It is not the strongest of the species that survives but the most adaptable. ~ Charles Darwin
The rapid changes in the West Indies include development, deforestation, chemical uses, increase in population and traffic, pollution, exploitation, drought and climate change. It is questionable if any West Indian Boa species has the capability to adapt to these, given the brevity of time in which these changes occur.
Few (if any) people who have seen his miracles were not captivated by the magic which waits underneath the curtain he uplifted for us to see. He’s thought to be one of the most well-travelled people on the planet. From his journeys he always brought us a wealth of information, novelty, and impressions, so beautiful that no one was left untouched.
He turned many of us into naturalists, paved the way for many academics and certainly succeeded to instill the will to preserve (or even restore) the planet in most of us.
We assume all of our readers have a genuine interest in not only West Indian Boas but herpetofauna, in general. This book, written by two well established academic researchers in the field is worth reading. It deals with the geographically small subsection of the West Indies (St. vincent and the Grenadines) but does so in such great detail, that it is almost impossible not to learn a wealth of new things about the herpetofauna from these islands.
It contains more than 400 color photos and distribution maps of the 32 species of reptiles and amphibians that occur on the more than 40 islands of the St. Vincent Bank and the Grenada Bank. It touches also topics of conservation and provides a compilation of our current knowledge of the frogs and reptiles of the two banks and raises concerns for their futures.
ORDER it directly from the publisher (here) or another privately owned small bookshop.
The following short video shows real images, comparing the state of forests in 1984 to 2020. Many of our readers have been already born when the first images of this film were taken. So this all happened within our lifetime…
While many of the images are from South America, it is necessary to understand that deforestation is not a local problem of some less developed countries, but rather the result of a globalized world where it is cheaper to cut and burn trees for a meager harvest of soy, corn, sugar cane, palm oil, etc., which in turn is exported to feed cattle or sweeten our soft drinks, than to produce healthy food from the soils we live on.
Deforestation is real and the root cause is the human population.
It is important to notice that on the West Indies, changing natural habitat occurs at an unprecedented pace, for different reasons than in South America, but with the same result.
With deforestation measured in hectares per hour (ha/hr) instead of ha/month or year, this is the biggest threat to all biodiversity on this planet. PERIOD.
This is the first blog post in our recommended reading series.
The book is a must read for anyone with a serious interest in boas and pythons. It covers ecology, natural history, evolution, behavior, physiology, neurology, reproductive biology, and conservation. From a perspective of West Indian Boa aficionados, it contains several highly interesting accounts. Support the small private publishers-buy several for your herp holiday gifts. Available directly from the publisher here.
THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE FORMS, SO NUMEROUS THAT WE HAVE YET TO IDENTIFY MOST OF THEM, IS THE GREATEST WONDER OF THIS PLANET. ~ E. O. Wilson, Biodiversity (1988)
With all of the modern day tools and methods in our Conservation Chest, can we even save the Bimini Boa? ~ jGordonm
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please." ~ Mark Twain
"No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced." ~ Sir David Attenborough
UPDATE: Comments have been closed; now we wait for a decision based on your feedback.
Per the USFWS: This proposal is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific data, which indicate that the species’ status has improved such that it is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. We are also proposing a rule under the authority of section 4(d) of the Act that provides measures that are necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the Virgin Islands boa. Further, we are correcting the List to change the scientific name of the Virgin Islands boa in the List from Epicrates monensis granti to Chilabothrus granti to reflect the currently accepted taxonomy.
This was posted on 30 September and your opportunity to comment closes on 30 November, 2020. See the Federal Register Posting here.