Save Our Sungazers Campaign

[Scottish Sungazer]

Last weekend saw the first of many (i hope) Save Our Sungazers Roadshows.
Everyone who visited the stall seemed to be really interested and most importantly, sympathitic towards the plight of the Sungazers.

Here is a picture of the stall -



The S.O.S. Campaign has three main objectives -

1. Education.
2. Communication
3. Coordination

Not sure of postage costs to SA but if anyone would like a S.O.S. t-shirt or pen. Please let me know.

Any questions, please do not hessitate to ask.

[Herphabitat]

Great initiative Fraser. It’s great to see how passionate you are about our endangered local lizards. All the best.

[Scottish Sungazer]

Half my picture has been chopped off!!

Thanks. I would be keen to hear from anyone who has ANYTHING Sungazer related - pictures, newspaper articles, magazine articles etc

[Scavenger]

This is a great cause to be hearing of I believe the endangered wildlife trust has/had a initiative going for the Sungazers not sure what's happening with it now. But the aim was to educate farmers who have populations on their properties about the plight as well as sustainable practices in which to conserve the species. I have a very interesting paper on the influences mining may have on the species in terms of pollution if your interested. Let me know

[shadowfoot]

Hey Scavenger, would it be able to e-mail me that paper?

[Scottish Sungazer]

Thanks. I have sent you a PM with my email address.

As I said, ANY information on this species would be of interest to me.

This is a great cause to be hearing of I believe the endangered wildlife trust has/had a initiative going for the Sungazers not sure what's happening with it now. But the aim was to educate farmers who have populations on their properties about the plight as well as sustainable practices in which to conserve the species. I have a very interesting paper on the influences mining may have on the species in terms of pollution if your interested. Let me know

[Scavenger]

Scottish Sungazer I have sent through the paper through to your email Shadowfoot could you PM your email address to me and I'll send it through. I see your also studying Nature Conservation

[Scottish Sungazer]

Yes, thank you. I am in the middle of reading it right now.

[Scottish Sungazer]

OK, so a bit of an update and a request for information.

A new web site is being created as we speak - www.smauggiganteus.com - which will include a section on the S.O.S. Campaign. This is being done with the help of a professional web site builder so should be pretty good once complete.

Second part is in relation to the rules and regulations in RSA regarding the Sungazer and it's habitat. I have just purchased 16 environmental data loggers that will be placed in prime Sungazer habitat. These data loggers will be set to record the temperature and humidity at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00 for a full year. Readings will be taken both above ground and in burrows. This information will prove invaluable in terms of recreating conditions in captivity that mirror that in the wild. So my question is - would I need to contact anyone in the local or national government to gain the required permits to view / visit these sites. Also, are there any restrictions in terms of bringing in these data loggers from outside the RSA? I already have 4 farmers who are happy for me to install these environmental data loggers on their land - all 4 have Sungazers living and breeding.

[Bushviper]

Hi Fraser.

You will not need any permission to do the research you are doing because it is non invasive and as long as you have the land owners permission nobody will mind.

The trick is to know when they are in the burrows and when they are outside. It would be the first prize if you could insert a data logger inside the Sungazer but that is a whole different kettle of fish.

Try to keep track of rainfall as well so that you could recreate that as well. Humidity in the burrow would also be important.

Just please do not make the research sites public.

[Scottish Sungazer]

Thanks for the reply.

I am not a fan of invasive data logging, although I agree this could be very useful. We all know how many animals were sacrificed in historical research work - where has that got us? Has it helped the species in the long term - i think not!!

Yes, recording the amount of rainfall will be important and this is another environmental factor I wish to record.

Don't worry about disclosing the test sites, these will be kept a secret.

[Durban Keeper]

This is fantastic work and the research is invaluble to the long term conservation of the species. Great initiative and I wish you all the best of luck! If only people within SA would go to such lengths to captive breed some of our other rare reptiles!

[Scottish Sungazer]

Thanks for your words of support Durban Keeper.

[Marion]

For as long as I can remember, I have been keen to captive breed with some of our endangered species. But like a lot of us I have no idea where to start or what red tape is involved. I know some parks have their own breeding programmes but I'm pretty sure they don't really want the general public involved in this, no matter how keen they may be. The sungazer is a truly beautiful lizard and it would be such a privilege to help increase their numbers.

The way things are going, I think that one day the only reptiles our great-grandchildren and their kids will see are ones bred in captivity.

Marion

[Scottish Sungazer]

Unfortunately I think you are right Marion. To put things into perspective - if you ask Joe Public to name an endangered species you will get the typical reply - Tiger, Panda or Elephant for example. The difference between these species and the Sungazer ( not that I am saying that the Sungazers is on a par in terms or rarity, just yet ) is that we know how to stimulate regular breeding in captivity. This is not something that can be said for the Sungazer. We need to act now, collectively, to preserve this species for future generations before it is too late.

It concerns me that thousands of pounds change hands for a Royal Python on a daily basis yet these same people have no interest or desire to help protect a species such as the Sungazer, it really is VERY said. I tend to find there are three types of people in this 'hobby' -

1. Those with money and no motivation to make a difference.
2. Those with no money but motivation in abundance to make a difference.
or
3. Those with both money and motivation.

Unfortunately I am in the second catagory - my funds are very, very limited. Having said this, I will not allow this to prevent me from driving forward my plans for the long term survival of this species.