Anyone ever seen s Hellbender in RL?

That Lady in PA said:
We "think" we saw several in Tionesta Creek here in PA. Didn't get a good enough look at them.
Click to expand...

We have salamanders (they’re actually newts, is there a difference?) here in Berkeley, CA but no where near so large as a Hellbender. They close South Park drive November through March so they don’t get flattened tryin to cross the road seeking a pond. Amphibians are among the most fragile life firms around.
 
The best habitat for the Hellbenders got wiped out by hurricane Helene. Their population is very very low. If they haven’t been listed as endangered by now, they need to be.

The Nashville zoo in conjunction with the TWRA are raising and releasing Hellbenders into the duck river water shed.

”More hellbenders have been let loose in Middle Tennessee.

In what’s become an annual tradition, the Nashville Zoo and their partners, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Tennessee State University, released more of the giant salamanders into the Duck River watershed on Tuesday.

It’s an all-day, full-team effort, but Tennessee now has 11 more hellbenders in its waterways, with six more joining them on Wednesday. ”

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/more-hellbenders-released-into-tennessee-rivers/
 
Imogene said:
The best habitat for the Hellbenders got wiped out by hurricane Helene. Their population is very very low. If they haven’t been listed as endangered by now, they need to be.

The Nashville zoo in conjunction with the TWRA are raising and releasing Hellbenders into the duck river water shed.

”More hellbenders have been let loose in Middle Tennessee.

In what’s become an annual tradition, the Nashville Zoo and their partners, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Tennessee State University, released more of the giant salamanders into the Duck River watershed on Tuesday.

It’s an all-day, full-team effort, but Tennessee now has 11 more hellbenders in its waterways, with six more joining them on Wednesday. ”

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/more-hellbenders-released-into-tennessee-rivers/
Click to expand...

Very happy to hear this one extinction may be avoided!
 
MarkD said:
Very happy to hear this one extinction may be avoided!
Click to expand...

There are a couple of reasons for hope at least in Tennessee:

1. “Thanks to its vast array of distinctive habitats and its isolation from glaciers that permeated much of North America during the ice ages, Tennessee is the most biodiverse inland state in the entire country. ”

https://academic.oup.com/fisheries/article-abstract/43/8/369/7833791?redirectedFrom=fulltext

2. Even though there are some issues I would like make our governor’s teeth rattle over, he is third generation owner of the big cattle farm he was raised on and is very aware of the importance of saving habitats and conserving land.

He is caught between trying to conserve & preserve while allowing building progress at the same time. He pointed out this state is losing ten acres of productive farm land per HOUR. It can be a Catch 22.

3. I would hope other states also have biodiversity programs, but Tennessee walks the walk when it comes to trying to save endangered habitats; they get on the news regularly or I wouldn’t know any of this🤠

https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/action-plan.html
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top