by Francisco Silva, Marco Caetano and André Oliveira
Following up on our trip in 2022 and the will to return the year after, Marco and I went back to South Morocco on another herping trip. This time with our friend André! We traveled to Morocco from the 8th until the 22nd of September 2023.
This year we wanted to see more animals – especially snakes –, and had particular focus on finding species we had missed the year before, such as Naja haje, Echis leucogaster and Telescopus tripolitanus.
Day 1 / September 8th, 2023 – Lisbon – Agadir – Sidi Ifni
We started off with a very early morning flight (at 6:30 am!) from Lisbon to Agadir, having slept very little or nothing at all. Once we landed at Al Massira Airport, we picked up the car and headed south towards Sidi Ifni. On the way, we made a pit stop by the Massa River, where we saw many Pelophylax saharicus, Mauremys leprosa, Tarentola mauritanica and an exciting skin shed of a very large Daboia mauritanica.
We went down our first water tank (hereafter aljibe), where we rescued our first animal – a Saurodactylus brosseti –, and met a group of Spanish herpers who were ending their trip on the way back to Agadir.
After a nap break in the afternoon, we went for a short road cruise around Sidi Ifni, but were surprised with the apparent low activity. Still, we got to see our first Tarentola chazaliae and Bufotes boulengeri of the season.
Due to the lack of sleep the night before, we were at the hotel by 11 pm. As we were getting ready for bed, we started feeling the floor and the walls shaking, as a magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook the region. We were one floor above the ground, and so the building shook considerably! Luckily, there was no damage in Sidi Ifni. Nonetheless, the whole town came outside for a while, and everyone wondered where the epicenter had been. Sadly, the next few days we got to know the real magnitude of the earthquake, and the lives it had claimed.
Day 2 / September 9th, 2023 – Sidi Ifni
On our second day, we checked aljibes, habitat, and did some road cruising in the evening. We saw Bufotes boulengeri, Stenodactylus mauritanicus, Saurodactylus harrisii, Tarentola mauritanica, Tarentola chazaliae, Agama bibronii, and the first snakes of the trip: two Psammophis schokari, three Hemorrhois hippocrepis and one Macroprotodon brevis. All these snakes were trapped in aljibes.
Just before sunset, we came across these three Moroccan men who invited us to their home, offering tea and dinner. We had to decline the latter, since we had herping duty to do after sunset!
In the evening we saw Bufotes boulengeri and a Stenodactylus mauritanicus near Plage Blanche. On the drive back to the hotel, we found a Bitis arietans dying that had just been run over by a car.
Day 3 / September 10th, 2023 – Sidi Ifni – Guelmim
Our day could not have started better: on the first aljibe we checked – just outside of Sidi Ifni –, we found a beautiful young Naja haje. It was the first time for all of us to ever see this species.
We did not see many specimen on this day, but we did see our first Uromastyx nigriventris of the trip, and ended the day with yet another new species for all of us – the beautiful Oudri’s Fan-footed Gecko (Ptyodactylus oudrii)!
Day 4 / September 11th, 2023 – Guelmim – Assa
We had camped near Guelmim, and started the day looking for Cerastes cerastes tracks next to the place where we had set camp. We were not so lucky, and so decided to look for C. cerastes near Fask, in an area where we had seen African Wolf (Canis lupaster) the previous year. Indeed, we found C. cerastes tracks, but no live specimen. Yet, we saw three Acanthodactylus boskianus that were just starting to come out.
We spent the rest of the day around Assa checking aljibes and habitat, where we found Mesalina guttulata, Uromastyx nigriventris (both dead and alive), one Trapelus boehmei DOR, Tropiocolotes algeriensis, Stenodactylus mauritanicus, Tarentola boehmei and a Psammophis schokari.
At night, we looked for two of our main goals of the trip, Echis leucogaster and Telescopus tripolitanus, without much luck. On the way to our tent, we found a C. cerastes DOR.
Day 5 / September 12th, 2023 – Assa
After a poorly-slept night in the tent in a very windy area, we set off for another day around Assa. We found a great amount of Trapelus boehmei and Uromastyx nigriventris in aljibes, both dead and alive.
In the late afternoon, we found the first (and only live) Malpolon moilensis of the trip – two young individuals trapped in an aljibe. We also found tracks of Cerastes cerastes, just before finding our first alive individual, also trapped in an aljibe.
In the evening, while we were waiting for the hotel owner to come check us in, this guy that was passing by wanted to know more about us. Verbal communication was difficult, but we had our field guide with us and went through the herps together; he knew his reptiles very well! Just like him, the hotel owner knew people came to Assa to look for a specific snake. It has become regular practice, apparently.
At night, we were committed to finding at least Echis leucogaster, since we knew that Telescopus tripolitanus would be a very long shot. After about one hour of searching, and many scorpions and geckos (Tarentola boehmei and Tropiocolotes algericus), we found our first ever Echis leucogaster! And shortly after, the second one! These guys were super cooperative and allowed for great shots!
Day 6 / September 13th, 2023 – Assa – Aouint Ighoumane
After having breakfast in Assa, we headed towards Aouint Ighoumane. This was the day we checked the most aljibes and it paid off, as we rescued many animals! We saw Barbarophryne brongersmai, Pelophylax saharicus, (our first) Eumeces algeriensis, Uromastyx nigriventris (alive in habitat and aljibe, and dead in aljibe), Trapelus boehmei DOR, Acanthodactylus sp., Mesalina sp., Tarentola sp., one Psammophis schokari, two Hemorrhois algirus, one Malpolon monspessulanus, Cerastes cerastes DOR and one live adult Naja haje.
The rescue of the adult cobra
The rescue of this Naja haje was one of the highlights of the trip. It was late evening and we were getting tired and about done with the day, as we had checked many aljibes already. The cobra was in an aljibe by the road, surrounded by ground squirrels (Atlantoxerus getulus) and their burrows. The aljibe had about 80 cm of water and the cobra was floating with the head just above the water surface. None of us had much experience handling cobras, and this one was about 1 m long (so for us this was quite a respectful animal). We set up the rope ladder and agreed that one of us would go down with a snake tong and try to catch it. As Francisco went down – half naked –, the animal started swimming fast, and so he held on to the rope ladder with one hand, and tried to catch the snake with the tong on the other hand. He managed to catch the animal mid-body, and tried to raise it up above his head through the opening of the aljibe, so that Marco could catch it with another tong. André was securing the rope ladder on top while Francisco was hanging and swinging on it inside the aljibe. Holding with one hand onto the hanging ladder, and holding the tong (with the cobra) with the other was rather physically demanding for Francisco – and scary, especially when you are raising a cobra above your head and you know that if it falls, it will be on top of you. As Francisco raised the snake through the aljibe opening, Marco caught it with another tong, and, carefully not to squeeze the animal too hard, pulled the snake out of the aljibe. However, the snake had wrapped its body onto Francisco’s snake tong, and Marco did not want to pull it too strongly. Eventually – and as we were getting tired (Francisco from holding onto the hanging rope ladder while raising the snake up, and André from holding the rope) –, the snake gave in, and Marco took it away from the aljibe’s opening. It was quite a stressful process, and seemed to have lasted forever, but in the end, we managed to rescue and photograph the snake in the amazing surrounding landscape.
At night, we decided to stop by some water points in the Draa valley where we found Pelophylax saharicus and Tarentola sp. (likely boehmei).
Day 7 / September 14th, 2023 – Aouinet Ighoumane – Tan-Tan
This day’s goal was to go through as many aljibes as possible, since it had been paying off the previous days. We found dead Uromastyx nigriventris, Agama bibronii, Eumeces algericus and Psammophis schokari in the aljibes, but also many animals alive: Uromastyx nigriventris, Agama bibronii, Mesalina guttulata, Acanthodactylus boskianus, Tarentola mauritanica, Psammophis schokari and Hemorrhois hippocrepis.
We had lunch in Aouinet Ighoumane, where the owners of a caffe were kind enough to go fetch some eggs and bread to make a nice omelet for us.
In the afternoon we took some rather interesting “road” to Tan-Tan, along which we checked aljibes and habitat along the way. Once we reached the hotel, we did laundry before dinner.
We had dinner in Tan-Tan and set off to some road cruising, having Bitis arietans as the main goal. We did not see any B. arietans, but the activity of Tarentrola chazaliae and Stenodactylus mauritanicus was quite high.
Day 8 / September 15th, 2023 – Tan-Tan
After breakfast, we headed east of Tan-Tan to a nice wadi we had found the previous year, but this time, we followed the river for longer. The place was quite amazing and we saw plenty of Pelophylax saharicus and several Mauremys leprosa saharicus. We also saw a Mesalina sp.
In the afternoon we found a nice-looking Chamaeleo chamaeleon in a bush. Later we checked aljibes along a road, where we found a Psammophis schokari, Macroprotodon brevis, Tarentola mauritanica, Agama bibronii, Uromastyx nigriventris, Chalcides polylepis and Saurodactylus harrisii.
After sunset, we saw many Stenodactylus mauritanicus and Tropiocolotes algericus on the road back to Tan-Tan.
Day 9 / September 16th, 2023 – Tan-Tan – Laayoune
As usual, we started the day with a large breakfast, and then we drove south to Laayoune on N1. The drive is a pleasant one, except for the areas of the highway that are under construction. Otherwise, it is great to have the sea to the west, and the sand-dunes all around. We made a couple of stops to check for animals in habitat, but found nothing besides tracks on the sand. The hot sun and the lack of shelter during the day likely did not help.
After lunch in Tarfaya, we checked a few aljibes along the road. In one of them, we found a nicely shedding Saurodactylus harrisii, a juvenile Tarentola chazaliae and a beautiful Chalcides sphenopsiformis – one of the highlights of the day.
In Laayoune, we checked in at the hotel, had a quick dinner, and went looking for the coastal morph of Cerastes vipera – a morph we had missed the previous year.
The activity seemed low when we started, but soon enough we started seeing tracks of beetles, scorpions, gerbils and other mammals. Then we heard many Pelophylax saharicus, and eventually, unmistakable C. vipera tracks. We followed the tracks for ca. 300 m to find this quick-moving, beautiful adult that cooperated greatly during the photo shooting.
We also had our eyes open for Scincus albifasciatus, but did not find any.
Day 10 / September 17th, 2023 – Laayoune – Smara
After having had breakfast served by a gentleman we had met the previous year, we started driving towards Smara. Having seen what we wanted to see close to the coast, we drove south and east into the Sahara, always checking aljibes and habitat that seemed appealing, and keeping our eyes open for the elusive Varanus griseus.
We ended up finding quite a few animals trapped in aljibes: Lytorhynchus diadema, Psammophis schokari – including four eggs –, and also Chalcides ocellatus, which has a very fragmented distribution south of the Draa valley, but we found two dead individuals. We also found one Cerastes cerastes DOR and Varanus griseus tracks. We saw live Chalcides sphenopsiformis, Stenodactylus mauritanicus, and a Malpolon moilensis and a Cerastes cerastes DOR.
We arrived to Smara during the peak heat hours, and most shops and restaurants were closed then. As we were looking for a place to eat, we came across a gentleman who gladly called a friend to drive us to a restaurant. We had a late lunch/early dinner in Smara, and went on to look for Tarentola annularis and two other geckos we had missed the previous years: Tarentola hoggarensis and Stenodactylus petrii.
Along the way, we met Houssein, this kid who had previously met and helped different groups of Spanish herpers around Smara. He knew his reptiles well! He helped us find T. annularis inside the house where his family was – who were clearly not as comfortable around the geckos as Houssein was. Among screams of disgust, we got to improvise a short lecture on the ecosystem services of the gecko, before saying goodbye to them.
On that evening, we quickly found the geckos we were looking for, and also Varanus griseus’ tracks.
Day 11 / September 18th, 2023 – Smara – Tan-Tan
It gets ridiculously windy in the desert. It is also very sandy in the desert. When you have a cheap, rusty 15 year-old summer tent, you will find out sooner or later how annoying the “wind + sand” combo is.
The day was quiet in terms of animals, and we only saw Varanus griseus’ tracks, plenty of Tarentola annularis and two Macroprotodon brevis DOR. We also got a Sundevall’s Jird (Meriones crassus) out of an aljibe.
Back in Tan-Tan, we got ready for a long night of road cruising in the quest for Bitis arietans, Naja haje and Boaedon fuliginosus. Luckily, we succeeded with one of them! We stopped the car next to a small bridge over a dry river bed and, just as we were getting ready to head back to the car, André found a beautiful B. arietans completely exposed on the sandy ground. That was the highlight of the evening! It was also very close to the place where we had seen B. fuliginosus the previous year.
The drive back from the field to Tan-Tan was long, and we were stopped by police – they drove towards our car, full-beam headlights on, and blocked the road so we were forced to stop. Once they realized we were just some weird tourists, they were extremely friendly, and only asked for ID’s and took note of the car’s plate. Besides the viper, we also saw a few Tarentola mauritanica that night.
Day 12 / September 19th, 2023 – Tan-Tan – Sidi Ifni
We drove towards Sidi Ifni, looking for animals in both habitat and aljibes along the way. We saw Acanthodactylus boskianus, Tarentola mauritanica, Chamaeleo chamaeleon, Hemorrhois algirus and Macroprotodon brevis.
We also met Abdellah! We had been in contact with him on our trips to Morocco, but this was the first time we actually met in person! We had the chance to give him a shirt we made for the trip. Abdellah was herping too, and had just found a Cerastes cerastes that we got to photograph.
In the evening, we looked for animals along the road, and also checked some habitats. We saw Stenodactylus mauritanicus, Tarentola chazaliae, Pelophylax saharicus, Sclerophrys mauritanicus, Saurodactylus harrisii and what could have been the southernmost record of Hyla meridionalis (maybe?), as we found two individuals about 1h30 south of Sidi Ifni.
Day 13 / September 20th, 2023 – Sidi Ifni
One last day around Sidi Infi before we headed back to Agadir. We saw many species we had already seen the previous days (including the only striped Psammophis schokari we had seen), and a new species for the trip: Quedenfeldtia moerens.
Just before sunset, in one of the last aljibes we checked that day, there was a beautiful adult Hemorrhois hippocrepis that quickly buried itself in the deep layer of dried mud blocks. It took us a while to find it, but we did manage to dig it out and safely free the snake. We had all seen dozens or hundreds of H. hippocrepis, but easily agreed this was the most beautiful we had ever seen!
At night we looked mostly for Daboia mauritanica, but had no luck. Nonetheless, we found many juvenile Chamaeleo chamaeleon and Mauremys leprosa, both adults and juveniles.
Day 14 / September 21st, 2023 – Sidi Ifni – Agadir
This was our last herping day and we spent most of it on the road back to Agadir. We looked for Testudo graeca around Tiznit, but were not lucky with these guys this year. Once in Agadir, we went to some early evening herping in the outskirts of the city and found Saurodactylus brosseti, Tarentola mauritanica and Agama bibronii.
Day 15 / September 22nd, 2023 – Agadir – Lisbon
Early morning flight back to Lisbon. Even though we missed a few species we would have liked to see, such as Telescopus tripolitanus, Daboia mauritanica and Trogonophis wiegmanni, we consider this trip a very successful one! We rescued dozens of animals from alibes and saw a considerable number of herp species and snakes in particular, with 39 (alive), and 12 (alive) respectively. The fact that we missed some of the goals of the trip is one more reason to return next year.
If you enjoyed this trip report, you can see the video on the trip HERE.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Gabriel Martínez and Abdellah Bouazza for the precious tips! A special thank you to all the people we met during our trip who helped us, fed us, and listened to us ranting about our weird passion for herps!