Eastern Diamondbacks are coming from the other direction - not from the South, from the North. As it is assumed Burmese could - not will, could. If you look at the geological history of South Florida, South Florida and the keys only emerged some 5000 or 6000 years ago and it is not likely that there were land bridges present between the islands since their emergence. No land bridges necessary to allow Easter Diamondbacks to migrate into the lower Keys, they could swim to the islands if fortunate. No real interference from the Gulf Stream either as it is a warm water current (The Florida Current) that tends to flow around the southern tip of the Keys, not through the Keys. The position that such a migration would only occur via a land pathway is fairly easy to dismiss. Likewise the assertion that the Burmese or Crocodylus acutus cannot survive in a estuarine or marine environment; This is a dubious premise at best. Not drinking salt water, which is an oversimplification, but what time period could they survive in a hypersaline environment. I don't think Burmese have any osmoregulatory adaptations for survival in a marine environment, but if an Eastern Diamondback can survive the trek it is not too great a leap to see it happening with another snake species.

Much of this is can be made out to be much ado about nothing, but arguing that certain things can't or won't happen without experimentation or more information is fruitless. It is not a case of I believe, but of something that can be demonstrated and backed up with data. Not unfounded assertions. It seems that this is something that everyone here decries, but they continually make assertions about what will or can happen on the basis of very little information. Keeping Burmese in captivity is not the best way to obtain information about their habits in the field. Misinterpreting scientific research should be left to journalists - find the original source material and read it. It can be difficult and full of jargon, but once you learn to wade through some of the more dense material, it can be well worth the time (at least sometimes). Most conclusions are qualified on the basis of assumptions made by the investigator. There are plenty of researchers who enjoy nothing better than shooting holes in other researchers theories.

That being said, I agree with a great deal of what Tom and Mike said - there will be a significant impact if some of this legislation is passed and all of us who own reptiles have a stake in this. For my part, I doubt there is collusion between honest scientific research and certain ideologically driven organizations, it is an unfortunate confluence of events. The media simplifies stories to fit a narrative and often distorts information to fit the story they wish to tell. Obtaining a retraction is possible, but finding a retraction in the media is often a sort of "Where's Waldo" enterprise...We are all guilty of confirmation bias - only seeing that information that reinforces our opinions and not that which disconfirms our already held beliefs...

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]