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BIAWAK Biawakquarterly Journal of Varanid Biology and Husbandry BIAWAK BIAWAKQuarterly Journal of Varanid Biology and Husbandry Volume 3 Number 2 June 2009 ISSN: 1936-296X On the Cover: Varanus keithhornei The Varanus keithhornei depicted on the cover of this issue was photographed by Mark Sanders in Iron Range National Park, Queensland in November 2001. The specimen was first seen walking along the ground in a forested area around 1100 h near the smuggler’s tree, a large landmark Ficus tree in Iron Range NP, before it ascended a small tree, where it was photographed before climbing up into the canopy. Two additional V. keithhornei were observed on the same trip in 2001, both of which were initially seen on the ground before fleeing to the nearest tree. A follow-up trip to Iron Range NP in October 2003 failed to locate any V. keithhorni. About the photographer: Mark Sanders ([email protected]) has been a keen naturalist since a child and currently works as an environmental consultant specializing in terrestrial vertebrates. While based in Brisbane, he has widely travelled across Australia for personal interest and work purposes, resulting in direct observations of almost 1300 Australian vertebrates. His digital photography can be viewed at http://www.flickr. com/photos/31350467@N04/ BIAWAK Quarterly Journal of Varanid Biology and Husbandry Editor Editorial Review ROBERT W. MENDYK MIcHAEL J. BALsAI Center for Science Teaching and Learning Department of Biology, Temple University 1 Tanglewood Road Philadelphia, PA 19122, US Rockville Centre, NY 11570 [email protected] [email protected] BERND EIDENMüLLER Griesheimer Ufer 53 Associate Editors 65933 Frankfurt, DE [email protected] DANIEL BENNETT School of Biology, Leeds University MIcHAEL FOsT Leeds LS2 9JT, UK Learning Tutoring Center [email protected] Georgia Perimeter College Clarkston Campus 555 North Indian Creek Dr MIcHAEL Cota Clarkston, GA 30021, US Thailand Natural History Museum, [email protected] National Science Museum, Technopolis, Khlong 5, Khlong Luang, Ruston W. HartdegEN Pathum Thani 12120, TH Department of Herpetology, Dallas Zoo [email protected] 650 South R.L. Thornton Freeway Dallas, Texas 75203, US ANDRé KOcH [email protected] Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig Section of Herpetology HANs-gEORg HORN Adenauerallee 160 Monitor Lizards Research Station D-53113 Bonn, DE Hasslinghauser Str. 51 [email protected] D-45549 Sprockhövel, DE [email protected] Zoo Liaisons TIM JEssOP Department of Wildlife Conservation & Science gEORgE suNTER Zoos Victoria Herpetology Department, London Zoo Parkville, Victoria 3052, AU Zoological Society of London [email protected] Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK [email protected] JEFFREY M. LEMM Applied Animal Ecology Division BRANDON gREAVEs Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES) Department of Herpetology Zoological Society of San Diego Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo 15600 San Pasqual Valley Rd 3701 S 10th Street Escondido, CA 92027, US Omaha, NE 68107, US [email protected] [email protected] ROBERT g. sPRAcKLAND Virtual Museum of Natural History Editorial Liaisons Unit #4 2635 Prosch Ave W Seattle, WA 98119, US JOHN ADRAgNA [email protected] Cybersalvator.com [email protected] ARNAuD cOLIN Software and Technical Support Groupement d’Etude des Varanidés cENTER FOR scIENcE TEAcHINg AND LEARNINg 19, Chemin de Bouscaron 1 Tanglewood Road 13940 Molleges, FR Rockville Centre, NY 11570, US [email protected] http://www.cstl.org INTERNATIONAL VARANID INTEREST GROUP www.varanidae.org The International Varanid Interest group is a volunteer-based organization established to advance varanid research, conservation, and hus- bandry, and to promote scientific literacy among varanid enthusiasts. Membership to the IVIg is free, and open to anyone with an interest in monitor lizards and the advancement of varanid research. Membership includes subscription to Biawak, a quarterly journal of varanid biology and husbandry, and is available online through the IVIg website. Biawak ISSN 1936-296X Quarterly Journal of Varanid Biology and Husbandry Volume 3 Number2 June 2009 Organizational News............................................................................................................... 34 News Notes............................................................................................................................. 35 Monitoring the Trade: using the cITEs Database to Examine the global Trade in Live Monitor Lizards (Varanus spp.) ........................................................................................................ANgELO P. PERNETTA 37 Ecological Function of Venom in Varanus, with a compilation of Dietary Records from the Literature ..............................................................................................................KEVIN ARBucKLE 46 A Third captive generation of Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis) at Rotterdam Zoo, The Netherlands. .......................gERARD VIssER, sANDRA BIJHOLD and JuDITH VAN DER KOORE 57 cannibalism in captive Varanus timorensis .....................................................................................................................csABA géczY 61 Book Reviews.......................................................................................................................... 64 current Research..................................................................................................................... 68 Recent Publications.................................................................................................................. 69 © 2009 International Varanid Interest group Varanus mertensi. Purnululu, WA. Photograph by Mal Chandler ORgANIzATIONAL NEWs New Additions to the Interest group”. The winning design shall be announced and unveiled in a future issue of Biawak. Design entries Editorial Board should be submitted to: [email protected] The deadline for submissions has been extended to 15 The IVIg welcomes george sunter of the zoological August 2009. society of London’s London zoo (uK) and Brandon L. greaves of Omaha’s Henry Doorly zoo (usA) to the editorial board of Biawak as zoo liaisons. Seeking Zoo Liaisons The IVIg is currently seeking motivated individuals from Logo Needed for the IVIG African, Asian and Australian zoological institutions to join the editorial board as zoo liaisons. Primary duties The IVIg is currently seeking an official insignia will include networking with zoological institutions to represent the organization online, at events, in to report quarterly announcements of recent captive publications and on organizational documents. Entries breedings as well as promoting Biawak to herpetology should be submitted electronically in jpeg format and departments in zoos and aquariums in your respective be no smaller than 2400 x 2400 pixels. The only rigid region. For additional details, please contact the IVIg at requirement for the design is that it must include the [email protected]. IVIg’s unabbreviated name, “International Varanid Varanus salvadorii. captive. Tropicario, Helsinki, Finland. Photograph by Harri Väyrynen. http://www.flickr.com/photos/harrivayrynen/ 34 NEWs NOTEs Report from the First Annual Man Dies from Komodo Attack Meeting of the “AG Warane” An Indonesian fisherman was attacked and killed by Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) while in search The first annual meeting of the re-established “Ag of fruit in an area forbidden for people to enter at Loh Warane” of the DgHT took place on 18 April 2009 in Sriaya, Komodo National Park, Indonesia. Thirty-two Hanau near Frankfurt. About thirty german monitor year old Muhamad Anwar bled to death on his way to enthusiasts attended the meeting. a hospital on nearby Flores Island after sustaining bites from two dragons. The program was opened by Klaus Wesiak (Frankfurt) with a talk about the successful keeping and breeding Source: CNN- 24 March 2009 of Varanus auffenbergi. Rudolf Wickert from the Frankfurt zoo talked about his experiences in monitor keeping at the ‘Exotarium’ during the last twenty-five years. Remarkably, the Frankfurt zoo has kept and Monitor Lizards on Military bred the Mindanao water monitor (V. cumingi) from the Philippines for more than two decades. Runway in Florida Later, ulf Riedel and Klaus Wesiak (both from Frankfurt) Reports of Varanus niloticus on the grounds of reported on a case of breeding in V. albigularis with Homestead Air Reserve Base near Miami, Florida, us, complications, which required surgical interventions. have raised concerns for human health and safety, with In many slides, it was demonstrated that egg-binding monitor lizards occasionally seen basking on the runways represents a well-treatable problem, if it is recognized of the base. According to scott Hardin, exotic species at an early stage. coordinator for Florida’s Fish and Wildlife conservation commision, V. niloticus began showing up near the air With humour, and technically-versed, Dietmar Kiehlmann reserve base in 2008, and believes the population may (Overath) talked about his experiences of forty years of be reproducing. monitor keeping. Once, for instance, he met professor Robert Mertens, germany’s renowned herpetologist and Source: National Geographic News- 19 May 2009 author of several monitor species descriptions. André Koch (zFMK, Bonn) closed the meeting with a Malaysian Wildlife Officers scientific talk about systematics and endemism of Indo- Australian monitor lizards. Seize 210 Monitor lizards Malaysian wildlife
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