A group of UConn students are in Arizona’s Sonora Desert this week, looking for lizards, snakes, scorpions, and Gila monsters. They’re members of the UConn Herpetological Society, and on May 19, they did a day-long takeover of the University’s Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/uconn/

For those who may not follow Instagram, here are their photos and captions:

Us with a big cactus

Hello, Huskies! We’re Jack Phillips (@uconnherping) and Harley Pastore (@harleypastore), two Ecology & Evolutionary Biology majors. Right now we’re out in the Sonora Desert with the UConn Herpetological Society, looking for lizards, snakes, and every other creepy crawly in Arizona. You can normally catch us doing field work around the Fenton River, working in the lab with Gila monsters, or just going out for a nice hike around Mansfield. Follow us today for an off-campus trip to one of the most amazing places in the country!

Night shot of a rabbit

9:30 a.m. ~ Even though we’re here for reptiles, we’re still looking for all kinds of wildlife. Last night we set out a camera trap near our campsite. These cameras have motion sensors and can snap night vision photos for us while we’re asleep. Here’s a desert rabbit hanging out by a stream bed in Margie’s Cove.

Lizard in a bush

Noon ~ Stopped on the side of the road to check out some lizards skittering around the rocks. This desert iguana was very happy to pose for photos. Finding reptiles and amphibians has its own term – herping – which is our equivalent of birding.

Cactus flower

12:30 p.m. ~ We just arrived at our next campsite in Organ Pipe National Park. The landscape is filled with thousands of cacti, including this lovely Saguaro.

Lizard with a black tail

2 p.m. ~ Many desert species are super fast, and zebra-tailed lizards are no exception. Here’s one of the few non-blurry pictures we managed to capture!

Jack with a lizard

4:30 p.m. ~ Success! After running (literally) around the park for hours, we finally managed to catch something! Here’s a plateau fence lizard that just wanted to chill.

Campsite

7 p.m. ~ It’s been an awesome day. We found a total of five species of lizards that we’d never seen before. Now it’s time to set up camp in Organ Pipe, with the Mexican border only a few miles in the distance.

Group shot

Goodnight UConn! We’re heading back into the wilderness to do some night herping to find some snakes. Thanks for coming with us on our trip! You can keep up with all of our desert adventures by following us @uconnherping

The Instagram takeover is part of a summer-long social media campaign – #MyUConnSummer – that invites UConn students to be featured on UConn social media:

UConn students – What are you doing this summer? We’d love to hear about your travels, summer jobs, internships, and adventures to cross items off your bucket list. Share your photos (or videos) with us for a chance to be featured on UConn social media. Email photos and captions to connect@uconn.edu.