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32(2) Colour.Indd CROCODILE SPECIALIST GROUP NEWSLETTER VOLUME 32 No. 2 • APRIL 2013 - JUNE 2013 IUCN • Species Survival Commission CSG Newsletter Subscription The CSG Newsletter is produced and distributed by the Crocodile CROCODILE Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). The CSG Newsletter provides information on the conservation, status, news and current events concerning crocodilians, and on the SPECIALIST activities of the CSG. The Newsletter is distributed to CSG members and to other interested individuals and organizations. All Newsletter recipients are asked to contribute news and other materials. The CSG Newsletter is available as: • Hard copy (by subscription - see below); and/or, • Free electronic, downloadable copy from “http://www.iucncsg. GROUP org/pages/Publications.html”. Annual subscriptions for hard copies of the CSG Newsletter may be made by cash ($US55), credit card ($AUD55) or bank transfer ($AUD55). Cheques ($USD) will be accepted, however due to increased bank charges associated with this method of payment, cheques are no longer recommended. A Subscription Form can be NEWSLETTER downloaded from “http://www.iucncsg.org/pages/Publications. html”. All CSG communications should be addressed to: CSG Executive Offi ce, P.O. Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia. VOLUME 32 Number 2 Fax: (61) 8 89470678. E-mail: [email protected]. APRIL 2013 - JUNE 2013 PATRONS IUCN - Species Survival Commission We thank all patrons who have donated to the CSG and its conservation program over many years, and especially to CHAIRMAN: donors in 2011-2012 (listed below). Professor Grahame Webb PO Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia Big Bull Crocs! ($15,000 or more annually or in aggregate donations) EDITORIAL AND EXECUTIVE OFFICE: Japan, JLIA - Japan Leather & Leather Goods Industries PO Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia Association, CITES Promotion Committee & Japan Reptile Leather Industries Association, Tokyo, Japan. Heng Long Leather Co. Pte. Ltd., Singapore. Printed by: Uniprint NT Hermes Cuirs Precieux, Paris, France. Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia Singapore Reptile Skin Trade Association, Singapore. Friends ($3000 - $15,000) COVER PHOTOGRAPH: First Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) hatched in Australia, at Melbourne Mainland Holdings, Lae, Papua New Guinea. Zoo. See pages 12-15. Photograph: Damien Goodall. Phillip Cunliffe-Steel, New Zealand/Australia. Enrico Chiesa, Italhide, Italy. La Ferme aux Crocodiles, Pierrelatte, France. United Leather Product Co. Ltd., Thailand. EDITORIAL POLICY: All news on crocodilian conservation, Yee Tai Leather Enterprise Ltd., Hong Kong. research, management, captive propagation, trade, laws and regulations is welcome. Photographs and other graphic materials Supporters ($1000 - $3000) are particularly welcome. Information is usually published, as submitted, over the author’s name and mailing address. The editors Crocodile Conservation Institute, SC, USA also extract material from correspondence or other sources and these items are attributed to the source. If inaccuracies do appear, please William Belo, Coral Agri-Venture Farm, Philippines. call them to the attention of the editors so that corrections can be Shaun Foggett, Crocodiles of the World, Witngy, Oxon, UK. published in later issues. The opinions expressed herein are those of J. Perran Ross, Gainesville, FL, USA. the individuals identifi ed and are not the opinions of CSG, the SSC Florida Power & Light Inc., FL, USA. or the IUCN unless so indicated. George Saputra, IRATA, Jakarta, Java, Indonesia. 2 St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Florida, USA. they are “reptiles” does not necessarily create an umbrella Yosapong Temsiripong, “Sriracha Moda” and “Crocodile & for like treatment. Just as elephants and sheep are handled Ostrich Cooperative of Thailand”, Thailand. differently, despite both being “mammals”. Crocodile Virginia Aquarium and and Marine Science Center experience has and may continue to provide some practical Foundation, Virginia Beach, VA, USA. guidance for the snake trade, but the at this stage at least, I N. Wall Consulting, USA. do not believe the crocodile trade has much to learn from the snake trade. Contributors ($250 - $1000) The Steering Committee agreed, subject to availability of Alligator Adventures, SC, USA. external funding, that the CSG develop Best Management East Coast Zoological Society (Brevard Zoo), FL, USA. Practices (BMP’s), to assist and guide the crocodile farming Carl Camden, Kelly Services Inc., USA. industry. Aspects of these BMP’s may also be included Crocodile Park Torremolinos, Malagas, Spain. within the web-based Crocodilian Capacity Building Manual Simone Comparini, Pantera S.R.L., S. Croce s/Arno, Italy. (CCBM) currently being developed. A summary of the James Hennessey, Reptile Village Zoo, Ireland. Steering Committee meeting is on pages 4-10. Indonesian Crocodile Farmers Association, Indonesia. Vic Mercado, Microlab, Philippines. The CSG bank account held at the University of Florida has The Ebey family, New Mexico, USA. now been closed, and US donors are advised to transfer their Marco Schultz, Spende AG Krokodile PGHT, Germany. contributions directly to the account in Australia. The CSG Nao Thouk, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Executive Offi cer can be contacted for details, or you can visit the CSG website (http://www.iucncsg.org/pages/Support-the- Editorial CSG.html) for a Donation Form. It is with great regret that we have to advise of the recent A “CrocFest” fund-raising function was held on 29 June 2013 passing of Keiran McNamara, a long-term CSG member at the George Van Horn’s Reptile World Serpentarium in St. from Australia (see page 4). Cloud, Florida, to raise funds in support of conservation of the American Crocodile in Jamaica. A full report of the success The 22nd Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist of the CrocFest will appear in the next CSG Newsletter. Group was held in Negombo, Sri Lanka, from 21-23 May 2013. As the fi rst CSG working meeting in the South Asia Donations have begun to arrive in response to the annual and Iran region since 1978, the meeting had a strong regional letters of request, and I am personally very grateful to all who content. It was great to see a good attendance from within and have made a contribution, past and present. The support of outside the region, and the increasing number of young, keen CSG donors, big and small, is critical to the CSG’s ability to students working on crocodiles. The proceeds of the auction operate effectively and sustain itself. ($US3233) will be used to fund student projects in Sri Lanka. A summary of the working meeting is on pages 11-12. Professor Grahame Webb, CSG Chairman. A veterinary workshop held on 19 May attracted considerable interest, with some 100 participants (see page 11). The level of interest exemplifi es the need for this type of training in the CSG Student Research Assistance region. Scheme Update The CSG Steering Committee met on 20 May, prior to the The CSG Student Research Assistance Scheme (SRAS; working meeting. A number of new appointments were made http://www.iucncsg.org/pages/General-Information.html) to the committee, and a wide range of issues was discussed. provided funding to three students in the April-June quarter Of particular signifi cance was a recent report from the (see below). A further four applications are currently under Responsible Ecosystems Sourcing Platform (RESP) regarding review. the outcomes of a meeting of an International Working Group on Reptile Skins. 1. David Alonso Vargas Ortega (Colombia): Population and reproductive ecology of Crocodylus acutus (Curvier 1807) Following discussions, it was decided that the issues facing in the Tayrona National Park, Colombian Caribbean. the snake skin trade are very specifi c to that industry, and do not relate to the situation with crocodilians where systems 2. Roberto “Toby” Ramos Targarona (Cuba): Ecology for verifi cation, traceability and sustainability, although not and Conservation of the Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus perfect, have long been in place. It has been suggested that rhombifer) in the Zapata Swamp, Cuba. the CSG takes a more active role in clarifying what has been achieved with crocodiles, thereby distancing ourselves from 3. César Norberto Cedillo Leal (México): Nesting Ecology forums concerning snakes, where one gets the impression that of Crocodylus moreletii in two villages in southern crocodiles are being dragged in for the wrong reasons. That Tamaulipas, México. 3 Obituary CSG Steering Committee Meeting (Negombo, Sri Lanka, 20 May 2012) Keiran McNamara (27 June 1954 - 28 March 2013) 1. Opening Ruchira Somaweera, on behalf of the organising committee, welcomed everyone to Sri Lanka and to the CSG Steering Committee meeting. In the absence of the CSG Chairman, who could not arrive in Sri Lanka until the nght of the 20th, Alejandro Larriera, Deputy Chairman, welcomed participants and thanked the organisers for their efforts in organising the meeting. Steering Committee members present: Alejandro Larriera, Tom Dacey, Perran Ross, Charlie Manolis, Alvaro Velasco, Samuel Martin, John Caldwell, Paolo Martelli, Val Lance, Christine Lippai, Anslem de Silva, Ruchira Somaweera, Sadly, on 28 March 2013, Keiran McNamara lost his battle Don Ashley, Kent Vliet, Yoichi Takehara, Enrico Chiesa, with cancer after a short illness. After graduating in natural Bruce Shwedick, S.M.A. Rashid and Maheshwar Dhakal. resources from the University of New England
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