A wild python had eyes bigger than his belly recently in Australia when he swallowed a slipper from the home he snuck into. Now I am kinda jealous of someone who has to worry about carpet pythons just wandering into their house, but the poor python was just looking for food. Emergency surgery was done and the snake is stable. And I bet after a quick wash, that slipper will be too! You can check the video out here. To read more, click here.

The best way to overcome fears is to confront them head on and learn and that is why we love seeing these types of news stories! Recently in Australia, where everything can kill you, Sharna Ayton and her Tamworth Reptile Awareness show worked to change some perceptions.

“It’s about giving reptiles a voice and getting awareness out there that they’re not such bad animals,” Miss Ayton said.
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“I grew up on a farm and could never understand why (some people) hated them and always shot them.”

Huge kudos to Ms. Ayton and every other person who takes time to do educational outreach! We Salute you!
Read more about this outreach event here.

Police have a rough time with some suspects and it is even worse when that suspect escapes after being in police custody! Thankfully the staff at New South Wales Police Department also have a sense of humor (and compassion when it comes to reptiles):

A danger noodle, apprehended in Cronulla last week, escaped custody and bamboozled those on duty when it decamped across a keyboard (looking for a mouse?!). Luckily, the nope rope was coaxed back to its holding cell (bag), with custody transferred to a local snake catcher.

Get the full scoop and the giggles here.

Speaking of compassion, Sydney snake catcher Sean Cade and the staff of the Ingleburn Veterinary Hospital saved a venomous Red-bellied black snake from a net in backyard.

'It would have kept struggling and struggling and struggling and because of the diameter holes in the netting and the thickness of the snake it wouldn't be able to swallow anything,' he said.

Read the full story and watch the video here.

And speaking of videos, we saved the best for last. Sometimes you get hangry and really don't want it on video. Sometimes you are a hangry monitor that just doesn't care. This amazing video from 2013 at Alice Springs Golf Course, shows the hunt and feeding of a Perenties Monitor. If this is the first time you have seen the video, please kow it is

A suitcase full of smuggled tortoises seized in a raid in Madagascar. Photograph: Courtesy of Alliance Voahary Gasy (AVG)

Most animals found on Madagascar are only found there and that is where the attraction lies. For years, those trying to protect the animals on the island have run into corrupt government officials and weak laws in their attempts to keep the animals safe. When the fine for being caught with a stolen Ploughshare tortoise is only $5, it is easy to take the risk.

For Lewis, what happened next was deeply dispiriting. “The person was arrested, went to court, was found guilty, and given a fine of 15,000 ariary ($5)” said Lewis. “I remember the minister [of the environment] saying ‘This is ridiculous’,” Lewis said. “This is somebody en flagrant délit – caught in the act – and gets a couple of dollars’ fine. Something’s wrong somewhere.”

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In a country where corruption is rife, laws protecting wildlife can be little more than theoretical. All exports of Malagasy rosewood, for instance, have been prohibited since early 2010 – but some of Madagascar’s loggers and exporters also hold seats in parliament. Enforcing the ban is a different matter.

Changes are happening however, with the help of a group of wildlife organizations, people are now seeing real punishment for the damage that is being done to the island's rare endemic species.

Read more about this amazing effort here.

An Aldabran giant tortoise from the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean, feeding on algae. A new study suggests these giant tortoises might once have been hunted by giant, prehistoric crocodiles. Credit Dennis Hansen/University of Zurich, Switzerland

Today Aldabra Atoll, part of the Seychelles, is predator free, but a recent discovery of a fossilized jaw bone gives some insight to what really preyed on the Aldabra Tortoises.

Dr. Hansen found about 180 fossils near a pond on the atoll. One was a jawbone of an ancient crocodile that he first thought was a tortoise longbone. But when he turned it over he saw it had holes where teeth could fit. He sent some of the fossils to his colleague Torsten Scheyer, a paleontologist also at the University of Zurich, for further examination.

The size of the fossil opens up a whole new chapter to the history of the area.
To read the full article, click here.