North America’s largest salamander is disappearing at an alarming rate. Hellbenders commonly reach two feet in length and have a life span of up to 30 years. They are the third-largest salamander in the world, after the Chinese giant salamander and the Japanese giant salamander.
Sixteen U.S. states have hellbender populations, from Georgia to Mississippi to New York. The Ozark hellbender, only found in Missouri and Arkansas, was granted federal endangered status in 2011. The eastern hellbender lives in the rest of the states, and it is not protected.
Hellbenders have been getting hard to find throughout their range. This is especially concerning given that the animals have been present in North America for 10 million years. Experts believe declines may be tied to human-driven changes in the rivers and streams the animals inhabit.
The animals are adapted to a rocky bottom habitat with fast moving water – which is being increasingly lost to eroding banks, dams, and dredging. Adding to the problem, hellbenders are very sensitive to silt and water pollution because they breathe by sucking oxygen directly from water into their skin.
Researchers are raising hellbenders in captivity, with the goal of releasing them into the wild to strengthen populations. They are also encouraging landowners to bolster water quality by restoring vegetation along stream and river banks.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is assessing if eastern hellbenders should be granted federal endangered status. One thing is clear: the unique animals are a bio-indicator for freshwater health, and it’s in our collective interest to remedy the cause of their declines.
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Photo, posted December 18, 2013, courtesy of Brian Gratwicke via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, with script contribution from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.