Horses, cows, and deer are to be respected and avoided whenever possible. In the northeast, dog attacks lead the way. In California, you stand a better chance of being bit by a venomous snake than a canine. In Tennessee, spiders are the primary suspect.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/519289/animal-most-likely-kill-you-each-state
When Billy Shakespeare had those witches in Macbeth call for an “eye of newt, and toe of frog” to complete a very special hell-broth recipe, I’m not sure he knew those amphibians could actually regrow those body parts. But they can. And scientists are researching exactly how they do it.
https://baynature.org/article/bay-area-salamanders-drop-tails/
Green sea turtles do not develop into males or females due to sex chromosomes, like humans and most other mammals do. Instead, the temperature outside a turtle egg influences the sex of the growing embryo. And this unusual biological quirk, scientists say, endangers their future in a warmer world.
Already, some sea turtle populations are so skewed by heat that the young reptiles are almost entirely female, according to a new report in the journal Current Biology.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article193738014.html
The yellow-bellied sea snake discovered near the 18th Street lifeguard tower on Monday was the third report of the species in Southern California since 2015 — and the fifth since 1972, said Greg Pauly, herpetological curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-sea-snake-newport-beach-20180111-story.html
“Due to the recent Montecito flood, a variety of snake species, including gopher snakes, California king snakes and western rattlesnakes have potentially been misplaced onto local beaches. Snakes at this time in Southern California will be in brumatation (hibernation) and will be unable to protect themselves in this unfamiliar habitat,” the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network posted in a statement on Facebook.
The organization urged anyone who finds a snake on a beach to contact them at 805-681-1080 so that a trained volunteer can “collect any misplaced wildlife, assess them for injuries, and treat and release them back into their natural habitat."
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/state/california/article194699669.html
QUINCY
American bullfrogs, native to the eastern United States, are hopping around Northern California ponds, gobbling up lizards, snakes, bats and birds – anything that fits in their mouths.
Maxine and her fellow desert tortoise typically enter brumation (hibernation for reptiles) around Thanksgiving. Their bodies know when to go to sleep based on the outside temperatures and the change in daylight hours. Sometime in the coming weeks, she will awaken from her long winter’s slumber and emerge from her subterranean burrow at The Living Desert. The exact date of this annual occurrence, however, is anyone’s guess.
@californiaherps
Go ahead and tell me what you think this one is for solely on the basis of its name. Great. Now, I can call you a gutter-brained doofus, because it’s the account for the North American Field Herping Association, which is essentially a group of people who find reptiles and amphibians (herptiles) in the wild. Don’t knock it, buddy — maybe we could all try indulging in the joy of something as simple as finding a snake on the side of the road.
Experts said a viral clip appearing to show a snake wearing a fish head like a mask likely resulted from the serpent's mealtime accident.
https://www.upi.com/Experts-Viral-snake-fish-video-was-likely-a-mealtime-mishap/9631516823010/
Once abundant in Southern California, the foothill yellow-legged frog inexplicably vanished from the region sometime between the late 1960s and early 1970s. The reasons behind its rapid extirpation have been an ecological mystery.
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180125135526.htm
