The Herpetological Garden

Conservation.   It is not a catch phrase, an activist group, a rallying cry or state of mind.   What it is, is the simple understanding that all life on earth, be it a man, a tree, a whale or a grass lizard exists with it’s own purpose and role in a great web of life.  And with this understanding we must conduct ourselves accordingly.

 Herpetological Garden Canada’s goals of conservation, education and captive propagation do not exist independently of one another.  Through our educational programs, interactive multimedia stations, and interpretive talks, we hope to encourage this basic understanding of this interconnected web of life, as well as educate further about the roles, which the animals in our collection fulfill in their natural habitats.  Now how people act on this knowledge can vary quite dramatically.  To some it is donating financially to environmental causes, protecting wetlands, volunteering to teach others, cleaning up a community park, participating in a legal hunting season, choosing a more environmentally friendly fertilizer or even through in-action by not pouring old motor oil on the ground or in a drain.

Another way we work towards the goal of conservation is through captive propagation.  Breeding and maintaining species in captivity both works towards keeping and maintaining a species for future generations even with the demise of the animal in their natural habitat, and the hopes that someday wild populations can be re-introduced in areas where they have become extinct.  The knowledge attained by captive propagation again can be used to help field researchers better understand and preserve wild populations.

The ideal method of conservation requires the preservation of the animal in its natural habitat.  Herpetological Garden Canada will also be working with projects now under development to preserve the Jamaican Boa (Epicrates subflavus) and the American Crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus) in their native habitats in Jamaica