Tag Archives: herps

Episode 112: Tales from the Tambo with Sylvere Corre



Hi everyone! Episode 112 (and the last episode of Season Five) returns us to the back deck of my tambo in the Peruvian rainforest, where I had a nice chat with Sylvere Corre, wildlife guide extraordinaire. Sylvere travels the world all year, leading people to discover all kinds of animals, including herps and  birds and mammals, and some really spectacular critters. Sylvere clearly has a passion for what he does and I really enjoyed getting to know him during our time in Peru.

Sylvere guides for Yuhina, “created for naturalists by naturalists”. Be sure to check them out! They have more than a few expeditions that caught my interest. You can also follow Sylvere on social media.

SMP Patrons! I want to thank Derek Gillespie and Phil Ngo for supporting the show via Patreon! And I want to thank Tom and Keemie Wille for their one-time donation! I appreciate everyone’s support, and your comments as well!

And as always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee! IMPORTANT NOTE:  Apple is slapping a ridiculous 30% fee on all Patreon transactions using an iPhone or iPad to access the Patreon app.  The workaround is to access Patreon dot com directly, or to use an Android device.  So avoid using the app if you’re an Apple person. I wanna say that I am actively working on better ways to support the show, and I appreciate your patience in the meantime!

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! 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.

-Mike

 


Episode 8: Helping the Hellbender



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 left, with a hellbender, which is inside the water snake he’s holding – we realize that even water snakes gotta eat, but why not a delicious bass?

 

 

 

Nick provided a ton of links to hellbender materials – this is part of a comprehensive effort to educate kids, landowners, fishermen, etc.

Help the Hellbender:
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Brochures:
Help the Hellbender, North America’s Giant Salamander
How Our Zoos Help Hellbenders

Lesson Plans: These are standards based lessons that can be used in classrooms, home schooling, etc.
Videos: Just some short videos we’ve made over the last few years.

Thanks for coming on the show, Nick, it was great to talk with you about snot otters!  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, alternate names for hellbenders, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

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

-Mike

 


Episode 4: Rattlesnake Relocation



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



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 1: Introduction



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