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herping: |
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wolves121 Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 No. of posts: 27  View other posts by wolves121 |
Posted: 03 May 2007 hi, why is everyone into herping seem so secrative coming from birdwatching it seems you do your best to put people off. now i accept this with sand lizards and smooth snake due to there status. seen 328 british sp of birds an 6 sp of brtish reptiles |
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arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445  View other posts by arvensis |
Posted: 03 May 2007 There is still a lot of hostility and ignorance towards our native reptiles, which is why people tend to keep the locations of our reptiles, especially good sites a little guarded. It may seem like it puts people off but once people get to know an individual and know that their intentions are good, info is more forthcoming. What part of the country are you from? Cheers, Mark Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. |
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wolves121 Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 No. of posts: 27 View other posts by wolves121 |
Posted: 03 May 2007 im in wolverhampton west midlands. i can sort of understand that i guess coming from birdwatching where information is easier to come by it just seems a little wierd as an example dartford warblers aren't common but if you know a site your happy to share the information with other people. so how much of a problem does the hostilty and ingnorance cause at the moment is it getting better or worse? seen 328 british sp of birds an 6 sp of brtish reptiles |
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arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis |
Posted: 03 May 2007 I've heard stories of adders and grassies getting bashed for no reason. I think in the case of the adder its partially cos its a snake(we can't have any of those can we?  ) Plus the general public have a fear that there are animals that can defend themselves if need be.I'm sure others will add their thoughts. Mark Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. |
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Wolfgang Wuster Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 326 View other posts by Wolfgang Wuster |
Posted: 04 May 2007 Even without bad intentions, human observers are likely to represent a problem to many reptile populations, especially the rare species and adders. The problem is that reptiles are more difficult to observe without disturbing them than many birds. Getting a good look at, say, a group of adders basking near a hibernaculum usually involves getting within a few meters, at which point you are likely to disturb them. Mild disturbance from one observer once a week or so is probably no problem, but if sites become well known and people disturb them multiple times every week-end ("if I catch only one or two for photos, that won't be a problem, will it?"), then the population is not going to last long. Seen it too many times... Cheers, WW Wolfgang Wüster School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor http://sbsweb.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/ |
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