Episodes

Hello everyone and welcome! Episode Seventeen features my conversation with Priya Nanjappa (photo courtesy of Kevin Urbanek). Among other things, Priya spent ten years with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), and served as the state agencies coordinator for Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC), and she currently serves as one of the commissioners on the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. During our conversation, we got into the nuts and bolts of wildli...

Hello again everyone, and welcome to Episode Sixteen! I’ve been having a conversation with Daniel Dye for more than a decade, and for this segment, microphones were put into play! Along with amphibians and reptiles, Daniel also has a great deal of knowledge and experience with insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, and fortunately for all of us, he’s crafty with a camera, and so there are a number of venues where you can check out his work. We didn’t cover it in the interview, but Daniel is ...

Hello again everyone, here is Episode Fifteen, the second part of my conversation with Justin Elden on this Sunday double-fun day. The main thrust of our conversation is Justin’s work in Guatemala with the Highlands and Islands Conservatory, which is centered around the pictured Guatemalan pit viper, Bothriechis aurifer, but of course includes other herps and more importantly, their habitats. And of course, we wandered off topic, but in ways you’ll appreciate! Justin and his associates put in a...

Hey there herpsters, it’s Episode Fourteen! What shall we talk about? Let’s ask the triumphant dude on the left, the one with the little viper in a tube. That’s Justin Elden, the viper is Armenian (Montivipera raddei), and guess where they are? In this episode, I talk with Justin about his involvement with the St. Louis Zoo’s mountain viper conservation project, (be sure to check out the link for more info and cool photos). Justin and I both grew up in the St. Louis area, and we had a lot to ta...

Hello everyone, and welcome to Episode Thirteen! Lucky! We’re talking about herps, herp trips, photography, and the overall coolness of the cosmos with Josh Wallace. We’ve been to some places, and we’ve seen some things…..Josh also brings a strong herp meme game to social media, and we talk about that, and much, much more. The fantastic photo at top left is representative of Josh’s astroscape work with a camera. Think about it, folks – while you’re tucked snug in your beds, Josh is slapping his ...

Welcome to Episode Twelve! In this installment, I talk with Dr. Emily Taylor, professor of biological sciences at Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University), and we cover a number of topics, including rattlesnakes and leopard lizards. Dr. Taylor is pursuing some fascinating lines of research and her passion for her work comes shining through. Now this episode comes with some homework – I want you all to read “Squirrels vs Rattlesnakes“, an article Dr. Taylor posted to medium.com just a f...

Hi folks! For Episode Eleven, we have an interview that I recorded last month, on location in eastern Colorado, with Tim Warfel and Hunter Johnson. The main thrust of our conversation was the recently concluded COPARC Otero County herp survey, and we managed to cover a few other topics as well. This was the eighth Otero survey and I was happy to participate, and to hang out with a lot of Colorado herpers. We found some pretty cool herps as well. In photo left is Ryan and Cambria Borgmann. Cambri...

Hello again everyone! Welcome to Episode Ten! I like that double-digit number. For this episode, we’re talking with Rob, AKA SmetLogik, a YouTube content creator par excellence when it comes to documenting herps and herp adventures. Rob, Jennifer and son Nick recently relocated from the Denver area to Tucson, Arizona, and I caught up with Rob a few weeks ago in their new home. I really like Rob’s approach to the herp vid medium – he’s got a great sense of style and flair, as does son Nick (also,...

Hello everyone! Episode Nine finds us both in and out of the water with photographer/herper Matt Sullivan. Two shows in a row where we dip ourselves in the drink to visit with fascinating creatures! We’ll have time to dry off before our next installment, but for the moment, we’ll talk with Matt about his experiences photographing both herps and cool aqua-creatures. Matt’s underwater camera housing is featured in photo left – an awesome rig. Matt’s photography portfolio page is 9 Miles North (lo...

Hello everyone! For Episode Eight, we take a deep breath and submerge ourselves into the world of the Hellbender via a conversation with Nick Burgmeier. When it comes to cryptobranchids (hellbenders are in the family Cryptobranchidae, along with the Chinese and Japanese giant salamanders), Nick is a subject matter expert. I enjoyed talking with Nick on the subject, especially since he and his colleagues have made great progress in protecting Indiana hellbenders. Nick is featured in the photo at ...

Hello again everyone! Episode Seven features a conversation I had with Bob Ferguson, recorded in the New Jersey Pine Barrens last month. I got to spend some time in the field with Bob and he was nice enough to spend an hour or so putting down the interview. In the photo, Bob is on the left with me and Nate Nazdrowicz, taken at Snake Road in southern Illinois (back in the days when we could be in close proximity). In our conversation we talked about herping in both local and exotic locations, adv...

Hello everyone! Here in Episode Six we’re trying something a little different – we’re talking about origin stories. How did YOU come into the world of amphibians and reptiles? Everyone has a story, and on this show we’ve got five people telling us about theirs. Four of the interviews were recorded in Peru in January 2020, and one just a few weeks ago. Some of these folks I met for the first time in Peru, and the rest I’ve known for some time. Jill Rials is from Mesa, Arizona, and the critter sh...

Hello again everyone! Thanks so much for your support, and your kind comments and messages! Much appreciated. This is the Episode of the Bushmaster! This past January I sat down with Matt Cage in my tambo (AKA jungle hut) and we chatted about bushmasters (known locally as “shushupes“. This photo is an in situ shot of the first bushmaster that Matt and I found in 2013. Since then we’ve paid attention to the habitat and weather preferences for this serpent, and have learned how to find shushupes ...