Environment
Thu 19 Oct 2017
2017
October 2017
Thursday 19 October 2017
Thu 19 Oct, 6-7 pm. Prairie Creek Lodge, 7204 County Road 234, Gainesville, 32641. 352-373-1078. Free. Alachua Conservation Trust - [email][events]
Presentation by Michelle Hoffman, Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians, Central Florida Zoo's Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation.
The Eastern Indigo Snake was listed as a Threatened species in 1978 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This species has been experiencing decline throughout their range due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Animal professionals, academics and government organizations were able to team up to begin reintroducing the Eastern Indigo Snake back into areas where they have been completely extirpated.
The Eastern Indigo Snake repatriation project is a complex combined effort to bring a critical species back into the environment. The Central Florida Zoo's Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC) is the sole facility that breeds and raises these snakes for reintroduction. Located on 25 acres of land that was historically occupied by the Eastern Indigo Snake in Eustis, Florida, the OCIC is ideally situated for the successful propagation of this imperiled species.
Beginning at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens as a Reptile Keeper in 2012, Michelle Hoffman is now Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians at the Central Florida Zoo's Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC). Since 2014, Michelle has been working as the SSP (Species Survival Plan) Coordinator and Studbook Keeper for the Eastern Indigo Snake; managing the captive breeding and tracking the genetics of the Eastern Indigo Snakes within North American zoos.