Green tree python population and movement studies

[Ned_fisch]

I was just watching a show on Animal planet. On the show, they were in the Iron national rainforest and they were looking for Green tree pythons and when they found them, they were recording the area they were in, their size, weight and then also putting Micro chips just under the skin to record the population and movements of the animals.
The show was Wildlife down under with Nick baker. Nick baker was helping somebody do all this, cant remember his name though.
I was wondering, does anybody know any of the results for the Population of Green tree pythons in the north and also their movements?

 

[Helikaon]

I did a quick look and found this artical, it sounds like the study,

http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=ZO06078.pdf

Just let me know if the link works or not.

Cheers
Dan

 

[Ned_fisch]

I did a quick look and found this artical, it sounds like the study,

http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=ZO06078.pdf

Just let me know if the link works or not.

Cheers
Dan

The link worked, thanks a lot.
Slack of me, I should of searched it myself.

 

[rash]

so whats the estimated population (wild) in Australia?did the article say 4-5 per hectare over 300sqr km, or did i read wrong.....?

 

[Kurto]

FYI, Nick baker recorded that show in 2001

 

[funcouple]

wonder if this will help the poachers get a few more to sell on the black market

 

[smegalreptileboy]

wonder if this will help the poachers get a few more to sell on the black market

i agree:evil:

 

[amazonian]

Don't know why there even is a black market for GTP's. Every man & his dog owns them these days.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

Especially wild-caught Aussie ones...far easier to fly them in from overseas these days, rather than spend all that time and fuel on the off chance that you'll find a couple and don't get pinched...

 

[DanN]

Your dead right Jonno. The cost of poaching an Australian animal in terms of time and money just isn't worth it when we see them going for so cheap legally. Population data on this species won't increase poaching in my opinion.

 

[funcouple]

your kind of right Jonno. But where do you think most of what is forsale overseas came from? Wild caught poached and smuggled from here in our backyard

 

[Australis]

your kind of right Jonno. But where do you think most of what is forsale overseas came from? Wild caught poached and smuggled from here in our backyard

I would think most stock traded overseas is captive/farmed and wild caught..
Not collected from Australia, why would they bother?

 

[Jonno from ERD]

Why spend several thousand dollars collecting 2-3 Greens from a highly monitored area when you can spend several thousand dollars and get 20+ without leaving the comfort of your house?

It's quite obvious that nearly everything on the market is of an exotic background. That's not to say that there isn't natives, and of course some of those natives would have been poached but they aren't the ones been flogged left right and centre...

 

[funcouple]

I would think most stock traded overseas is captive/farmed and wild caught..
Not collected from Australia, why would they bother?

that is probably true Australis. but do you think these now captive bred that are offered forsale overseas originated from native stock poached and illegally exported from australia? the point i was trying to make was that naming an area that has gtp's could help poachers find these snakes to illegally export. maybe the depmand isnt there anymore for gtp's, but is it really worth the risk when we see and hear about some of our natives that are detected at our boarders that these poachers are trying to smuggle out of australia?

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day funcouple,

There is very little, if any, overseas demand for Australian Green Pythons. They are incredibly common captive animals over there and are able to be exported legally too.

Most of our strictly endemic pythons would be of much higher value, such as Rough Scales, Blackheads, Woma's etc...

 

[funcouple]

ok thanks for that Jonno

 

[mrmikk]

Iron Range National Park's saving grace is its isolation. It's not exactly a day trip.