Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is the snake that I caught myself in December as part of the study going on in S GA.

The lead Biologist on this project, Natalie Hyslop, recently sent me this picture. 9 months after the transmitter went in, he's doing great...and seems to love to hang out on log piles.

Natalie has about 20 snakes in her study now, and is on a shoestring budget. Contact me if you want to help. ($ type of help) !!

Named after my son Nick, here shown with the ophidian version of Nick a few moments after capture.

Folks this is all legal and ligit...you can't try this at home!

If you recall, several months back, Natalie Hyslop introduced this research project on this forum...

She's going to be answering some very important questions.

Great pics Dean. I was supposed to meet Natalie in August but the trip had to be canceled due to some unforeseen problems at work....I WILL GET DOWN THERE SOON!

In the meantime, I would urge anyone concerned about Drymarchon conservation to support this worthy project. I will even go so far as to say that for the next two days, for every dollar someone donates to this project, I will match it dollar for dollar (up to $500 on my end)....I know that $1000 would go a LONG way for Natalie and her work. SO WHOSE IN? This has come up before but I don't know how serious anyone took Dean's plea. We can funnel the payments through our Wildlife Fund (so you can get a tax write off) which has a special line item for supporting herp conservation project such as this....I am completely flexible; I just want to raise money and awareness for this important work. There are some other important couperi projects going on that will need our support (Dr. Collins is one of them but he hasn't finalized his re-introduction project).

Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation

Ok, Mr. C.,

I like a challenge. Where/how do we send money? Do you take PayPal? And what is the time limit for donating to get the full $500 of your money?

Beatrice Nichols

I just sent you an email with the place to send the donation.

She'll be sending letters acknowleging the donation on University letterhead.

NOW...maybe you can send a photocopy of the check to Mr. C...
!!!

PS...I'd try to match it myself, but I did just make a personal contribution last week. It's just scratching the surface...but everything really does help!

YOU GUYS ARE ALL RIGHT !!!

oh, one more thing...if you want to send the paypal...send it to me at drini@fuse.net and I will personally have the check cut and mail to to Natalie with your name on it.

I'll get you verification that she received it !!
(and I'll make sure Mr. C knows how much you donated!!)

I forgot about Rob's suggestion to run it through his nature center.

I don't want to step on his toes...just trying to make it as simple as possible.

What ever works for you is fine...
If Rob can't do paypal and you want ot pay by credit card, send it to my paypal and I can send it to Rob...or however you prefer.

Dean

For every snake I sell, Drymarchon or otherwise, I'm donating 10% to this cause. I'll be sending my donations directly to Natalie. Not that I don't trust you, Rob...far from it, but it's going to be an ongoing thing. Plus, I'll try to make a small once-a-month out of pocket donation.

This is great.

I hope this is contagious.
Maybe Nat will be using satelitte tracking when it's all done!

lol.

I have lots of ideas for new projects concerning indigo conservation, and it's just great knowing you folks are up for helping.

N/P

N/P

THis is fantastic to see a group of people so dedicated towards herp conservation (you won't find this on any other forum that I know of). Having talked to Natalie, EVERY PENNY COUNTS.

So, here is what I propose. If you feel more comfortable sending payment directly to Natalie, get a hold of Dean and he will give you all of the necessary information (same if you are paying via paypal).

If, however, you would like to use your donation as a tax write off, you can mail a check payable to: "The Wildlife Discovery Center - City of LF" and on the bottom write "Wildlife Fund". Once I receive payment/check, I will cut a check through our foundation which will then be sent to Natalie (and I will include a letter listing the individuals who made a contribution and how much including their contact address so she can send a thank you). We are a 501c3 organization.

Payment should be sent to:
Attn: Rob Carmichael
The Wildlife Discovery Center
400 Hastings Road
Lake Forest, IL 60045

So there you have it; two easy ways to make a contribution to a very important project. I am already getting my $500 check ready to send to Natalie as I am confident that you all are going to come through (a big thanks to Dean for his generous gift).

Great job gang! Rob

Thank you so much for your ongoing support of my work guys- it has really been a great help! And thank you so much to the “new” folks!

An update on my research:
All 20 snakes that I (and Dean A. and a few others) captured this past winter are alive and active with functioning radiotransmitters. I regularly see the snakes while tracking, allowing me to note behavior and shed cycle (I’ve even seen 2 males eating timber rattlesnakes). This should get more interesting with the breeding season coming up!

Since tracking began this past winter, I have collected over 800 radiolocations for the 20 snakes, and most importantly, been able to successfully locate them throughout the spring and summer months- the periods where the least is know about indigo snakes in Georgia. One of the more interesting, or awe inspiring, results so far has been the incredible ranges of some of the snakes in the study. Two males have total home ranges over 1000 ha (2500 acres) and have moved over 3-7 miles linear distance each! Several other males have home ranges in the 500-800 ha range (1200-2000 acres). That is huge for a snake. These results are vital for reserve design and habitat protection.

Any donations that the project receives will be used entirely for supporting this research. Until very recently, I have been conducting all field data collection and telemetry alone, with the exception of an intern from a local university who worked one day a week with me for a few months (this was made possible by a donation from R. Carmichael’s Wildlife Center). We recently hired a field technician to help this fall and winter while I have to be away from the field for half of each week for a class. Future donations will also be used for obtaining field help for the remainder of the project (1.5 more years of field work) to ensure adequate data collection.

Thanks again!
-Natalie

There's nothing more exciting than to hear from your field experiences Natalie....knowledge is power! These little tidpoints reveal so much about this species and I can't wait to see what other discoveries you come across. Looks like we will be sending a nice donation in the very near future (I will have a check ready by a week from Friday).

Keep up the great work! Rob