Episode 5: From the Golden Age of Snake Hunting

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Hello everyone, and welcome to Episode Five!  In this episode I talk with Peter Mooney, a birder, world traveler, and herper from the era when it was called “snake hunting”.  A New Jersey native, Mr. Mooney served his country in Vietnam, and afterwards he spent time in teaching school in Jasper County, South Carolina.  Along the way he knew many of the old-school east coast herpers.

I’ve spent time with Pete in Peru and in Cuba (he’s on the far left in the photo, taken in Havana) and I’ve gotten to know him a bit. I heard some great stories from Pete about snake hunting in the old days, in both the New Jersey Pine Barrens and in the Okeetee area of South Carolina, and I knew I wanted to get him on the show.

I’m know many of you out there are are familiar with the works of Carl Kauffeld and Richard Bartlett, but since they are all out-of-print works that can be hard to find, I will list them here for those who haven’t read them yet – these books carry the essence of the old-time snake-hunting days.

Bartlett, Richard D.  In Search of Reptiles and Amphibians.  Published by EJ Brill, 1988.

Kauffeld, Carl F. Snakes: The Keeper and the Kept. Doubleday, 1969

Kauffeld, Carl F. Snakes and Snake Hunting. Hanover House, 1957.

All three are available from used book specialists (I like AbeBooks).

Thanks for coming on the show, Pete, and as always, thanks for listening everyone! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike

Episode 4: Rattlesnake Relocation

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Hello everyone, and welcome to Episode Four!  My apologies for being a few days late, I was doing some out-of-state herping.  In New Jersey.  And it was great!  But that’s another story for another time.

Back in January, I interviewed Bryan Hughes in the Peruvian Amazon, during a bit of afternoon downtime.  Brian and his wife Liz own and operate Rattlesnake Solutions, a Phoenix / Tucson company specializing in rattlesnake removal, and in techniques to keep rattlers away from homes and businesses.  The welfare of the snake is an extremely important element of relocation, and it was interesting and gratifying to hear how Bryan and his people use their data and experience to move snakes to appropriate habitat.  There is much more to successful rattlesnake relocation than I realized, but knowing Bryan, I’m not surprised that they are seeing positive results.  I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!

The Rattlesnake Solutions website also has some cool tshirts that you may like, and RS has a Facebook page as well.

Thanks for coming on the show, Bryan, and thanks for listening everyone! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, dirty limericks, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike

Episode 3: The Episode of the Bushmaster

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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 on almost every trip (and we feel both lucky and grateful for such opportunities).  Join us as we talk about our experiences with this super cool pit viper.

Matt’s extensive herp photo collection is here on SmugMug.

Thanks for coming on the show, Matt, and thanks for listening everyone!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, recipes, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes!  And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike

Episode 2: The Python Problem

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Hello everyone and welcome back!  For Episode 2:  The Python Problem, I chat with Mike Rochford, who certainly has a unique perspective on the issue of Burmese pythons in the Everglades, and elsewhere in Florida.  I interviewed Mike back in January of 2020, and along with the skinny on Python bivittatus, he was kind enough to provide me with this photo, taken in Florida.  Burms are awesome serpents, and it’s not their fault that they are where they are – the photo speaks more to human folly than anything else.

Thanks Mike!  I appreciate you coming on the show!

Thanks for listening everyone!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, recipes, secret herping spots, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes!

-Mike

Episode 1: Introduction

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Hello everyone and welcome to the So Much Pingle Herpetology Podcast!  This first episode is short and sweet – just an introduction to the show that describes how this thing is gonna roll.  Conceived last summer and kicked off last winter, we’ll start off with some episodes recorded as far back as January.  I’m only a couple of months behind my target start date, thanks to a bit of a pandemic-related hiatus.

Show notes and links to the episodes will appear here at somuchpingle.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, recipes, secret herping spots, etc.

More content and other goodies to come as we get settled in to a production routine (this whole process is just a bit more difficult than I was led to believe).

Funk Intro and Reggae Outro by Kevin MacLeod
Introduction by Nora Lenderby
Artwork by Ethan Kocak (@blackmudpuppy on Twitter)

Thanks for checking in and stay tuned for more episodes!

-Mike