Herping

The act of searching for amphibians and reptiles, a term drawn from herp, itself shortened from the Greek root herpet-, meaning creeping. Herping is often practiced by professional and amateur herpetologists, though the source article is clear that anyone can find reptiles or amphibians while herping, and it takes in a range of techniques suited to particular terrain, season and target species: flipping over rocks, logs and other debris to find animals sheltering beneath them, locating calling amphibians by ear, feeling through mud for turtles in a technique called muddling, dip-netting aquatic species, using a wire noose to catch lizards, searching at night by lantern light, and road cruising, driving slowly along roads after dark to spot reptiles and amphibians that have come out onto the warm pavement.