Frog Calls Newsletter of Crosstimbers Connection

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We will be in Mansfield at Oliver Nature Park on August 8 at 10:00am (see next page). Join us for a discussion about our local reptiles and amphibians and see some of these animals close up. This park is a great place to walk around. It follows a stretch of Walnut Creek and has a couple of ponds, and there is no charge to visit.

What Good Are Snakes? For those who may wonder whether there’s anything good about snakes and other reptiles and amphibians, here are some thoughts on the subject.

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June, 2015

Inside Join Us at Oliver Nature Park Summer Events!

Let’s take a walk at Southwest Nature Preserve (July 18) and see if we can see some turtles, lizards, and frogs. And then, come join us at Oliver Nature Park (August 8) to talk about our native reptiles and amphibians.

Mark August 8 in your calendar!

Frog Calls

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Summer Events

All of our events are free, but the host locat ion may charge an entrance fee – check their website to see if there is a fee.

This walk is in partnership with the Friends of the Southwest Nature Preserve. We will meet in the parking lot of the preserve between 8:45 and 9 am, and we’ll plan on walking/exploring for about an hour. The walk will be limited to the first 8 people who contact us (you can use the “Contact Us” page). It’s free; the only reason we want to hear from you is that we specialize in small groups, so everyone can participate. Please bring water and if you have them, binoculars and a smartphone or camera to take photos. We never know what we might see, but the possibilities include turtles in the ponds, cricket frogs, Texas spiny lizards, and greensnakes. We’ll talk about the other species we might see, and where all these critters might live.

A “Herp Walk” at Southwest Nature Preserve July 18, from 9:00-10:00am, at Southwest Nature Preserve,

Arl ington, TX (see http://www.swnp.org)

Meet us at Mansfield's wonderful nature park to see some reptiles up close and hear about how they live and how they are important parts of nature. This is not a walk, but it is an outdoor event. We will bring some harmless reptiles and amphibians and talk about them and how they live. The event is free but the park would like for you to register beforehand (see below):

https://apm.activecommunities.com/mansfield/Activity_Search/radical-reptiles-aug-8/1749

Radical Reptiles, or What Good Are Snakes (And Other Reptiles & Amphibians?)

August 8, from 10:00-11:00am, at Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park, Mansfie ld TX (see http://www.olivernaturepark.com)

Texas spiny lizard at SW Nature Preserve

Frog Calls Volume 3 No. 2 – June, 2015

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Imagine an animal that is so adaptable that, as one kind or another, it can live in the desert, in the forest, or in the sea, in almost all areas of the earth from cold climates to the tropics. It’s a fairly advanced animal with a backbone and a brain, smart in its own kind of way, able to recognize small details about its surroundings and remember where in its territory to find shelter and food. Although not particularly social, at least some of them provide some care for their young. Mothers of at least a few species keep their babies close by for the first few days when they are most vulnerable.

They are animals that don’t look for trouble, and typically hide or try to escape whenever a human comes near. They are amazing hunters, and many of them eat large numbers of rats and mice that otherwise could be causing us trouble. They are able to do all these things – climb trees, swim, dig burrows in the ground, hunt and catch prey, and even swallow what they eat whole – with no legs. You guessed it, we are talking about snakes!

What Good Are Snakes?

(And Other Reptiles & Amphibians)

Some snake facts: • Snakes and lizards are more

closely related to each other than they are to other reptiles such as turtles or crocodilians

• All snakes have scales, and their skin is dry, not slimy. Those with “keeled” scales on their upper body might feel a little rough, while those with smooth scales look more glossy and may feel like polished leather.

• Many snakes lay eggs, but a number of them give “live” birth, with babies enclosed in a clear membrane that they quickly push through.

• Some pythons coil about their eggs and raise their body temperature a little by shivering. The muscle contractions generate a little heat for the eggs.

• All snakes eat other animals – none eat plants. Since they have no arms and hands, they have to eat their prey whole, using specialized adaptations of the jaws and ligaments.

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Frog Calls

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What Good Are Snakes? - Continued from page 3

Most of the snake species in Texas are nonvenomous. Even the venomous species avoid contact with humans, and bites from copperheads, cottonmouths, rattlesnakes, or coral snakes often result when we touch or grab them (accidentally or on purpose). To learn more about them and how to identify them, download our free pdf guide to the venomous snakes of north Texas, at www.crosstimbersconnection.org - see the “Wildlife” page and then click the page for “Reptiles.”

Worried About Venomous Snakes?

Between 1997 and 2005, there were only five human deaths from venomous snakebite

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Lots of people fear snakes, and too many hate them and kill them if they get a chance. Other people love snakes, and admire the colorful patterns formed by the scales and skin of many of them. Is one group of people right, and the other wrong? If asked “what’s so bad about snakes?” many people would mention the fact that some kinds of snakes are venomous and their bites can be dangerous or even deadly. So how could we answer the question, “what good are snakes?” Is there an answer that would make sense to the average person?

I think there are some good answers to this question, starting with how some snakes may directly benefit us. Let’s start with a service that snakes provide for free, that we often pay other people to provide: pest control. We don’t like living around rats and mice, and these rodents can carry several dangerous diseases. An article in the Western Farm Press reported that rodents cause millions of dollars in damage to crops and stored grains annually, and you might be surprised to learn that rats and mice can do serious damage to cars by chewing through wiring. A number of snake species eat rats, mice, gophers, and other rodents in large numbers. Among the bigger snakes that can eat rats are the Texas ratsnake, the bullsnake, and the western diamond-backed rattlesnake. These and other snake species help keep rodent populations in check. Now I know that hardly anyone wants a rattlesnake living around their barn for rodent control, but what about the thousands of rattlesnakes living out on the prairies and plains where humans are unlikely to run into them? Other species such as the Texas ratsnake coexist quite nicely with people, and often turn up in parks or greenbelts where they have been bringing down the numbers of rats and mice, without anyone even knowing that they were there. It can be startling to find a five-foot ratsnake in your back yard, but they avoid confrontation and will simply move on if left alone.

What about venomous snakes? Many people might say that there’s nothing good about a venomous snake. However, the same snake venom that can cause great misery is also being used to treat such disorders as high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer. New medicines are developed by harnessing the power of the complex substances that make up venom. For example, a protein from snake venom was instrumental in developing the ACE inhibitor drugs that help dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure. But first, someone has to extract the venom from live snakes. Among the experts who do this is

During that same time, there were 45 deaths due to lightning strikes

Source: Venomous Snakes of Texas, by Andrew Price, UT Press

Frog Calls Volume 3 No. 2 – June, 2015

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Jim Harrison, Director of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo. Harrison extracts venom from snakes kept at the facility and supplies it to researchers and pharmaceutical companies. He talks about a wide range of medical uses for venom, including recent work that may lead to a treatment for breast cancer. “They’re working on how to put it (the substance derived from venom) into the (tumor) cell so it destroys the cell, and then destroys itself” so that it cannot hurt healthy cells. And so, if I see a copperhead while out on a walk, I might feel thankful that these snakes are alive (while being careful not to step on the snake).

Lots of reptiles and amphibians eat insects and other “creepy-crawlies.” Lizards like the Texas spiny lizard work hard every day to spot insects and gobble them down. Toads and frogs come out at night to continue the job, snapping up large numbers of beetles, crickets, spiders, and other invertebrates. It’s likely that a few healthy toads and lizards in the garden might take the place of the insecticides we might spray on the plants.

Of course, some of you would say, “now wait a minute – spiders help to keep the numbers of insects down, and so if the toads are eating the spiders, that cancels out some of the good that they do.” That’s a great point, and it shows the danger of us getting to decide what lives and dies based only on our likes and dislikes. Every animal has a job to do, and we don’t always understand exactly what that animal’s job is. It eats some things and also serves as food for other things. It contributes to nature in ways that we might not be aware of.

Here is one example: in some places, amphibians are a major food source for other animals. Andrew Blaustein, a professor at Oregon State University, noted that “…in some places the amphibian biomass is greater than that of all the other vertebrates.” The weight of the frogs, toads, and salamanders might be greater than that of all the fish, reptiles, birds and mammals in an area? Imagine how many animals must depend on them for food. Here’s another example of how reptiles and amphibians can be important: gopher tortoises dig burrows that provide important homes and shelter for a variety of other animals. If the gopher tortoises are gone, where will these animals live?

These examples show how various animals can be important, even if it’s not obvious how they benefit us. If we don’t like some animal and we are able to get rid of it altogether, this is like randomly taking out part of your car while driving. Maybe the car can keep going, but it might run badly or overheat or ruin the brakes. It’s best to leave all the parts in the car so it will run right. In the same way, it is risky for us to interfere very much with natural systems that are working. If we get things too messed up, it is hard for us to predict the harm that we might do.

I don’t know about you, but the next time I see a turtle, a frog, or a snake, this is what I’m going to think to myself: “I’m not completely sure why you’re here – what your job is. But since you’re here, you must play some part in keeping the natural world going. Thanks!”

What Good Are Snakes? - Continued from page 3

Woodhouse’s toad (photo: M

ichael Smith)

Crosstimbers Connection Connecting People with Nature in North Texas

We take people out into the woods and prairies, looking for reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife. We also give presentations to bring the woods and the wildlife to the people with slides, stories, and animals. Additionally, we publish Frog Calls and the Post Oak & Prairie Journal to bring the natural places in Texas to life in print and photos. We do all this without charging anything (but we gladly accept tax-deductible contributions to keep us going). We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Please visit us on the web at www.crosstimbersconnection.org.

P.O. Box 151882 ❖ Arlington, Texas 76015

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/CrosstimbersConnection

Don’t let the heat keep you in or get you down!

Summer…

Frog Calls Vol. 3 No. 2, June 2015

Stay safe in the Texas heat – carry lots of water with you in the field, wear a hat, and plan to get out only for short periods in the morning or late in the day.