money being involved and about wildlife scientists being corrupted by it. He also speaks of scientists' funding and...
by gbin
August 16th, 2014, 5:57 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

"Why does Gerry keep carrying on about Ernie having a lack of evidence for the things he says? Ernie certainly sounds like he knows what he's talking about. That should be enough, shouldn't it?" Well, I guess folks will have to decide for themselves what's enough to persuade them to believ...
by gbin
August 13th, 2014, 3:54 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

The funny thing is that few biologists agree that the ban will do any good, either. The cat is already out of the proverbial bag, and these bans are more punitive than they are meant to be effective means of conservation. If anything, they are likely to make the situation worse because some folks w...
by gbin
August 13th, 2014, 6:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

... I'd like to know if anyone has any reliable knowledge to support a "mammalian decline due to pythons" hypothesis... NO, ... See, Ernie, that's the thing. Folks aren't likely to take the word of someone they've come to know as demonstrably dishonest, clearly motivated by profit and wit...
by gbin
August 12th, 2014, 6:47 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

... I found 2 basic features of the Dorcas et al paper quite unsatisfying: See how it can be done, Ernie? Folks might disagree with Jimi's criticisms of some of the scientific work that's been done on the subject of the Everglades pythons, but despite his concern I feel sure no one's going to cruci...
by gbin
August 12th, 2014, 5:13 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

Connecting the dots... Ernie... If you want to criticize people and/or their work, I'm fine with that - and science is indeed heavily dependent upon the latter - but make sure it has a basis in evidence that you can clearly point to and leave out all those totally unfounded aspersions which to date ...
by gbin
August 11th, 2014, 5:14 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

I'm sure it's true that patience is a virtue, jonathan, and I admire yours even though I've put so little effort into cultivating my own. I just hope that you're not deluding yourself into thinking you'll reach Ernie thereby. Rational discourse can't get through to him past his avarice or prejudice,...
by gbin
August 10th, 2014, 6:31 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Game Warden Feedback (TX Specifically)
Replies: 130
Views: 535013

Re: Game Warden Feedback (TX Specifically)

Using your Cedar Breaks example, their web site says if you enter the park, you pay the fee. There is no distinction for whether you're just passing through, or intend to stop (for ANY reason). Therefore, it sounds like it's a question of enforcement of that rule. Then the website is either out of ...
by gbin
August 10th, 2014, 6:00 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

Ernie... If you want to criticize people and/or their work, I'm fine with that - and science is indeed heavily dependent upon the latter - but make sure it has a basis in evidence that you can clearly point to and leave out all those totally unfounded aspersions which to date you've been so eager t...
by gbin
August 10th, 2014, 6:51 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: 2011 zonata pairings (discussion about GIFTED hatchlings)
Replies: 128
Views: 130778

Re: 2011 zonata pairings (discussion about GIFTED hatchlings

Jim, is your avoidance training the same as the snake-breaking exercises I've run my dogs through in TX? Just out of curiosity, why do you feel you need so many snakes for it? That's a lot of mouths to feed, especially if a number of them won't eat voluntarily. Kel, it's been a long time since I las...
by gbin
August 9th, 2014, 5:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.
Replies: 135
Views: 36575

Re: Everglades monster constrictor hunt. Doing my part.

Ernie... If you want to criticize people and/or their work, I'm fine with that - and science is indeed heavily dependent upon the latter - but make sure it has a basis in evidence that you can clearly point to and leave out all those totally unfounded aspersions which to date you've been so eager t...
by gbin
August 9th, 2014, 1:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Game Warden Feedback (TX Specifically)
Replies: 130
Views: 535013

Re: Game Warden Feedback (TX Specifically)

... did you intend to start a discussion on how most people (birders, herpers, governments) use the wrong definition of hunting when deciding what activities to license, or was it to start a discussion on how to actually implement the view that you are advocating?... Different agencies and people u...
by gbin
August 9th, 2014, 8:20 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Summer Herping in the RGV - Part 1: The Quest for Leptodeira
Replies: 11
Views: 6230

Re: Summer Herping in the RGV - Part 1: The Quest for Leptod

The Leptodeira spp. I found in Guatemala could be found on any night, but they were much easier to find during or immediately after rain (including torrential downpours). Sometimes they were so numerous on the road that it was difficult to pass without hurting them. I, too, have never seen any of TX...