North America

Virginia Zoo Opens Freshwater “Turtle Oasis”
Virginia Zoo Opens Freshwater “Turtle Oasis”by Joeby Ragpa - May. 20, 2024

The new exhibit "Turtle Oasis" is home to 26 turtles from four different North American species, including several that are endangered.  Read more ...

Fort Worth Zoo Releases 75 Louisiana Pine Snakes
Fort Worth Zoo Releases 75 Louisiana Pine Snakesby Joeby Ragpa - May. 20, 2024

Seventy five Louisiana Pine snakes (Pituophis ruthveni) were released May 9 into the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana by the Forth Worth Zoo. This ma...

Queen Snake Found in New Jersey After 50 Years Without a Sighting
Queen Snake Found in New Jersey After 50 Years Without a Sightingby Joeby Ragpa - Apr. 24, 2024

New Jersey Pinelands Commission Herpetologist Jeff Dragon captured, photographed and released a queen snake (Regina septemvittata) after three years of loo...

USFWS reopens public comment period on western pond turtle protections
USFWS reopens public comment period on western pond turtle protectionsby Joeby Ragpa - Apr. 24, 2024

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reopened the public comment period on the agency’s proposal to list the northwestern (Actinemys marmorata) and southwes...

Reintroduced Mojave Desert Tortoise Emerge From Their Burrows in Headstart Success
Reintroduced Mojave Desert Tortoise Emerge From Their Burrows in Headstart Successby Joeby Ragpa - Apr. 24, 2024

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens announced April 15 that 70 critically endangered Mojave Desert tortoise (Gopherus...

California red-legged frog makes comeback in Napa County
California red-legged frog makes comeback in Napa Countyby Joeby Ragpa - Mar. 13, 2024

The threatened California red-legged frog is finding a home in Napa County, thriving on the Wragg Ridge Preserve wetlands just south of Lake Berryessa. The f...

Researchers Receive $2.75 mln Grant to Investigate Movement of Amphibian Pathogens in Wildlife Trade Networks
Researchers Receive $2.75 mln Grant to Investigate Movement of Amphibian Pathogens in Wildlife Trade Networksby Joeby Ragpa - Feb. 02, 2024

MSU researchers and a multi-institutional team of collaborators, including researchers at the University of Tennessee, Washington State University, Univers...

Minnesota’s Turtles are Protected from Commercial Harvest
Minnesota’s Turtles are Protected from Commercial Harvestby Joeby Ragpa - Feb. 02, 2024

Last year, state lawmakers approved a law eliminating the commercial harvest of two species—western painted turtles and snapping turtles. So Minnesota’s tu...

Chytrid Infections Exhibit Historical Spread and Contemporary Seasonality in a Declining Stream-Breeding Frog
Chytrid Infections Exhibit Historical Spread and Contemporary Seasonality in a Declining Stream-Breeding Frogby Joeby Ragpa - Feb. 02, 2024

For the stream-dwelling foothill yellow-legged frog, Rana boylii, chytrid Infections' (Bd) role in the species' changing abundance across its endemic range (Ca...

Pet Industry and Michigan University Researchers to Mitigate Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans Spread in Amphibians
Pet Industry and Michigan University Researchers to Mitigate Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans Spread in Amphibiansby Joeby Ragpa - Feb. 02, 2024

The researchers will work on solutions to mitigate Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans disease spread among captive and wild amphibian populations.Researcher...

Northeastern Cities in North America Can be Suitable for Reptiles, Amphibians
Northeastern Cities in North America Can be Suitable for Reptiles, Amphibiansby Joeby Ragpa - Feb. 02, 2024

Northeastern cities may not be the worst places to live for reptiles and amphibians in North America, according to a new citizen science analysis. "Overall, ...

Zoo Atlanta Helps in Conservation of One of World’s Rarest Lizard Species
Zoo Atlanta Helps in Conservation of One of World’s Rarest Lizard Speciesby Joeby Ragpa - Feb. 02, 2024

Officials with Zoo Atlanta say 11 endangered and rarest lizard species—Guatemalan beaded lizards hatched recently and arrived at a zoo back in their native...

6 Mugger Crocs and 6 Gharials Coming to Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary
6 Mugger Crocs and 6 Gharials Coming to Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuaryby Joeby Ragpa - Jan. 09, 2024

The Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary (PHS) announced that will house six Gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) and six mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris...

Commercial Snapping and Painted Turtles Harvesting Prohibited in Minnesota
Commercial Snapping and Painted Turtles Harvesting Prohibited in Minnesotaby Joeby Ragpa - Jan. 09, 2024

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has prohibited the western painted turtles and snapping turtles harvesting in state, the agency said in a new...

A Frog’s Tadpole from Mexico Described for the First Time
A Frog’s Tadpole from Mexico Described for the First Timeby Joeby Ragpa - Jan. 09, 2024

Tadpole of Gastrophryne elegans (Boulenger, 1882) from the rainforest of Los Tuxtlas, described for the first time. The region of Los Tuxtlas, Ve...

Draft Recovery Plan for Louisiana Pinesnake Now Available
Draft Recovery Plan for Louisiana Pinesnake Now Availableby Joeby Ragpa - Dec. 14, 2023

The draft recovery plan for the Louisiana pinesnake is now available as The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s remove it from the Federal List of Endangered and...

“Adoptaxolotl” Campaign Launches in Mexico to Save Iconic Species
“Adoptaxolotl” Campaign Launches in Mexico to Save Iconic Speciesby Joeby Ragpa - Nov. 27, 2023

The campaign, called "Adoptaxolotl," asks people for as little as 600 pesos (about $35) to virtually adopt an axolotl—one of the tiny "water monsters." Vir...

Florida Beaches Yield More Than 25,000 Sea Turtle Nests
Florida Beaches Yield More Than 25,000 Sea Turtle Nestsby Joeby Ragpa - Nov. 10, 2023

The Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach, FL announced a record 25,025 nests for the year 2023. The center counted 216 leatherback turtle (Dermochel...

Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard Faces Extinction Due to Climate Change
Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard Faces Extinction Due to Climate Changeby Joeby Ragpa - Oct. 02, 2023

The Yarrow’s spiny lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii) is facing a greater threat of extinction due to climate change. As researchers show that half of th...

Cannibalistic Dads Contributing to Eastern Hellbender Declines
Cannibalistic Dads Contributing to Eastern Hellbender Declinesby Joeby Ragpa - Oct. 02, 2023

Male Eastern hellbender normally tends their young, but lately they’ve been devouring them instead. Eastern hellbenders once swam in at least 570 s...

Updates to Endangered Species Act, Lacey Act Amendments
Updates to Endangered Species Act, Lacey Act Amendmentsby Joeby Ragpa - Sep. 13, 2023

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is conducting a review of the global amphibian trade. ...

Snake Road Closes in Illinois for Annual Herp Migration
Snake Road Closes in Illinois for Annual Herp Migrationby Joeby Ragpa - Sep. 13, 2023

LaRue Road and Forest Service Road No. 345 also known as "Snake Road" will be closed to vehicle traffic to allow these herps, some that are listed...

Discovering the Mojave Fringe-Toed Lizard: a Desert Marvel
Discovering the Mojave Fringe-Toed Lizard: a Desert Marvelby Joeby Ragpa - Sep. 07, 2023

The Mojave fringe-toed lizard, scientifically known as Uma scoparia, is a fascinating reptile species that calls the arid Mojave Desert home. ...

Rare Baby Crocodilians Just Hatched at The Fort Worth Zoo
Rare Baby Crocodilians Just Hatched at The Fort Worth Zooby Joeby Ragpa - Sep. 07, 2023

New gharial moms Raani and Snaggle, father Big Boy (the biggest gharial in the U.S.), and the ectotherm keeper team at the Fort Worth Zoo. The zoo...

Young Hellbender Salamander Found in Indiana River
Young Hellbender Salamander Found in Indiana Riverby Joeby Ragpa - Aug. 06, 2023

Biologists with Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources are celebrating the discovery of a young Hellbender Salamander i...

Oak Ridge Scientists Developing Wildlife Crosswalks for Four-Toed Salamander
Oak Ridge Scientists Developing Wildlife Crosswalks for Four-Toed Salamanderby Joeby Ragpa - Aug. 05, 2023

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Lab are developing crosswalks for wildlife on the reservation, especially four-toed salamander, who is considered at risk....

The More Vulnerable Spiny Softshell Turtle
The More Vulnerable Spiny Softshell Turtleby Joeby Ragpa - Aug. 05, 2023

The eastern spiny softshell turtle is one of two softshell turtles in Illinois, and it is the more widespread of the two. The other, the smooth so...

The Axolotl Can Regrow Its Body and Stay Looking Young Forever
The Axolotl Can Regrow Its Body and Stay Looking Young Foreverby Joeby Ragpa - Aug. 05, 2023

The Mexican salamander—axolotl can regrow its body and stay looking young forever. The amphibian is only found in two lakes and is considered critically en...

Fort Worth Zoo Releases Rare Louisiana Pine Snakes Into the Wild
Fort Worth Zoo Releases Rare Louisiana Pine Snakes Into the Wildby Joeby Ragpa - Jul. 20, 2023

The Fort Worth Zoo recently released 55 Louisiana Pine Snakes into the Kisatchie National Forest The Fort Worth Zoo participates in several breeding pro...

Study Reveals Reason Hellbenders Are Disappearing
Study Reveals Reason Hellbenders Are Disappearingby Joeby Ragpa - Jul. 03, 2023

The gigantic, slimy salamanders known as hellbenders, are disappearing. No one knew why. William Hopkins, professor in the Department of Fish and Wildli...