im far from naive, but i do know exactly how much of a treasure carinata are in australia, and i doubt that theyve lost track of the animals produced in the limited time carinata have been in captivity. im well aware most of our aussie pythons were more than likely smuggled in over the years, but they arent carinata, and there arent less than 20 known to be alive right now.
you are 100% correct, australia VERY VERY VERY occasionally allows an export of an animal (or several animals) to zoos outside of australia. but again, with an unstable wild population, lets face it Morelia carinata could very well be extinct in the wild, its highly unlikely that the australia government is going to allow a single carinata out of the country. and in honesty they dont really allow much exportation for zoos, from what ive been able to dig up it happens about as often as a full solor eclipse. then comes the problem of getting a zoo in any country to release any of the carinata offspring they produce. carinata are a very valued animal, its not terribly likely that anyone alive now will own one (that doesnt mean i wouldnt sell several of my family members or various parts there of for a pair) but it might happen. we arent talking about a common snake that can be found in someones yard, this is a snake that has had 6 to 8 specimens found, ever, with the first clutch of 9, and i dont remember hearing about any others, thats 15 to 17 carinata in the world, a number easily tracked at all time, and you can bet theyll be counted, recounted, and counted one last time quite often. but atleast now any avid herper that knows what carinata are, and youd be amazed at how many very involved python keepers dont know and have never heard of morelia carinata, can see carinata in australia, which is a great goal for me. i must say tho, this has been a great topic, devoid of any childishness. i LOVE topics like this.
J
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Jaymz
"got a bowlin ball in my stomache, got a desert in my mouth. figures that my courage would choose to sell out now..."