A bear and I look at each other across a ravine, likely doing similar things in the area … looking for small vertebrates.

A common sight around waterways south of the US are the cat-eyed snakes; mildly venomous, cat-eyed snakes (Leptodeira sp.). However, they do make it into the country in one small area of extreme south Texas. We found this Northern Cat-eyed Snake (Leptodeira septentrionalis) there several years ago. For friends in Arizona, these are most closely […]

A young Sonoran Whipsnake near Phoenix. These snakes are extremely fast, daytime hunters that go after everything from lizards to other snakes. Most encounters people will have with them are as a blue-grey blur disappearing into the bushes, where it will seem to just teleport to another dimension if you try and find it.

This Desert Spiny Lizard watched me from a rock, ready to dart to cover if I came any closer. These colorful, relatively large lizards are a common sight in desert parks and stucco jungle around Phoenix.

Despite being incredibly easy to observe in surrounding mountain ranges, the Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes in the Sierra Estrella just southwest of Phoenix are harder to spot. They’re likely just as common, but the steep terrain and majority of prime geology for the species being inaccessible reservation land make it a challenge to see one. Kris […]

A Mojave Rattlesnake from the grasslands of southeastern Arizona. This species in the area can be highly variable in appearance, from muted green tones to deeply contrasting browns and blacks, each can look very different from the next. This one is a more classic look, with dark diamonds against an olive green base color. sThe […]

A young Arizona Black Rattlesnake from the eastern end of their range, in Greenlee County, Arizona. With most of the light cross bars already having disappeared into the background color, this one may be an interesting looking adult.

This Arizona Black Rattlesnake noticed me at the same time that I saw it as I climbed up a steep, rocky hillside. I stopped and got a few photos, and saw another one right next to it deeper in the crevice of the rocks. I was able to then back down the hill for another […]

A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake resting outside its aestivation den, which it shares with several others to wait out the hottest, driest time of summer.

One of the many species of coralsnakes that can be found in the matrix of materials that make up the floor of the Amazon rainforest. This is a Hemprich’s Coralsnake. Also, its mimic, a harmless Black-headed Calico Snake. The body and head shape, as well as details of the pattern, are pretty different in a […]