Globally, nearly 4,000 species of snakes have been described in scientific literature. Of these, about 15% are venomous. The remaining 85% of species rely on alternative methods to capture prey. Of the species that are venomous, the toxins they produce are meant to incapacitate the rodents, amphibians, and birds that they eat which are, generally, exponentially smaller than a human. Since producing venom is energetically costly, relatively few snakes are able to amass a sufficient quantity or potency to have a serious effect on large animals. Roughly 7% of all snakes are capable of wounding o ..read more

A female terrapin pauses while crossing Great Bay Blvd in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. Shawn Michaels from WOBM News 92.7 recently visited the Conserve Wildlife Foundation and New Jersey Fish & Wildlife managed Great Bay Terrapin Habitat Enhancement Project and took the time to share his thoughts and some pictures from his visit. Thank you Shawn for spreading information about our project and sharing these wonderful photos of the turtle garden! You can read an except from the article below. Photo by Shawn Michaels If you live here at the Jersey Shore then there is a good chance you have seen a t ..read more

by Christine Healy, Wildlife Biologist Etiquette tells us that we shouldn’t have a favorite child. I sometimes wonder if the same rules apply to biologists with regard to our study species. If so, my manners fall woefully short, at least where reptiles are concerned. Conserve Wildlife Foundation has been partnering with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on bog turtle conservation initiatives for years. We do this using a multi-faceted approach. We connect landowners with qualifying habitat with federal funding opportunities and technical support that can preserve and restore ..read more

by Morgan Mark, CWF Intern CWF took Asbury Park School students on a virtual field trip to the Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center in Barnegat Bay. Asbury Park elementary schoolers participating in the district’s Summer Enrichment Program have had a wild reason to look forward to Wednesdays this summer – Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s virtual Wildlife Explorers Program sponsored by New Jersey Natural Gas.  CWF Director of Education Stephanie DAlessio has been teaching students about the wildlife that lives, breeds, and migrates in their community. Virtual field trips, eng ..read more

by Christine Healy, Wildlife Biologist Although I spend much of my time thinking about reptiles and amphibians, if you were to ask me if I could be classified as a “herper”, my immediate answer would be no. When I go for hikes, my objective is to reach the summit and take in the view- I’m not generally looking to offroad and go slow. I recently compiled a list, however, of all the herps that I have found during my outdoor adventures this year and was shocked to realize that I’ve encountered 31 species of wild turtles, snakes, frogs, and salamanders. Of those, I had the intention of locating 13 ..read more

by Christine Healy, Wildlife Biologist It’s always fun to learn the collective names for groups of animals. For example, in the amphibian and reptile world, we have an army of frogs; a congress of salamanders; a bale of turtles; and a lounge of lizards. I wonder what quippy term could describe a group of herpetologists- the folks who spend their lives studying the armies, congresses, bales, and lounges? Perhaps… a partnership? In that case, a partnership of herpetologists from as far south as Virginia all the way up to Maine descended upon Middletown, Connecticut last month. Not to cross some ..read more

by Christine Healy, Wildlife Biologist Coverboards are typically placed along ecotones, where species diversity is expected to be greatest. The corrugated tin board, pictured above, was positioned along a forest edge where larger deciduous trees meet a more open, sandy landscape. How do you survey for animals that spend most of their time hidden under leaf litter or wedged between fallen tree limbs and rocks? In the case of reptiles and amphibians, the answer is to use coverboards! Coverboards are materials that are intentionally placed within a potential habitat, often along ecotones (where d ..read more

by Ethan Gilardi A rehabilitated adult female northern diamondback terrapin that was released in late 2009 after being injured by a motor vehicle along Great Bay Blvd. © Ben Wurst Northern Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) are a native species of New Jersey turtle, inhabiting the brackish waters of the state’s coastal salt marshes and estuaries. The survival of the species depends on the ability of female turtles to access safe nesting habitat every summer, a struggle for the species these days with roadways disconnecting large swaths of their habitat. To help give females a ..read more

by: Meaghan Fogarty, Conserve Wildlife Foundation Intern Photo by Eric Sambol Note: For the health and safety of our staff, volunteers and the communities where we work, CWF staff and volunteers are practicing social distancing and following all state and CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Two days before Governor Murphy announced the statewide stay-at-home order, the first day of spring had sprung. Human life came to a screeching halt, but the natural world nevertheless began its annual transition towards warmer weather, longer days, and new life. As a ..read more