Steve's Herpetological Blog

An insight into the life of Steve, his research and the many books he reads

Zoology

#SciFri: Wild Health – People, Nature & One Health

The health of people, animals and the natural world is inseparable. The quality of the environments in which we live, the health of wildlife and domestic animals, the spread of infectious diseases, the pollutants we release into the environment and…

#MuseumMonday: My visit to the Whipple Museum of the History of Science

The Whipple Museum of the History of Science occupies a distinctive place among Britain’s university museums. Hidden away on the atmospheric Free School Lane in Cambridge, the museum is not simply a repository of antique instruments. It is a living…

#SciFri: Homo sapiens – Classifying the Human Animal

The classification of the human species has occupied philosophers, physicians, theologians, and naturalists for thousands of years. Long before the emergence of modern biology, human beings sought to understand what humanity was, how humans differed from animals, and whether differences…

#SteveReviews: Secret Garden

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that last week was Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, I could therefore think of no better way to celebrate than to watch Secret Garden. In an age dominated by frantic streaming…

#SciFri: Fossil Hunting at the Kings Dyke RIG Site

It will be no surprise to regular readers of this blog that I really enjoy fossil hunting! Recently, I visited a new site with a number of friends of mine, at the Kings Dyke Nature Reserve, which is often referred…

#SciFri: Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition has become one of the Natural History Museum’s most successful annual exhibitions, bringing together some of the most remarkable images of the natural world from across the globe. The 2025 exhibition (the sixty-first…

#SciFri: Pokécology at the Natural History Museum

From early 2026, the Natural History Museum (a place that I cherish) hosted a unique collaboration with The Pokémon Company centred on the concept of Pokécology. This event went beyond a simple retail pop-up as has happened at other museums,…

#ToyTuesday: Reviewing the Toymany 16-Piece Sea Animal Figurines Playset

If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you’ll know that I really love to visit aquariums to see what species are on display, and to try to increase my knowledge on the species that are usually out…

#StevesLibrary: The Lives of Frogs – A Natural History

It is not very often that we get a new mainstream book on frogs, which are an animal group which I have a close affinity to. On the surface, frogs might seem like simple, ordinary creatures, those small amphibians you…

#SciFri: Trailblazers & Pioneers – 200 Years of Wildlife Science

For two centuries, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has stood at the forefront of wildlife science, conservation, and public understanding of the natural world. Founded in 1826, ZSL established what became the world’s first scientific zoo, now known as…