UK residents

[ajc]

Friday 05 October
8:00pm - 9:00pm
Channel Five
Wildlife documentary series in which naturalist Nick Baker hunts down some of the strangest creatures on the planet. Nick's quest takes him to Slovenia in search of a bizarre, sightless salamander. He descends deep into the mountains to find the proteus or olm, dubbed the 'human fish' because its skin resembles human flesh. Nick camps underground for three days in an attempt to experience this light-deprived world and the effect it has had on the olm's evolution.

 

[digger]

thanks for the heads up

 

[apples]

Darn, makes me wish I had television.

 

[ajc]

The program was OK, but not brilliant. Good travelog (made me want to visit), not much about the salamanders. Implied that they can also be found in surface streams occasionally?

 

[franceschino]

Hi Alan
I have an article on Proteus that says:

"Besides in caves themselves, specimens of Proteus are often found outside, because of drift by rising waters after heavy rains. Such localities constitute a large portion of the records, particularly in regions where hypogean waters are hardly accessible by caves. In some places specimens of Proteus actively come out of springs during dark nights (Hochenwart, 1938). This may well be explained by better feeding conditions in surface waters. However the frequency and importance of the phenomenon has not yet been investigated."

The article is:

Sket B (1997) Distribution of Proteus (Amphibia: Urodela: Proteidae) and its possible explanation. Journal of Biogeography 24, 263-280.

Francesco

 

[will_j]

the programme suggested that the surface dwelling animals, the black ones with eyes, were a seperate subspecies. I enjoyed the programme, the footage was good, pity that it seemed more orientated towards the presenter, rather than the animals.

 

[Mark]

I sadly missed the programme but I've been to Nick Bakers house - he has (or had) a tank of wild type axolotls in his lounge.

Add him to the list of clebs who like caudates...

 

[ajc]

the programme suggested that the surface dwelling animals, the black ones with eyes, were a seperate subspecies.

I thought it was suggesting that the black ones were a separate subspecies? The surface ones i saw were white.

I enjoyed the programme, the footage was good, pity that it seemed more orientated towards the presenter, rather than the animals.

Yes, but at least Mark's got his new website sorted "Celebrities who like Caudates"
Hmm, let's see...
Baker
Livingstone
...

 

[will_j]

maybe it was just those ones from those few springs in Slovenia that were different...

caudate celebs, this sound like a fun game!

ummm...... nope i think you have the only two there, unless there are some closet caudataphiles

 

[platinum]

Uk residents

I'm surprised 'Newt fancier' 'Red Ken' Livingstone hasn't turned up on this forum...but maybe he has!

I wonder what he keeps. Or maybe this was something from his past which the media never let go.

I'd be interested if anyone knew...

 

[ajc]

And again this Friday:

The Hellbender: Nick Baker's Weird Creatures
Friday 26 October, 8:00-9:00pm
UK Channel Five
Nick Baker is in the Appalachian mountains of the USA on the hunt for the hellbender - a rare giant salamander with a sinister reputation and an uncertain future.

 

[Bellabelloo]

Thanks ajc for that....tv is now booked and various offspring will dispatched to other areas of the house where I can't hear them.

 

[ajc]

Now that was a great program. Although the situation in the Ozarks was very depressing, the sequence of the male guarding the nest was fantastic!

 

[Bellabelloo]

I enjoyed it too..though their situation is far grimmer than I realised. I will certainly be keeping an interest in how things develope.

 

[platinum]

Yes, it was a good programme. But no-one asked or talked about captive breeding? Has anyone ever succeeded?

 

[ajc]

Yes, it was a good programme. But no-one asked or talked about captive breeding? Has anyone ever succeeded?

I believe it was mentioned, and the answer was no.

 

[lims]

Really good TV, but yes very sad, ,, I want to look for salamanders in rivers, as a job.
was funnny when Nick tried to make a joke about the size of newts in uk being not much to brag about catching, but the other dude didn't seem too overly impressed by this, hahaha, mint.
I cant wait for next week, anyone know what it's about?

 

[ajc]

Nick Baker's Weird Creatures
Friday 02 November
8:00pm - 9:00pm
Channel Five
5/8 - The Invisible Lizard
Nick is on a turbo-charged chase through Madagascar in search of chameleons - the so-called masters of disguise. Nick wants to find one of these 'invisible lizards' in order to bust a few myths and uncover the mystery surrounding this incredible lizard.

 

[aramcheck]

Yes, but at least Mark's got his new website sorted "Celebrities who like Caudates"
Hmm, let's see...
Baker
Livingstone
...

not to forget David Attenborough who I have seen on telly talking about breeding fire sals with his children!

 

[Shadow]

So is this a series or something? I really enjoyed Life In Cold Blood, so I will want to watch this.