While I am hopeful that our efforts are on the right track to recovery, I don’t think we are there yet. No reintroductions are self-sustaining yet and still absent from 90% of historic range. IMO, this decision is premature and lacks solid data to back it.

Check out this Black-headed bushmaster found by our bushmaster survey team on the Osa in Costa Rica! We have been collecting verified obs of this extremely rare snake to better understand status and distribution. 5.5 foot (1.67 m) male, photo by Marcelo Carvajal

Are you interested in conservation outreach/communication and love snakes? The IUCN Viper Specialist Group (VSG) is recruiting a 4 month communication intern. Read the full announcement at tinyurl.com/y5okrmkz and share widely! (Photo Eric Centenero)

The "money shot"! Not the greatest year for #hellbender reproduction, but Matt Kaunert got a couple active nests in PA! These eggs will hatch in a couple weeks. This beautiful young male is a dedicated father, and will guard his progeny inside the nest for 8 MONTHS!

Attending #TWS2020? Interested in genetics? Come check out the Molecular Ecology Working Group during our meeting Sept. 30th at 12:30EST!

Spent last week working under the supervision of Stephen Spear in the #carnivore lab at the #Wilds. We focused on detecting #pangolin DNA from soil samples. And of course, we toured the gorgeous landscape and saw the animals too! Thanks @danajmorin for making this happen!

#Hellbender larvae have hatched! Wild nests established within our artificial nest boxes will be revisited in the spring to assess survival of overwintering larvae. Good luck to these snot otter pups! Viorel Popescu OU Biological Sciences WesternPAConservancy @fishandboat National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Today I started my new position as Research Biologist at the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center! I’ll be working on eDNA and other genetic projects. Excited to join the team in La Crosse! And appreciate The Wilds for a great 4 years!

We are officially in Wisconsin!!

This Speckled Rattlesnake and Tiger Rattlesnake were captured on the same day in the same general area. Do you know which is which? * herpers, let people who are learning give it a shot please*

My lifer Blanding’s Turtle REALLY wanted to make an impression - here she is sporting a male on her carapace! Take a moment to bask in all their wrinkly yellow-necked glory! So exciting!!! I took this photo through binocs.

It’s Day #15 and the halfway point of #PitviperBeautyPageant! Tomorrow is also #WorldSnakeDay, which is the point of this month-long celebration of snakes with pits & fangs. Today is the day for a special species, the Terciopelo or Fer-de-Lance (Bothrops asper). 1/9 📷 Kris Haas

So excited to share the new VSG website with everyone! Happy World Snake Day! #WorldSnakeDay

Happy #WorldSnakeDay to you! I hope you have been enjoying #PitviperBeautyPageant this month, which is my way of helping snakes with #scicomm. Here are some thins YOU can do to help #snakes today! (and get cool stuff) #thread 1/9

Meet the Black-headed Bushmaster (Lachesis melanocephala) of Costa Rica! It is elusive and secretive – you may be more likely to see a jaguar! VSG members are working with local networks to better learn where this snake currently occurs to help protect it. #PitviperBeautyPageant

Check out our paper in the latest issue of Molecular Ecology comparing approaches for optimizing spatial scale in multi-scale genetics resistance surfaces for eastern indigo snakes. Thanks to coauthors Peterman Lab Stephen Spear The Orianne Society Andrew Whiteley & Kevin McGarigal!

The Sharp-nosed Viper (Deinagkistrodon acutus) is one of the largest vipers in Asia. There is concern of overexploitation for food/medicine, but more data is needed. One of our VSG activities will be to begin natural history studies through radiotracking. #PitviperBeautyPageant

Awesome rattlesnake outreach in downtown Aguascalientes, Mexico. Need a mural like this for timber rattlesnakes in La Crosse!

Goodbye to the Costa Rican Pacific rainforest (for now). There’s surely a Plato Negro coiled up somewhere down below and that alone makes it a special place!