ACTION ALERT!

As you know, the zoo can’t start the bulldozers until they obtain special “incidental take” permits from state and federal wildlife regulatory agencies to allow them to “accidentally” kill threatened Alameda Whipsnakes during construction. Through our public records act requests, we have learned that the zoo continues to deny the existence of the special maritime chaparral community that provides habitat for the whipsnake - and that they are claiming the removal of parts of the chaparral will actually BENEFIT the snake. But a new report by Dr Shawn Smallwood, a wildlife biologist with a PhD in ecology who is a researcher at UC Davis, suggests this claim is based on no scientific evidence whatsoever - and concludes that: “given the extremely limited distribution of Alameda whipsnake and the permanent constraints imposed on the whipsnake's capacity to expand (i.e., recover) via habitat restoration or habitat enhancement due to human encroachment, the loss of any additional habitat could appreciably diminish the whipsnake's chance of survival and recovery.” The clock is running - a decision must be made by early September. Continue Reading →