Alice Springs Reptile Centre
Encyclopedia
The Alice Springs Reptile Centre is a privately operated reptile centre
and environmental education
facility in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory
of Australia
. It has the largest collection of reptile
s in the Northern Territory. Animals at the centre include the Perentie Goanna, Frill-necked Lizard
s, Thorny Devil
s, large and small pythons and venomous snake
s including Inland Taipans, Brown Snake
s, Death Adder
s and Mulga Snakes. The centre is a popular tourist destination, particularly for children.
The center is devoted to indigenous
reptiles. Many are collected from local homes, yards, or from areas about to be burned under the controlled burning program to keep summer grass fires from threatening the local homes. Most of the reptiles end up being relocated to uninhabited areas. The Alice Springs centre also doubles as a snake call centre, with the owner and staff going out to homes to remove venomous snakes from places where they might inconvenience people.
Founded by Rex Neindorf, a former reptile handler, the centre opened in January 2000, and features over 100 reptiles of 30 different species. Reptiles from the centre have featured in National Geographic Magazine
, Wild Relations - Natural Born Cheats on ABC
, an American Visa television commercial, New Zealand's The Bounty Hunters television show on TV2, Steve Irwin's Great Escapes on Discovery's Travel Channel and Animal Emergency
on Channel 9 Australia. Directors including Frederic Lepage
have filmed nature documentaries there.
The centre added a large Saltwater Crocodile
exhibit in 2002, and in 2006 an extension funded by the Australian Tourism Development Program opened, featuring fossils which trace the evolution
of reptiles from 200 million years ago to the present.
The centre is adjacent to Billygoat Hill, which is Crown land. The centre, which is privately owned, reports that efforts to convince the local police and the Lands Department to increase security on the hill - a spot frequented by youths and itinerant drinkers - have been unsuccessful.
and was placed on a good behaviour bond for two years, a sentence seen as overly lenient by the zoo's director. A second youth, a 12-year-old boy, had his six month jail sentence reduced to a month on appeal. The crocodile suffered cuts and broken teeth, but survived.
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On 1 October 2008, a 7-year-old boy attacked animals in a zoo at the centre. The boy, whose name was not released, was accused of breaking into the zoo while it was closed. He was captured on surveillance video, after jumping a fence at the rear of the zoo.
13 animals were killed, including a 20-year-old 5 in 9 in (1.75 m) Spencer's Goanna
, a turtle
, Bearded Dragons, and Thorny Devil
s. Some of the animals were bludgeoned with a rock, and thrown over the fence to feed Terry, a 11 feet (3.4 m) 200 kilograms (440.9 lb) Saltwater Crocodile
.
The attacks lasted 30 minutes. The boy refused to cooperate during interrogation
after he was caught by the police. He was able to break in without tripping the alarm system, and was reported to be expressionless during the rampage. The animal species lost are said to be difficult to replace.
The attack was widely reported in the press, in countries including Australia, Canada, Finland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, United States, Italy, and many others. Under Northern Territory laws — which state children under the age of 10 cannot be held accountable for their actions — the 7-year-old boy is too young to be charged with a crime, but the zoo director indicated that his parents would be sued
. The child's care arrangements are being urgently reviewed by the Northern Territory Government.
Reptile centre
A reptile centre is typically a facility devoted to keeping living reptiles, educating the public about reptiles, and serving as a control centre for collecting reptiles that turn up in populated areas. Most are public-access, run as private business or state-sponsored. Some centres work with...
and environmental education
Environmental education
Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...
facility in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It has the largest collection of reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s in the Northern Territory. Animals at the centre include the Perentie Goanna, Frill-necked Lizard
Frill-necked Lizard
The frill-necked lizard , also known as the frilled lizard or frilled dragon, is found mainly in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Its name comes from the large frill around its neck, which usually stays folded against the lizard's body. It is largely arboreal, spending the majority of...
s, Thorny Devil
Thorny Devil
Thorny Devil is an Australian lizard. It is also known as the Thorny Dragon, Mountain Devil, Thorny Lizard, or the Moloch and is the sole species of genus Moloch....
s, large and small pythons and venomous snake
Venomous snake
"Poisonous snake" redirects here. For true poisonous snakes, see Rhabdophis.Venomous snakes are snakes which have venom glands and specialized teeth for the injection of venom...
s including Inland Taipans, Brown Snake
Brown snake
Brown snake is the common name given to a number of very different species of snakes:*The genus Pseudonaja, Australian brown snakes*The genus Storeria, North American brown snakes...
s, Death Adder
Death adder
Death adder may refer to:In herpetology:* All members of the genus Acanthophis, a group of highly venomous elapids found in Australia and New Guinea* Agkistrodon contortrix, a.k.a...
s and Mulga Snakes. The centre is a popular tourist destination, particularly for children.
The center is devoted to indigenous
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
reptiles. Many are collected from local homes, yards, or from areas about to be burned under the controlled burning program to keep summer grass fires from threatening the local homes. Most of the reptiles end up being relocated to uninhabited areas. The Alice Springs centre also doubles as a snake call centre, with the owner and staff going out to homes to remove venomous snakes from places where they might inconvenience people.
History
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
, Wild Relations - Natural Born Cheats on ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, an American Visa television commercial, New Zealand's The Bounty Hunters television show on TV2, Steve Irwin's Great Escapes on Discovery's Travel Channel and Animal Emergency
Animal Emergency
Animal Emergency is an Australian observational documentary series that began airing on the Nine Network on 16 March 2008. It is narrated by Gold Logie winner Georgie Parker....
on Channel 9 Australia. Directors including Frederic Lepage
Frederic Lepage
Frederic Lepage is writer and producer of several hundreds of TV shows and documentaries. His first feature film, Sunny and the Elephant, was released in France in december 2008.- Literary career :...
have filmed nature documentaries there.
The centre added a large Saltwater Crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile, also known as estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles...
exhibit in 2002, and in 2006 an extension funded by the Australian Tourism Development Program opened, featuring fossils which trace the evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
of reptiles from 200 million years ago to the present.
The centre is adjacent to Billygoat Hill, which is Crown land. The centre, which is privately owned, reports that efforts to convince the local police and the Lands Department to increase security on the hill - a spot frequented by youths and itinerant drinkers - have been unsuccessful.
2004
On 8 August 2004, a group of youths broke into the centre and attacked and bludgeoned a crocodile with a ladder and pool equipment. A 13-year-old boy was charged with the attack, and received a two-month suspended sentenceSuspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...
and was placed on a good behaviour bond for two years, a sentence seen as overly lenient by the zoo's director. A second youth, a 12-year-old boy, had his six month jail sentence reduced to a month on appeal. The crocodile suffered cuts and broken teeth, but survived.
2008
13 animals were killed, including a 20-year-old 5 in 9 in (1.75 m) Spencer's Goanna
Spencer's Goanna
The Spencer's Goanna or Spencer's Monitor is a species of Monitor lizard, native to the Barkly region in central Queensland/Northern Territory. They can grow to a total length of up to 120cm. They have sharp claws which they use for digging burrows...
, a turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
, Bearded Dragons, and Thorny Devil
Thorny Devil
Thorny Devil is an Australian lizard. It is also known as the Thorny Dragon, Mountain Devil, Thorny Lizard, or the Moloch and is the sole species of genus Moloch....
s. Some of the animals were bludgeoned with a rock, and thrown over the fence to feed Terry, a 11 feet (3.4 m) 200 kilograms (440.9 lb) Saltwater Crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile, also known as estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles...
.
The attacks lasted 30 minutes. The boy refused to cooperate during interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
after he was caught by the police. He was able to break in without tripping the alarm system, and was reported to be expressionless during the rampage. The animal species lost are said to be difficult to replace.
The attack was widely reported in the press, in countries including Australia, Canada, Finland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, United States, Italy, and many others. Under Northern Territory laws — which state children under the age of 10 cannot be held accountable for their actions — the 7-year-old boy is too young to be charged with a crime, but the zoo director indicated that his parents would be sued
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
. The child's care arrangements are being urgently reviewed by the Northern Territory Government.