January 10th, General Meeting.

We are excited to have Leslie Brinkman as our guest speaker this month. Leslie is a MSc in Biology at Missouri State University and she will be presenting her work studying the history of the Bolitoglossine Salamanders of Central America. Part of her work includes the conservation of this species too. Learning more about the animal in its natural habitat can give us an understanding on how best to protect it. Please join us this Sunday, January 10th, at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Rd. This month's meeting will be held in room
201 a/b on the 2nd floor. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the meeting starting at 7. It is a bit chilly out but that is how the salamanders like it! Hope to see you there.

 

Hellbender Conservation Efforts in Indiana and Missouri

The St. Louis Zoo has been working on breeding Hellbenders for several years now with the first successful breeding in 2011. Since then the zoo has been enjoying much success breeding these unique amphibians. Our state is the only state to have both Hellbender subspecies. The animals reproducing at the zoo are from three different rivers in Missouri so their offspring can eventually be released into their specific water systems. For more information on the zoo's breeding efforts click on this link. http://www.stlzoo.org/conservation/wildcare-institute/hellbendersinmissouri/

Our zoo is not the only institution working on Hellbender conservation. Since 2013 officials from Indiana's Columbian Park Zoo (located in Lafayette) along with scientists from Purdue University have been working on breeding Hellbenders in hopes of releasing them back into the Blue River. This river is the only place Hellbenders occur in Indiana. After successfully breeding about 200 of these giant salamanders the next step is to make this waterway habitable once again. For more reading on the project follow this link. http://wbaa.org/post/purdue-hellbender-researchers-focusing-endangered-salamanders-habitat

The Hellbender is very specific in its environmental needs. As is the same old story,  they have declined drastically throughout their range because we humans have altered their rivers to the point where they are no longer suitable habitat. It is heartening to see efforts from these two zoos to try and restore the rivers and reintroduce these amazing creatures so we may see healthy populations thriving once again. If they succeed, they will not only save this species... it will benefit us all.

Holiday Party at the Zoo!

Sunday, December 13th we will be having our annual Holiday Party at the St. Louis Zoo's Herpetarium. 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. This event is one of the highlights of the year for the club. Members get to enjoy our zoo's wonderful collection of reptiles and amphibians after hours in a relaxed visit. You must be a member in good standing to attend but you can renew or join at the door. Members may bring guests. Please BRING A DISH OR SNACK TO SHARE. The SLHS will provide water and coffee. We will hold a short meeting where we will vote for the 2016 board members and then dine at 6:30.

There will also be a PHOTO CONTEST with three age groups (up to 11 yrs old, 12 to 18, and 19 and up). No frames or mats on the photos and please write your name and age on the back in pencil. 8 x 10 preferred and all photos will be kept by the SLHS for future use in the newsletter and blog. With photo credits, of course! 1st prize in each age group is a one year membership renewal and 2nd prize will be a SLHS t-shirt of your choice.

FREE PARKING will be available in the south parking lot near the vertical ZOO sign. See you there!

November 8th, General Meeting for the SLHS

We hope you can come out to the monthly meeting this Sunday. It is going to be an interesting presentation. Steve Brown will be discussing the world's most dangerous reptiles. He may not be covering all of the below animals but looking at these impressive beasts should get you prepped for a great talk. They deserve our respect for sure! Please visit the SLHS website stlherpsociety.org for more details and we hope to see you there.

Member spotlight, Margaret Liu

Margeret Liu will be running for the SLHS board position of Member at Large this December so we thought this would be an excellent opportunity to introduce her. Margaret grew up in Taiwan then spent some time in Massachusetts before settling down here in St. Louis. She is a freelance photographer and digital artist and does eye lens research in the department of ophthalmology at Washington University. Recently she joined other SLHS members on the annual trek down to Snake Road in Southern Illinois. Below are some excellent captures of some of the animals she came across that day. Scroll further down to meet some of the critters she shares her home with. For other examples of Margaret's photography and fantastic artwork please visit her website http://www.margsliu.com Be sure to check out her blog too which is linked from her website.

Copperhead

 Cottonmouth

Juvenile cottonmouth

Leopard frog

A copperhead who has already found his winter home.

Green tree snake

Gray treefrog

Copperhead

Here's a great shot to give you an idea of what snake road looks like.

It is a lovely 5 mile hike with plenty to see.

Meet Margaret's critter family.

Skittles, the panther chameleon

Twiggy, the black rat snake

And just in time for Halloween, a Costa Rican tiger rump tarantula.

Thank you, Margaret, for sharing your snake road experience and wonderful photographs!

October 11th General Meeting. Movie Night!

It is time for the SLHS 2nd annual fall movie night. Instead of a speaker this month we will be showing a reptile-themed horror flick. This year's feature will be "The Giant Gila Monster." It is a 1959 bad B-movie classic. Bring a snack and enjoy. Meeting is October 11th at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer Rd. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with a short meeting beginning at 7. Then... movie time!

Here is a link for more info on the movie The Giant Gila Monster.

Photo by Josh Higgins

SLHS member spotlight: Kyran Leeker

Fall is always lovely in Missouri and southern Illinois. It is also a great time to get out and look for herps as they are on the move with the cooler weather looking for that last bit of warmth and their hibernaculums. When out herping please always be mindful of the rules of whatever your state laws are and get permission if you are on private property. Remember to leave the habitats as you found them when lifting logs and rocks in your search.

SLHS member Kyran Leeker spends much of his spare time out in the field herping. Along with his passion for reptiles and amphibians is an interest in getting that perfect photograph of these animals in their natural habitat. Get ready for some great indigenous herp eye candy. Enjoy!

Here's Kyran holding an Eastern Hognose. It is doing what it does best, playing dead!

What a stunning Three-toed Box Turtle! Good find.

Collared Lizard

Copperhead, close up and personal.

Cottonmouth agape.

Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad

Don't be fooled by the color. This is a Gray Tree Frog.

Red Milk Snake

Midland Painted Turtle

Hatchling Six-lined Racerunner

Eastern Garter Snake

Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle

Last but not least, a beautiful example of a Tiger Salamander.

These are all great examples of the herp related wildlife Missouri and Illinois has to offer. Get out there while the weather is still suitable and see what you can find! 

Thanks to Kyran Leeker for sharing his fantastic photos with us. If you are a SLHS member, and would like to have your photos from the field featured, contact the webmaster on the SLHS website. stlherpsociety.org