If you are reading this book, you are probably one of those rare people who like snakes. Ophidiophiles are a special breed of people; some who love snakes keep them as pets, whereas others seek to see and understand wild snakes in their natural home. Gavin Bedford is doubly afflicted, as both a keeper of snakes and a scientist who studies them. Awarded a PhD for studies of python ecophysiology, he is famed for building and managing one of Australia’s largest collections of reptiles on public display in Darwin, and is renowned not only as a herpetologist, but also in the realm of herpetoculture, the art of keeping and breeding reptiles in captivity. A perfect background, as it happens, for The Nawaran Project.
Like many of us with an interest in the natural world, Gav has seen many changes over the years. The environment in Australia is in a poorer state than when we met as teenagers and continues to deteriorate due to increasing pressures from human-induced climate change, habitat loss, introduced species, pollution, and the extraction of minerals and water. The Nawaran Project documented in this book concerns one man’s attempt to protect a rare and fragile species from environmental pressures that could soon have pushed it to the brink. It is built upon a history of creating insurance populations of endangered species in captivity, a strategy that has resulted in some noteworthy successes. Californian Condors would be extinct had not some of the last 21 wild condors not been taken into captivity for breeding. Within a decade of the death of the last wild Californian Condor, captive-bred birds were released, and the loss of the species was narrowly averted. Similar stories can be told about the Arabian Oryx, Laysan Teal and other species around the world saved from extinction. In Australia, the importance of a successful captive breeding program for Wollemi Pine was emphasised as the only wild population of less than 100 specimens narrowly escaped destruction by extensive bushfires in the summer of 2019–2020.
A recent summary of available knowledge about Nawaran found just 108 recorded observations of the species in the wild over more than 50 years since scientists first encountered the snakes in 1971. The Nawaran project has resulted in almost double this number being bred in captivity over just 10 short years, at the expense of six animals being taken into captivity. These captive-bred Nawaran have been dispersed among private keepers and institutions in all Australian states where this has been allowed by authorities.
The entire program was conceived and instigated by Gavin, who also provided initial and ongoing funding. The project acknowledged the Indigenous custodians of the land, who knew about Nawaran long before whitefellas and to whom the species has cultural importance. Proceeds from the sale of captive-bred snakes have enabled funding to support educational and conservation activities by Indigenous communities on land where Nawaran occur, and (along with sales of this book) will also help realise future releases of Nawaran in locations from which the founding breeding stock were sourced.
The Nawaran Project is a wonderful example of how a privately funded conservation program can make a real difference, especially given the limited capacity of publicly funded conservation organisations. This is especially relevant for animals with limited public appeal, like snakes. I hope this book will serve as a call to action for those who care about the natural world. Support this project and other crucial conservation initiatives in any way you can. Tell others how important and precious our natural world is. Tell stories of the positive things that people like Gavin Bedford are doing to conserve iconic species such as Nawaran, because initiatives such as The Nawaran Project shine as a beacon of optimism for future conservation.
Dr Greg Johnston
Adjunct Associate Professor, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
Honorary Research Associate, South Australian Museum
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First published as the Foreword to 'Nawaran' by Dr Gavin S. Bedford.