Interview with Herman Stöckl

[natas]

Ok its confirmed. Herman Stöckl of www.boa-constrictors.com has given us the OK to do a interview with him. Herman is well known for his knowledge and keeping of pure bred and rare Boa Constrictors.

So here's your chance to ask him questions! I am also looking for someone who can help me conduct this interview.

Some ideas on questions:
Got a specefic question on locales of boa's or debate on which species is which in the boa constrictor family.

I can't wait to have this interview on the site....so lets get some good questions and anyone interested in helping run this interview post away!!!

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[trinitywolf]

Hey Shane...do we need someone that can speak German or does Herman speak English?
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[natas]

Herman told me that if would be easier to do it via email opposed to phone because of his english. He said its alot easier to do it email for him [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

So anyone that can help doing this via email in English or German would help
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[Bry]

I know that Michelle knows German, I think she's pretty fluent, but I'm not too sure how fluent she is though. She might be willing to help.

Bry
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[impermanentrage]

If i were to pose a question to Mr. Stockl it would be in regards to his "pure breeding". I have question that is left unanswered on his site, or at least from what i've read. This question would be as follows: Why is it unacceptable to interbreed sub-specific BC's who share the same geographical locales? In Colombia as well as other areas of S. America BCI's and BCC's have shared territories and i find it difficult , at best, to believe that these animals don't intergrade, or share genetics via copulation. I underrstand the disapproval of BCi's from meso-america being bred to other BC's from certain geographical regions of S. America , sense this would not occur w/out human interference via selective breeding. This being said , i realize it to be a somewhat controversial subject and it isn't meant to be a reflection of any ill-will towards the folks who hold great value or belief in ensuring that BC's maintain diversified genetics without loss to overall sub-specific, locality specific, or morphological representation. I am simply curious as to whether or not there is a decided consensus towards what is , or isn't, acceptable, at least on a sub-specific level.


Thanx,
Alex Loomis
[addsig]

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[cb76]

actually south american bcc's and bci's do not share the same territory!
i am not talking about man made borders either.

i am talking about bci and bcc being seperated by water, altitude, various mountain ranges, plain ol' distance, weather, and food sources.

thats why they are what they are!

they are subspecies of boa constrictor, but you can also see how different they all are in body shape, head shape, markings and colorations, etc..... nature made them different. science just classified it.

even if the animals are in the same subspecie- like bci for example- you still have very different boas showing very different traits- that evolved by being seperated by all the same stuff listed above!

look at the insular boas- like the hogg island, isla de la bajia, compared to colombians.... very different, but all bci!

look at the 2 types in colombia alone- you have northern bci and southern bcc!
while the northern is plentiful, the southern is not.

back to the hogg islands, extinct! but plentiful in captivity.

what about the corn island dwarf boa, also a bci, very rare in the wild- rare in captivity too!

this is why we all have pay attention and stop crossing locales.....pretty soon there will be none left- and all that will be here are mutts and crap that are on the market!!!

not to mention these animals have different ways of doing things- ex is mating. one locale may emmit one type of pheromone (sp??) that may not be recognized by the other, they all have different probe depths and different penis shapes and textures!

thats natures way to stop crosses. but man still makes it happen...........

anyways, enough of my babble

shane!!! an interview with hermann would kick #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&!!!!!

i'll think of a few questions for you!

by the way, he does speak english, mabe not as good & reads it too. i have spoken to him several times via email.


[addsig]

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[impermanentrage]

Well, that would explan a great deal. But somehow, i'm still not convinced that there are no intergrades. As you said, plain ol' geographical obstacles are what create locality specific sub-species, but political borders do not. I'm having a very hard time seeing that BCI's, as widespread as they are (and i am not speaking of the insular varieties here which i believe are entitled to their own sub-species) , do not intergrade naturally w/ BCC's from other regions. Do gunman stop brazilian , ecuadoran, and venezuelan BCC's at a check point somewhere?
[addsig]

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[impermanentrage]

From Dave and Tracy Barker:


<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> This widespread boa constrictor subspecies occurs on the west coast of Mexico as far north as Hermosillo, Sonora, and on the east coast north to southern Tamaulipas. The species is widespread through the lower elevations of tropical southern Mexico. It is widespread and common in every country in Central America. From eastern Panama the range extends north in Colombia to the Sierra de Santa Marta, and south through coastal Colombia into Ecuador, south as far as Guayaquil. There at the southern extreme of the range, it intergrades with the Tumbes boa, Boa constrictor longicauda and Peruvian coastal boa, Boa constrictor ortonii. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

So i find it difficult at best, to believe that they (BCI) ,at the very least don't occasionally intergrade w/ BCC's.
[addsig]

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

[impermanentrage]

Also, i'm sorry if this comes off as more than just a simple disagreement, it's not meant as such, for i am simply looking for answers. I am aware that Hermann is one of the most acclaimed experts on BC's in the world. And i by no means am trying to dispute any work that he's doing, or any others. So i apologize in advance if i come off as rather abrasive or confrontational. That wasn't the impression i was trying to make.
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