Frequently, when asked about their future profession, children often say they want to become, a doctor, an astronaut, a firefighter, a soccer player or, in current times, a youtuber. Those who like animals talk about being veterinarians, thinking more about taking care of mammals. But a child who, since childhood, dreams of being a reptile breeder is undoubtedly less common.

This is the case of biologist Breno Almeida. "I've always been fond of animals, especially herpetofauna, that is, reptiles and amphibians," he recalls. This passion, and the union with a biologist, Milena Almeida, also in love with animals, gave rise to what the couple describes as a dream: the Amazon Center of Herpetology, a branch of biology that studies reptiles, such as alligators, snakes and turtles; and amphibians, such as toads and frogs. "It was my childhood dream. I ended up graduating in Biology and started investing in this place to create reptiles," he says.

The Center, located in Benevides, in the Metropolitan Region of Belém, was created in 2014, with the couple's own resources. At the time, he obtained his first operating license, as a fauna maintainer, authorized to receive reptiles and amphibians who had nowhere to go after rescues, either because they were injured or being trafficked. In 2022, they were issued the license to operate as a zoo, with commercial exploitation of visitation and also the sale of venom, that is, the poison that some species of snakes produce. After that, the resources obtained from the marketing of the poison and with the tickets for the visits began to pay for the maintenance of the space, but they were still insufficient for the needs.

OPERATION

The main objective of opening the Center for visitation, especially for school groups, was to bring education to the population. "We are in the Amazon, we live and breathe the Amazon, but, unfortunately, local people do not have direct access to these animals. So, we proposed to take the children out of the classroom and have a field class, because nowadays they have a lot of information but little experience, little contact with nature," explains Milena.

For the couple, environmental education about reptiles and amphibians is especially important. "Reptiles, mainly, are culturally mystified animals. Everyone thinks a snake will bite and cause death, so they think they have to kill the snake first, before the snake kills them. Therefore, several animals are killed, indiscriminately, because of fear, ignorance," laments the biologist.

Milena points out what types of knowledge are addressed during visits to the Center. "We talked about how to differentiate one animal from the other, which is male and which is female, how important these animals are in nature. The visit is guided and interactive, children can have a sensory experience, touch the animal, learn about ecosystem and conservation, so that they can demystify fear and turn it into respect," she points out. The professional points out that everything is done safely, because the visit is always accompanied, and also without stressing the animals, which are changed every week and spend a maximum of 20 minutes in interaction with people.

According to the biologist, the result is positive. "We see the change in people's behavior after coming here. When they touch the animal, they realize that they are not disgusting, sticky, and also that not every snake is dangerous. And even those that are dangerous have their role in nature, so they need to be preserved, especially in the Amazon, which has this rich biodiversity," she highlights.

"We also address how to deal with these animals: call to the Centro Integrado de Operações – CIOp [Integrated Operations Center], of public security, which activates the Environmental Police Battalion or the Fire Department, which will make the capture properly. We also teach what the person should do in case of accidents," adds Breno.

Currently, the Center has about 70 different species, with almost 1,500 specimens. In addition to the herpetofauna, the place already receives other types of animals from rescues, such as jaguars (Panthera onca), Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), monkeys, owls and capybaras.

Exhibition raises awareness about the risks of invasion

At the moment, visits to the Center are suspended, because the place is going through renovations for internal improvement. But those who are interested in the theme can participate in another experience: an exhibition that takes place at the Metrópole mall, in Ananindeua. The purpose of the show is to bring knowledge about the risk of the invasion of exotic species, that is, from outside that ecosystem, which bring risks to local species.

"We have in the Center these exotic species, which people know and consider beautiful, like the corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus), from North America. But it has a very great potential for invasion and ends up competing with our species, because it has no natural predators. This is one of the factors that can lead to the extinction of reptiles and amphibians, along with the loss of habitat due to deforestation and animal trafficking. For example, the periquitamboia, or parrot snake (Corallus Batesii), was very common in the Metropolitan Region of Belém and today it is very rare to find it. The kite frog (Pipa pipa) is also in population decline in the Greater Belém," laments Breno.

The mall exhibition is an interactive experience, as inside the Center, but on a smaller scale. "We have terrariums with some animals and also sensory interaction. The idea is to present target species, so that people know the risk of exotic species in local ecosystems. Although they are beautiful, they have their importance in their natural habitats, in other countries," reinforces Breno.

VENOM

In addition to the entire educational part, the Amazon Center of Herpetology also carries out important work for the health area: the extraction of venom from the jararaca of the Amazon. "We extract the poison, dry it and turn it into a kind of crystal. This material is sold to Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Swiss laboratories, which isolate the enzyme present in the crystals and produce a drug that regulates blood coagulation disorders," Breno details.

The biologist regrets that venom is also not used in the production of antiophidic serum, the treatment administered after bites of poisonous snakes. "The jararaca of the Amazon is the most responsible for these accidents in the region. But we don't have a laboratory for the production of these serums in the North, which uses the venom of local species. The result is that the antiophidic serum distributed by the Ministério da Saúde [Ministry of Health], for all states, is produced with the venom of snake species from the South and Southeast. This means less effectiveness in the action of this serum in the face of accidents that happen in the Amazon. They are serums that do have the power to neutralize the poison, but that require the administration of a higher dose to the injured person. Therefore, in the Amazon, there is still a lot of amputation and death from ophidic accidents," he warns.

Initiative has costs

About 90% of the animals sheltered in the Center were rescued from situations of trafficking or mistreatment. Breno and Milena decided to expand the range of sheltered species beyond the herpetofauna, realizing that, after the rescues, the animals have nowhere to go.

"We felt the need to provide this support to the State, by receiving these animals, because the institutions that carry out this work have little capacity to welcome so many animals. So, we keep them here, because we also don't have the structure to do a correct rehabilitation for their release," emphasizes Breno.

But keeping the animals is not cheap: there are costs with food, keeper team, physical structure and other demands. The resources obtained from the sale of venom and tickets for visitation are not enough to maintain the place or expand the activities. Therefore, the couple is looking for financing, whether public or private. "We hope that some large companies or that the government can support the work we do here," says Breno.

GOELDI

Another regional reference in the knowledge about reptiles and amphibians is the Herpetology Laboratory of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi - MPEG [Paraense Emílio Goeldi Museum]. The study center has the largest herpetological collection in the Amazon, with about 100,000 specimens preserved in alcohol.

According to the biologist Ulisses Galatti, a researcher at the Laboratory, the activities of herpetologists mainly involve the description of the biodiversity of the Amazonian herpetofauna. "Reptiles and amphibians play an important role in food chains, either as predators that control populations of vertebrates and especially invertebrates, or as prey. We study issues such as its evolutionary history, geographical distribution, reproduction, food and state of conservation in nature. We also discovered new species," points out the expert.

An important area of research with these classes of animals is their response to environmental changes. "With climate change, we already see scenarios that should affect the diversity of lizards in the Belém region, for example. In addition, amphibians, because they have permeable skin, depend a lot on favorable conditions, on humidity. So, they may be the first animals to suffer from climate changes, with loss of species and consequent environmental imbalance," warns the researcher.

KNOWLEDGE

Galatti recalls that the Laboratory's researchers always seek to disseminate the knowledge produced to the general population. "The amphibians are of great importance as indicators of environmental changes. Some species of snakes have medical importance due to the risk of poisoning and, like some amphibians, have high potential in pharmacological research. We also offer teaching material and guidance on venomous snakes to the staff of the Army and the State Environmental Police," he details.

The researcher's speech reinforces the idea defended by the couple Breno and Milena, about the importance of disseminating knowledge about reptiles and amphibians, their conservation and demystification. And, who knows, awaken in new children the dream of studying and preserving them, as professionals committed to the future of the fauna and the planet.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIP
The production of Liberal Amazon is one of the initiatives of the Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Liberal Group and the Federal University of Pará. The articles involving research from UFPA are revised by professionals from the academy. The translation of the content is also provided by the agreement, through the research project ET-Multi: Translation Studies: multifaces and multisemiotics.