It's about time I got round to doing another tale about some native UK herps. Especially considering that's all I'm likely to encounter for the forseeable future. The UK is unsurprisngly low on most herpetologists' herping trip bucket list (I imagine slotting in somewhere between Antarctica and the Moon) as we have few species of … Continue reading European Adder (Vipera berus)
Tag: Snake
Persian horned viper (Pseudocerastes persicus)
The day I came across my first and only Persian horned viper was quite special, mainly since it nestled comfortably in the intersection of my Venn diagram of happiness; climbing, reptiles and science. I’d set out for the day to climb a crumbly multi-pitch VS, inappropriately named Fossil Face (I didn’t see a single fossil), … Continue reading Persian horned viper (Pseudocerastes persicus)
Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari)
During my time in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) I was pretty keen to try and find a sand boa. How hard could it be when they leave their perfect sine-wave tracks in the sand? Turns out it’s quite hard. A week before leaving, I was following the tracks of a big, fat sand boa … Continue reading Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari)
King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)
Whenever someone asks me about my coolest wildlife encounters, I usually refer to one of the many events that occurred while I was radio tracking King cobras in Agumbe, India. It’s usually a toss up between two moments. Either while we had just followed the male into the forest as night was falling and searched … Continue reading King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)
Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus)
Forget your favourite nightclub, Friday night in the Amazon is the place to be. It’s the weekly ‘Caiman Cruise’, where I take my student groups out in the canoe to search for caiman by torchlight. My favourite part is looking up in the trees overhanging the river and seeing the golden eye shine of one … Continue reading Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus)
Spider-tailed viper (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides)
Although by combining the two things that most people are afraid of I could immediately destroy my cause, I’m going to post about it anyway. Those of you that have had the misfortune of meeting me will probably have heard me ramble on about this species at some point. Either recounting my repeated failure to … Continue reading Spider-tailed viper (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides)