Has anyone else wondered why DeSchauensee’s anaconda is on this list? Has anyone ever heard of them existing in the US? I know there's only been like 102 DeSchauensee's ever found on record.

Also, Beni Anacondas and P. natalensis??? I'm just wondering why they see these snakes as a threat, when even in their own report, it states that they don't know if any of these three snakes are being imported (All three are already on CITIES Appendix II), and they clearly state that NONE of these three species have been reported in the wild, in the US. They state in the federal register that they "exhibit many of the same biological characteristics as the previous five species that pose a risk of establishment and negative effects in the United States."

Also, just because an animal can survive in an area of the US, because it is similar to its native land is obsurd. On this basis they could pretty much ban everything, because the US is made up of almost every kind of climate and habitat you could think of.

"The USGS risk assessment used a method called ``climate matching'' to estimate those areas of the United States exhibiting climates similar to those experienced by the species in their respective native ranges (Reed and Rodda 2009)."

Below is what the federal register stated about the above 3 species... It's just one more thing that shows us that they are not basing this on science.

"DeSchauensee's anaconda is known from a small number of
specimens and has a limited range in northeast South America. Although not well studied, DeSchauensee's anaconda apparently prefers swampy habitats that may be seasonally flooded. DeSchauensee's anaconda is known from only a few localities in northeast South America, and its known climate range is accordingly very small. While the occupied range
exhibits moderate variation in precipitation across the year, annual temperatures tend to range between 25 oC (77 oF) and 30 oC (86 oF). Whether the species could tolerate greater climatic variation is unknown."

"The Beni anaconda is a recently described and poorly known anaconda closely related to the green anaconda (Reed and Rodda 2009)."

"Little is known about Southern African pythons."


Tammy

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-4956.htm

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