Herping

Herping is the act of searching for amphibians or reptiles. The term, often used by professional and amateur herpetologists, comes from the word "herp", which comes from the same Greek root as herpetology, herpet-, meaning "creeping". The term herp is a shorthand used to refer to the two classes of ectothermic tetrapods (i.e., amphibians and reptiles). Herping consists of many activities; anyone can find reptiles or amphibians while herping. The activity or technique depends on the terrain and target species. These include, but are not limited to, searching under natural cover objects (such as rocks and logs) and artificial cover objects (such as trash or construction debris), sometimes called 'flipping', as in 'flipping rocks' or 'flipping boards'; locating calling amphibians by ear, commonly done in pairs in order to triangulate on the location of the frog or toad; muddling or noodling for turtles by feeling around in mud or around objects submerged in water; dip-netting for aquatic amphibians and turtles; noosing lizards with wire or fishing line on the end of a pole; lantern walking, which involves searching habitat on foot at night; and road cruising or road riding, which refers to the practice of driving along a road slowly in search of reptiles or amphibians that are crossing the road or basking on the road surface, it's primarily used for finding snakes.…

]] Herping is the act of searching for amphibians or reptiles. The term, often used by professional and amateur herpetologists, comes from the word "herp", which comes from the same Greek root as herpetology, herpet-, meaning "creeping". The term herp is a shorthand used to refer to the two classes of ectothermic tetrapods (i.e., amphibians and reptiles). Herping consists of many activities; anyone can find reptiles or amphibians while herping. The activity or technique depends on the terrain and target species. These include, but are not limited to, searching under natural cover objects (such as rocks and logs) and artificial cover objects (such as trash or construction debris), sometimes called 'flipping', as in 'flipping rocks' or 'flipping boards'; locating calling amphibians by ear, commonly done in pairs in order to triangulate on the location of the frog or toad; muddling or noodling for turtles by feeling around in mud or around objects submerged in water; dip-netting for aquatic amphibians and turtles; noosing lizards with wire or fishing line on the end of a pole; lantern walking, which involves searching habitat on foot at night; and road cruising or road riding, which refers to the practice of driving along a road slowly in search of reptiles or amphibians that are crossing the road or basking on the road surface, it's primarily used for finding snakes. General herping can take place any time, anywhere, whereas road herping or "cruising" usually takes place at dawn or dusk, or during rainstorms. Road cruising during rainstorms has a high probability of finding toads or frogs that may be otherwise impossible to find during normal conditions. ==Further reading== Conant, R. 1944. Reptile Study. Merit Badge Series No. 3813. Boy Scouts of America. Brunswick, New Jersey. 62 pp.

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