Hellbender salamanders are as old as the dinosaurs, but scientists know very little about these ancient amphibians. Scientists need to know how many live in the Midwest and Appalachian regions of the United States and how healthy the population is, but finding and studying these animals is no easy feat.
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Hellbender Salamanders
Matt Neff from the Smithsonian's National Zoo holds a large -- almost two feet long -- hellbender salamander, caught in the rivers of southwestern Virginia. These amphibians are endangered in parts of the United States, but scientists want to know how healthy and viable the population is. They have a wide mouth full of sharp, tiny teeth like a catfish, capable of crushing a crayfish shell. Beware their bite, warns Kim Terrell. They aren't aggressive or poisonous, but their bite can break the skin. Photo: REBECCA JACOBSON/PBS NEWSHOUR
Snot Otters and Devil Dogs
Kim Terrell from the Smithsonian's National Zoo holds a large male salamander. Locals also call them "snot otters", "devil dogs", and "mud cats." She's been studying these animals to understand how they will be affected by climate change and changes in water quality. They are a "canary in the coal mine," Terrel says. A decline in the hellbender population means a decline in water quality. Photo: REBECCA JACOBSON/PBS NEWSHOUR
In Search of Salamanders
Matt Neff, left, and Kim Terrell from the Smithsonian's National Zoo trudge through the rivers of southwestern Virginia in search of hellbender salamanders. In the eastern United States they range from Midwestern states like Ohio and Indiana to Pennsylvania and as far south as Georgia. But the salamanders are disappearing. The Missouri Department of Conservation estimates that the population in their region has declined by 75 percent since the 1980s due to decline in water quality, loss of habitat and poaching. Photo: REBECCA JACOBSON/PBS NEWSHOUR
Salamander Snacks
Derek Wheaton, a natural resource specialist at Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, holds a pair of crayfish, hellbenders' favorite food. The first river the team surveyed that day turned up lots of crayfish and plenty of flat rocks for salamanders to hide under, but no hellbenders. Hellbenders eat crayfish, small fish, worms and, sometimes, their own young. Photo: rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour
Heavy Lifting
A team of eight biologists and volunteers lift heavy rocks in a river in southwestern Virginia looking for hellbender salamanders. Hellbenders live under wide, flat rocks that can weigh up to 1,800 pounds. Survey teams can have up to 15 people just to scour the river for the animals. Two or three people lift the rock, while others wait with nets to catch the salamanders as they bolt from their hiding spot. Kim Terrell dives under the water, reaching for the squishy, slippery body of a hellbender. Photo: rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour
Captured
Between tests, volunteers hold the salamander in a mesh bag in the water. It lives underwater all the time and breathes through its skin. The wrinkly folds of skin along its sides gives the salamander more surface area to breathe without weighing it down, Kim Terrell explained. Photo: rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour
Catch and Release
Kim Terrell from the Smithsonian's National Zoo holds a hellbender salamander. The hellbender has to be released under the same rock where it was found. Late summer is the start of breeding season for the salamanders and males, like this one, will start building nests soon. Hellbenders live a long time -- up to 30 years in the wild -- and take years to reach sexual maturity. Removing even one breeding adult from its habitat can damage the population's ability to reproduce. Photo: rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour
Drawing Blood
Kim Terrell draws a blood sample from a hellbender salamander while two volunteers hold the animal still. Timing this task is critical. Terrell needs to get a blood sample as close to the time of its capture as possible. Waiting elevates the level of stress hormone -- a result of its surprise capture -- in the salamander's blood. Photo: Rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour
Hellbender Bath Time
After taking a blood sample, the hellbender is bathed with distilled water. This washes the river water off its skin so the biologists can test it for diseases. Volunteers hold the hellbender in a plastic container and drain the water from the tub. Photo: rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour
The Big One
Matt Neff measures one of the hellbender salamanders the team has caught. Almost two feet long, it barely fits in the measuring tray -- one of the longest the team has ever found. Hellbender salamanders are the third largest species of salamander in the world, growing to over two feet long and weighing over four pounds. Photo: REBECCA JACOBSON/PBS NEWSHOUR
Checking for Chytrid Fungus
Kim Terrell swabs a hellbender and checks for deformities and skin diseases. This swab will later be analyzed for diseases like chytrid fungus, a serious threat to amphibians around the world. While chytrid hasn't been known to kill hellbenders, they can still carry the fungus and infect frogs, toads and other salamanders in the river. Photo: rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour
Tagged
Kim Terrell holds the microchip that she injects into the salamanders so biologists can identify individuals that have been caught and tested. This is the same chip that vets use in dogs and cats to identify lost pets. If the same salamander is caught in the future, scientists can track changes in its health, range and habitat over time. Photo: rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour
Threatened and Endangered
In 2011, Ozark hellbenders were listed as endangered. The salamanders also appear to be declining in parts of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Hellbenders are threatened by siltation, where sediment from land development washes into the stream and chokes the salamanders. They are also threatened by habitat loss, poaching and pollution. But there is hope. Some pockets of eastern hellbenders are surviving, even thriving, in places that biologists previous thought uninhabited. Photo: Rebecca jacobson/pbs newshour