Author Archive: Mike Pingleton
Notes From The Field > Articles by: Mike Pingleton
Mike Pingleton
January 9, 2021
Creature Featurettes, Life Listicles
Malaclemmys, Terrapin
The word terrapin is rooted in the language of native peoples of North America. It is derived from torope, which comes from the southern Algonquin, and more specifically, from the long-extinct Powhatan tongue. It’s no secret that words and phrases change over time, and when Europeans roll unfamiliar…
Mike Pingleton
December 22, 2020
Field Herping, General
Mindo, Pristimantis
In January, 2020, with Covid19 still a vague rumor, I traveled to Ecuador with three friends to the Mindo Valley area. We spent a few days up in the hills and mountains (as a flatlander, they all look like mountains to me). Aided by Eric, a local guide, our goal…
Read more
Mike Pingleton
July 31, 2020
Field Herping
amphibians, herps, reptiles
In early July of 2020 I made my way west to Otero County, Colorado, to participate in the annual COPARC herp survey. Otero is in the eastern portion of the state and part of it encompasses the Comanche National Grasslands. The grasslands are cut by a number of canyons, and…
Read more
Mike Pingleton
January 7, 2020
Field Herping, General
Anolis, Chilabothrus, Cuba herps
At the end of July I flew to Havana with a small group of friends to see what the fuss was all about with Cuban herps. We went there as part of a tour group (Viva Cuba), under a cultural visa, and spent nine days in various places around the…
Read more
Mike Pingleton
January 7, 2020
Field Herping, General
amphibian, Bungarus, Hong Kong, reptile
Some of our large group had to return home, but the rest of us pushed on to Hong Kong and another type of herping situation. For the first few days we stayed on Lantau Island, and herped the open green spaces there. The hills were lush with vegetation, and hiking…
Read more
Mike Pingleton
January 7, 2020
Field Herping, General
amphibian, Cuc Phuong, reptiles, Vietnam
Our big group, swelled even larger by the addition of Alex and Nhut, landed at Hanoi and made their way to a hotel in the old French quarter of the city. How exciting to visit a place that for years seemed completely out of reach! We were heading out of…
Read more
Mike Pingleton
January 7, 2020
Field Herping, General
amphibian, reptile, Thailand, Trimeresurus
Leaving Malaysia behind, Adam returned home to Hong Kong, while Dan, Kevin and I flew to Bangkok, where we met up with ten (ten!) of our herping friends. It took two vans to haul our collective asses around, and we engaged the services of TonTan Travel for logistics and guide…
Read more
Mike Pingleton
January 7, 2020
Field Herping, General
amphibian, Malaysia, Megophrys, reptiles
I retired from the University of Illinois on May 1st. On the 23rd I boarded a flight to Kuala Lumpur, kicking off a 31 day excursion to 5 countries in southeast Asia. Malaysia was my first stop, and I met up with friends Dan, Kevin, Adam, and Kurt. During our…
Read more
Mike Pingleton
January 7, 2020
Field Herping, General
amphibian, Bushmaster, reptile
I’ve threatened for a while to kick off a Big Year in search of amphibians and reptiles, much like some birders do. 2019 wasn’t a Big Year on purpose, but when the smoke cleared, it was certainly a ‘big-ish’ year; a thousand-plus herps observed (and vouchered in HerpMapper), spread across…
Read more
Mike Pingleton
November 25, 2019
Field Herping, General
Euprepiophis, Macropisthodon, Orthriophis, Taiwan
Taiwan is simply an awesome field herping destination. Despite having only four active days in Taiwan, the time I spent there was my favorite part of a 31 day herping odyssey across five countries in southeast Asia. When I landed in Taipei I was raring to go – I was…
Read more