November General Meeting: “The Auffenbergi Project: Preserving the Peacock Monitor”
November 1, 2024 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
1991 Upper Buford Cir, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
Conserving the Vibrant Legacy and IntriguingBehaviors of Varanus auffenbergi
Endemic to one island in the Lesser SundaIslands of the South Pacific, the Peacock Monitor was once imported as BlueSpotted Timor Monitors. Common on importer and wholesaler lists, theywere passed over by most keepers. Described as their own species byRobert Sprackland in 1999 and named after herpetologist Walter Auffenberg, thiscolorful monitor became listed as Endangered only 20 years later(2019). In 2014, Ryan began working with Peacock Monitors and in 2017 heard there wasgoing to be a population survey on Roti Island on Varanus auffenbergi. Knowing they may no longer come into captivity, Ryan and Erica worked over thenext 7 years to collect the largest known collection of Varanus Auffenbergi inone place anywhere in the world. Come discover how a small colorfulmonitor created a passion that built an assurance colony for the species.
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October ’17 Speaker: Beth Girard; Lizards: What They Do and How They Do It!
September 13, 2017 by Chris Rueber • Speakers •
Beth has been an active member of the Minnesota Herpetological Society since 1999. This year, she served as the 2017 State Fair Coordinator and continues her role as the current Adoption Chair. She joined MHS with her four children when we moved to the Twin Cities from Orlando, Florida. It was her love of everything herp and work as an informal science educator that fuels her passion for squamates. Now that her kids have grown up and moved on, there are still plenty of animals at her house! Last year she was asked to do a 2-hour lizards and dragons program for MarsCon and while researching the presentation, her eyes were opened to the incredible diversity and total “awesomeness” of this particular group of animals. Come join her as she presents a lay perspective on Lizards: What They Do and How They Do It!