Allons faire de l’herping ! (Let’s go herping!)

This all started when I was a little kid who loved being outdoors and, especially, finding snakes in their natural habitat. While my interests and curiosities have pulled me in many directions over the years, I’m glad to say that my excitement at seeing wondrous animals living in the wild has not waned in the least.

Here’s me with two black rat snakes (Pantherophis obsoletus), c. 1990 (in case it wasn’t obvious from the shorts).

In fact, the past two years living in Europe has re-sparked this passion as I’ve been able to explore new habitats and see many new species of reptile and amphibian. For today’s post, I’ll share some stories and photos of highlights.

On my very first day here in France, Fabien and I took a marvelous hike to Étang d'Ayes and beyond, where I not only got my first glimpses of the majestic Pyrénées, but also saw what I think was  my first common wall lizard (hard to believe!). We also saw the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) and I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but on this first outing I remember thinking to myself, “How will I ever tell the difference between these two lizards that look so similar?” Now they seem so obviously different that I can’t imagine confusing them.

That very first Z. vivipara.

Also within the first weeks I was here, Antonio and I took a hike around a park near Toulouse that reportedly was home to European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis), a species both of us were most keen to see (given that turtles are my first love and all). We spent a few hours spotting lots of lizards and a common (but new for me!) snake species, the grass snake, Natrix natrix.

My very first Natrix natrix, found in a semi-urban park just outside of Toulouse. Yes, I had to jump in a muddy puddle to catch this guy. Or maybe it’s “got to”? 

We also saw many, many turtles, but all of them – as far as we could tell – the invasive red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta or the tortue de Floride as they say here). This was highly disappointing, especially knowing that this is one of the most problematic invasive species on the planet, with populations established virtually around the globe. We persisted in our search, however, and eventually saw a large basking turtle that we could positively identify from a distance through our binoculars as E. orbicularis. High-fives were exchanged.

While Brooke was here last fall, we waited for a cool, rainy night to visit some friends living up the hillside a bit in the commune of Arrout, where they occasionally saw fire salamanders. Did we hit the jackpot! The conditions were perfect and we were able to spend a delightful and muddy evening in their garden, sipping red wine and photographing this handsome species (Salamandra salamandra). 

This little guy poses for us, Salamandra salamandra.

I’ve written previously about a great day spent with the ECTOPYR team doing fieldwork with the Aran rock lizard (Iberolacerta aranica), a rare species endemic to only a small area of the Pyrénées. Seeing this species in rocky outcrops around a high mountain lake was one of the outdoor highlights of my time in France for sure. There are not many snakes that live at theses higher elevations, but twice around La Mongie we did have the good fortune of encountering a smooth snake (Coronella austriaca). While seeing the snake was of course a treat, even more fun was seeing how excited Laura was!

A friendly (if not stinky) little snake, Coronella austriaca, found just outside of La Mongie.

Laura recently had another reason to be excited – she encountered her first Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) at her new job with SOPTOM: Station d'Observation et deProtection des Tortues et de leurs Milieux (Station for Observation and Protection of Turtles and their Environment). The picture says it all.

Laura is happy with her first Testudo hermanni!

Just a few weeks ago, the family and I took a week-long holiday in Croatia. In addition to all its other wonders and attractions, I can only describe it as a herpetological paradise! Indeed, on this short family trip (where herping was not the goal, at least excplicitly), I saw seven new species. Highlights included the horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) at very close range and the so-called slow worm (Anguis fragilis) just off the hiking path.

This big snake (Vipera ammodytes) was perched on a rocky outcrop just a meter below a lookout point over the canyon.

The first time I’d ever seen a legless lizard (Anguis fragilis) in the wild!

Just as Podarcis muralis are seemingly ubiquitous here in the south of France, the Italian wall lizard (P. siculus) is everywhere along the Adriatic Coast. They are more or less identical to the wall lizards here, except a streak on their back that looks as if somebody had taken a bright green paint marker to them. 

This wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) perches on the ruins of an old fort above the city of Split on the Croatian coast. (Notice the bee in mid-flight, too.) What a view!

And while such adventures abroad are great, I do get a special thrill about finding these animals just out the back door. And while I’ve known the green whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) lives in the area (because I unfortunately found a dead baby on our patio, victim of a neighborhood cat), I had yet to see one for myself…until recently! This lovely fella was basking in a hedgerow in our little hamlet.

Up close with the appropriately-named Couleuvre verte et jaune.

The search is still on, though, for the species I most want (need!) to see before leaving, confirmed to have lived right here in Astien as well… the asp viper (Vipera aspis). Hopefully I'll have some photos to share soon!