Oenpelli Python may be on the market in our life times

[turtle]

They also have the ability to change colours night/day like RSP's.
This is what I have read. Pretty cool I think. I also have read their temperament is like a childrens or spotted. A massive snake with the temperament of a puppy dog! Yeah I think I'll try one. I think these guys will be extremely popular just wuth a few of the qualities I've mentioned.. Can't wait..

Dan

 

[Nighthawk]

I would *love* to at least see one in the flesh, that would be enough even if I don't get to own one. Personally I reckon pretty much every snake I've seen is beautiful. I agree about keeping them in the NT for a bit of captive research before making them available to the market however, and I can be patient. I'd rather get one... or two... when as much info as possible is available about species quirks, wants and needs are so that I can look after them properly.

 

[discountreptile]

I think it is a must and with the growing population of almost certainly deadly canetoads, the juvenile population of oenpellis could suffer.
If they dont act soon there could be not enough numbers left to bring new blood into the captive population.
Prices dont matter in this instant when its saving a species.

 

[Greeny06]

I was fairly reliably informed that, (without naming names,) it could have been possible for these to have been in captivity years ago, except for a ******* contest between two well known Herpetologists which resulted in one getting the ****s that the other was being approved and resulted in a phone call to the "traditional owners" advising them how much they're worth, which resulted in everyone suddenly having traditional/spiritual connections to the animals (therefore increasing the price) and putting them out of reach, because, as Waterrat pointed out, not only do the locals have their hands out but so will the government. Be careful what you wish for people, just because certain people may get permits doesn't necessarily mean anybody except a very privileged few (read, rich) may get a look in. For some people it IS all about the money and the "prestige" that comes with having rare animals

 

[Ozzie Python]

considering the royalties payable to the indigenous mob, the NT gov and who knows who else will stick their hand out when the smell of the $ start to linger.

and i bet the indigenous mob will get absolute bugger all of it, regardless of what agreement is made. based on what i have heard in the past when working in the NT, the amount fo $ the national land council were meant to contribute/pay to the traditional land owners compared to what they got was an absolute joke.

 

[Nagraj]

........ which resulted in everyone suddenly having traditional/spiritual connections to the animals (therefore increasing the price) and putting them out of reach .......

Sounds like crap to me, if all the hurdles bar that one had been jumped I'm positive it would have been quickly dealt with by investors.

 

[GeckPhotographer]

I was fairly reliably informed that, (without naming names,) it could have been possible for these to have been in captivity years ago, except for a ******* contest between two well known Herpetologists which resulted in one getting the ****s that the other was being approved and resulted in a phone call to the "traditional owners" advising them how much they're worth, which resulted in everyone suddenly having traditional/spiritual connections to the animals (therefore increasing the price) and putting them out of reach, because, as Waterrat pointed out, not only do the locals have their hands out but so will the government. Be careful what you wish for people, just because certain people may get permits doesn't necessarily mean anybody except a very privileged few (read, rich) may get a look in. For some people it IS all about the money and the "prestige" that comes with having rare animals

As I hear a fairly major part of it is that some years ago one ended up at parliament house which resulted in scandal about traditional ownership and the government got so frightened they pretty much just said no to anyone touching them. Not saying your version of events is wrong only that there may be further parts to it.

 

[FAY]

I am pretty sure they had one at the first WildExpo that was held at Darling Harbour. Not sure what happened to it though.

 

[BARRAMUNDI]

Yeah Fay,
TWP brought down a pair to display and as a result one of the animals came back in pretty bad shape and didnt live long after. The other animal is alive but is a fairly poor example, old, skinny and I think no eyes if I remember correct......

I had been told by a herp in the NT after a similar thread 6 months ago that a legitimate wild collection had already taken place about 12 months ago and there are already animals that have been distributed. Not entirely sure if this is true but apparently a freedom of info search with the NT gov will confirm......

There are also rumours of a couple of pairs of "off paper" Oenpelli's in Vic, apparently thriving and reproducing. But these probably are just that, rumours........

Either way, its exciting times if these are made available in the near future.....

 

[Waterrat]

Barra, I doubt the collection has been already done. Gavin has been working on getting permits for years, once a permit has been issued but collection didn't take place because some problems concerning the dates and the indigenous mob (I forgot the details). Gavin made public announcement at the Ipswich Festival that he is very close to getting the green light to collect OPs. I am sure if there were any captives he would have known about it directly from the NT government.

 

[Boidae]

If this goes through, this would make my life!!! I have wanted an Oenpelli for as long as I can remember!!!
Better start saving up, as I'd imagine they're not going to be cheap

 

[Waterrat]

Not having a go at you at all but it may of interest to all of us - why did you always want an oenpelli python? Can you give us an extended reason? Have you seen one alive?

 

[GeckPhotographer]

Barra, I doubt the collection has been already done. Gavin has been working on getting permits for years, once a permit has been issued but collection didn't take place because some problems concerning the dates and the indigenous mob (I forgot the details). Gavin made public announcement at the Ipswich Festival that he is very close to getting the green light to collect OPs. I am sure if there were any captives he would have known about it directly from the NT government.

As Gavin told me he got permission from the indigenous land owners to collect some but the NT licensing people still did not want him to collect Oenpelli pythons from Arnhem land. At the time he had a permit to collect them but only if he could find them outside of a national park and outside of Arnhem land. There may have been another event where he got a license and dates or something were problematic as this was a couple years back.

 

[Waterrat]

Hey Waterrat what if Gavin was the one who has collected the Oenpellies already? You say he would know about yeah he sure would if he got them, but does not necessarily mean others of us would. Just a thought. No, I don't thing so.

As Gavin told me he got permission from the indigenous land owners to collect some but the NT licensing people still did not want him to collect Oenpelli pythons from Arnhem land. At the time he had a permit to collect them but only if he could find them outside of a national park and outside of Arnhem land. There may have been another event where he got a license and dates or something were problematic as this was a couple years back.

You are right, I forgot the details.

 

[waruikazi]

That may have happened but it is not the reason the last permit was renegged on. As far as i'm aware it did come down to a particular individual but he was not a herper.

I was fairly reliably informed that, (without naming names,) it could have been possible for these to have been in captivity years ago, except for a ******* contest between two well known Herpetologists which resulted in one getting the ****s that the other was being approved and resulted in a phone call to the "traditional owners" advising them how much they're worth, which resulted in everyone suddenly having traditional/spiritual connections to the animals (therefore increasing the price) and putting them out of reach, because, as Waterrat pointed out, not only do the locals have their hands out but so will the government. Be careful what you wish for people, just because certain people may get permits doesn't necessarily mean anybody except a very privileged few (read, rich) may get a look in. For some people it IS all about the money and the "prestige" that comes with having rare animals

I spoke to the curator of the TWP last year. That particular animal died of cancer (?? would have to look back over my journal) not long after it was taken down for that display. The remaining animal was collected as it had it's eyes pecked out by a Kookaburra.

It was probably me who told you that there was a fella who got permission to collect, i have since found out he was talking smack and i get the feeling that the bloke who claimed he had the permit was trying to persuade me to go and poach some without me knowing it lol. There has only ever been one permit to collect these animals so far, it was vetoed a day after it was issued.

I'm quite confident we can beleive the rumours of the illegally held animals.

Yeah Fay,
TWP brought down a pair to display and as a result one of the animals came back in pretty bad shape and didnt live long after. The other animal is alive but is a fairly poor example, old, skinny and I think no eyes if I remember correct......

I had been told by a herp in the NT after a similar thread 6 months ago that a legitimate wild collection had already taken place about 12 months ago and there are already animals that have been distributed. Not entirely sure if this is true but apparently a freedom of info search with the NT gov will confirm......

There are also rumours of a couple of pairs of "off paper" Oenpelli's in Vic, apparently thriving and reproducing. But these probably are just that, rumours........

Either way, its exciting times if these are made available in the near future.....

He has not collected anything yet. I would encourage everyone to be careful about making any hearsay public on any forum. By all means let the discussion flow but remember the people who count in this story do read this forum and others. Jealousy is rife in our hobby and if allowed to it will hold this chapter up.

Hey Waterrat what if Gavin was the one who has collected the Oenpellies already? You say he would know about yeah he sure would if he got them, but does not necessarily mean others of us would. Just a thought.

As Gavin told me he got permission from the indigenous land owners to collect some but the NT licensing people still did not want him to collect Oenpelli pythons from Arnhem land. At the time he had a permit to collect them but only if he could find them outside of a national park and outside of Arnhem land. There may have been another event where he got a license and dates or something were problematic as this was a couple years back.

Just remember there is a whole lot more to this story than just getting a permit to collect.

I've been looking for this animal for 18 months now. Nearly every single night in known locations and times. I have had one childrens that fooled me and one animal that may or may not have been what i was looking for which disappeared before i got to it after i spotted it on a road.

As many permits as we want can be issued, but if we can't find any then none of this matters.

 

[Naga_Kanya]

Not having a go at you at all but it may of interest to all of us - why did you always want an oenpelli python? Can you give us an extended reason? Have you seen one alive?

They've been on my theoretical wish list for ages, since seeing them in Rick Shine's book, then doing a bit more research online. I think they're really, really beautiful, and the photos of that night-time colour change (due, I think, to the sheen on their scales) kinda captivated me. I, like other, also like the idea of a big python that's potentially nicer to handle than a scrubby. I wouldn't even dream of touching one until they'd been documented in captivity for a fairly long time, and I was confident enough was known about them that I could give it a good, healthy, long-term home. I'm absolutely with the others who have said they should be husbanded in NT for years before any form of captive distribution to expert keepers interstate. I'd hate to see the species suffer simply because people wanted to make a quick buck. Considering their uniqueness, it would be a shame to see them being mucked about with to breed hybrids, too.

 

[waruikazi]

Naga i recon you would love what's referred to as the baby one of these snakes. It's an incredibly slender childrens and goes through some pretty mad colour changes.

 

[GeckPhotographer]

He has not collected anything yet. I would encourage everyone to be careful about making any hearsay public on any forum. By all means let the discussion flow but remember the people who count in this story do read this forum and others. Jealousy is rife in our hobby and if allowed to it will hold this chapter up.

I did not say he had collected just that if a collection had happened it might have been him. In terms of hearsay I was just writing what he had said to me a couple years back in terms of clarifying if that was the situation Waterrat was talking about. It is not exactly private knowledge as Gavin openly tells people he plans to bring them into captivity.

I know there is more than just getting the permit and that finding them is extremely hard.

I doubt I would ever want to keep one of these but they are indeed high on my list to see in the wild just because they are such an illusive and poorly known snake.

 

[stockhorse]

I think this discussion at this point is purely hypothetical as the claim for who are the TO is under dispute.If one party gives approval the other will challenge it and it will be suspended. In maybe another 2-3 years the requirments will be changed and the TO taken out of the equation and some progress may result.
Until then those breeding them will have to wait. Also from opinions expressed here as to thier desireability if people are logical and refuse to pay more than $500 a hatchie then they won't be un affordable to whoever wants one.Breeders with smarts will push the vunerable side of things and get Govt grants to breed and make thier money that way.(more money from the govt than selling hatchies)

 

[waruikazi]

I did not say he had collected just that if a collection had happened it might have been him. In terms of hearsay I was just writing what he had said to me a couple years back in terms of clarifying if that was the situation Waterrat was talking about. It is not exactly private knowledge as Gavin openly tells people he plans to bring them into captivity.

I know there is more than just getting the permit and that finding them is extremely hard.

I doubt I would ever want to keep one of these but they are indeed high on my list to see in the wild just because they are such an illusive and poorly known snake.

Sorry mate that comment wasn't just aimed at you and i'm sorry if it came off as confrontational. Gavin doesn't make any secret that he is working on a project and collecting some is part of it, but that is his story to tell and no one elses. I personally think it is innapropriate to be asking questions to third parties on a public forum mainly for two reasons. If you want genuine answers go straight to the source, most of the people talking in this thread know Gavin (including you by the sounds) just call him. He is no more than an aquaintane to me but he is the kind of bloke that will take the time to answer your call. Secondly, loose lips sink ships. Anyone involved in a project like this is already up against it, rumours, chinese whispers and jealousy could end this project. Ask the questions but do it privately or go to the source.

I'm not too keen on keeping them either, but i'm loving the detective work hunting them down.