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Just picked up Morelia carinata, the Rough scaled python from the airport!
First time ever outside of Australia!
One of the rarest snakes on earth!
I also quickly learned that they do have REALLY large teeth!
Ahhhhhh....what fun!
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It's what you learn AFTER you know it all that counts!
Terry Phillip
Curator of Reptiles
Black Hills Reptile Gardens
Rapid City, SD.
www.reptilegardens.com
Considering the extreme rarity of Morelia carinata (fewer
than 10 ever found in the wild), only a few captive breedings
in Australia, and the tight regulations of Australia with regard
to exportation of native fauna, I don't see how (if true) this
acquisition could be legal. Even if you have paperwork that
appears to be legitimate, your posting will definitely draw
scrutiny -- quite possibly from governmental authorities.
Yes, there have been other Australian herp taxa previously
uncommon in U.S. collections which eventually became available
here via legal transactions with European collectors. There
have also been some that eventually became available to private
collectors here because those specimens were descended from
legal U.S. zoo stock. However, it is common knowledge that many
more such animals have been smuggled over the years. Proving
it in a court of law, of course, is another matter.
No, I'm not saying that these particular animals are
definitely illegal. I couldn't possibly know one way or another
with absolute certainty. But let's face it, considering the
extreme rarity of the Rough-Scaled Python, any such posting
is naturally going to arouse suspicion. It takes some serious
stones to make a posting like that in a kingsnake.com forum.
Don't be surprised if you get a visit from USFWS in response!
Mitch Hiers
Hiers Herpetoculture -- http://www.hiersherp.com
mailto:mitch@hiersherp.com
Since I had the pleasure at an NRBE a few years back of
meeting John Weigel and hearing his presentation on the captive
breeding program with Morelia carinata at the Australian Reptile
Park, I decided to send him an e-mail inquiry as to the current
status of any transfers of which he might have knowledge.
If they have begun allowing legal transfers of this planet's
rarest python (and one of this planet's rarest snakes) from Down
Under to other parts of the world, then they must have produced
several more clutches of these at the ARP in NSW over the past
three or four years. Either that, or somebody has managed to
"get approval" to collect some more from the Hunter River
Drainage in the Kimberley and export them to South Dakota?
Either way, I figure that John would probably know.
Mitch Hiers
Hiers Herpetoculture -- http://www.hiersherp.com
mailto:mitch@hiersherp.com
Austrailia is slowly opening it's doors to exportation. Bearded dragon exportation quatas will exist for the first time in 15-20 years or so starting in January.
As to this particular species, I doubt it. If he has it, show us some pictures. Also, it's not all that hard to smuggle something out of austrailia to indonesia and get it from there under falsified import documents.
Apparently, the Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales
has had enough success in their captive breeding program with
Morelia carinata that they have in fact begun supplying a few of
their captive-bred offspring to other institutions. This is
excellent news. Eventually this Aussie taxon (and perhaps others
as well) should become available to serious herpetoculturists
here in the U.S. Below is John's reply to the e-mail inquiry
that I sent to him yesterday. Cheers.
Mitch Hiers
Hiers Herpetoculture -- http://www.hiersherp.com
mailto:mitch@hiersherp.com
Mitch,
Thanks for your email.
Yes, we provided some of our captive bred rough-scaled pythons to
Black Hills Reptile Gardens recently. We've bred the species on
four occassions, and have met all of the needs of Australian zoos.
Hence we have begun to look at providing specimens to a few
overseas zoos, and to hobbyists here in Australia.
We have several other US zoos in mind for provision of RSPs in
the coming year or two, and I expect that our wildlife authorities
will be agreeable to the transfers, as they had no problem with
the transfer to Black Hills. The world slowly changes!
Hope that clarifies the issue of the Black Hills snakes for
your purposes.
Sincerely,
John Weigel
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