--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL, US of A
along the rainswept Tennessee
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NEWS RELEASE
The Center for North American Herpetology
Lawrence, Kansas
http://www.cnah.org
11 July 2005
Kansas City Infozine (Missouri)
by Jim Low
Beleaguered Salamanders Now Plagued by Deformities
Jefferson City, Mo. - Pity the Hellbender. For years, its numbers have been
dwindling in the face of indiscriminate killing, illegal collecting, and
changes
in the
streams it inhabits. Even its love life has been affected. Now it faces a
new
tribulation, physical deformities. What's an amphibian to do? This one is
getting
help from the conservation agencies.
Missouri is the only state that has both Hellbender subspecies [considered
by
most modern-day herpetologists to be distinct species] - Ozark and Eastern.
To
the average person, they are indistinguishable. Both are endangered in
Missouri.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is building a case for giving both
federal
endangered status. As recently as the 1960s, the Show-Me State had thriving
populations of both varieties. The Eastern Hellbender still inhabits
Meramec,
Big,
Gasconade, Big Piney and Niangua rivers and the Osage Fork of the Osage
River.
The Ozark Hellbender lives in the Current, Jacks Fork and Eleven Point
rivers,
the
North Fork of the White River and Bryant Creek. However, since the 1970s,
Eastern Hellbender numbers have plummeted 80 percent. During the same
period, Ozark Hellbender numbers have declined by 70 percent.
One of the biggest sources of concern about Hellbenders is the failure of
recent
surveys to discover young specimens or other signs of reproduction. The
species has practically disappeared from the streams it used to inhabit in
Arkansas. No single factor is known to have caused these precipitous
declines.
Dam building took a toll as reservoirs covered cold, fast-moving waters that
hellbenders require. Gravel mining in streams and other human activity on
nearby
land allowed gravel and mud to smother more of their habitat. Declining
water
quality may have played a role, too. Hellbenders absorb oxygen--and anything
else
in the water--through their skin. Their extra sensitivity to pollution makes
them
a "canary in the coal mine" for water quality.
Increasing recreational use of the streams where Hellbenders live also has
increased pressure on the species. Anglers who accidentally hook Hellbenders
sometimes kill them unintentionally. The quadrupling of canoe traffic on
some
rivers increases disturbance of the rocky bottoms of Ozark streams. No one
knows how this might be affecting the big amphibians. Deliberate damage is a
problem. Illegal collection for food and medicine in overseas markets and
for
the
pet trade has decimated Hellbender numbers in some rivers. In other areas,
dozens of Hellbenders have been found dead on stream banks, apparent victims
of human ignorance.
Part of the Hellbender's problem is its appearance. They have wrinkled,
mottled
skin that varies from gray to brown. Tiny, dark eyes peer from the tops of
their
heads. They are huge compared to most salamanders. Adult Hellbenders are one
to two feet long. Jeff Briggler, [state herpetologist] for the Missouri
Department of Conservation, sums up their overall appearance, saying,
"They're
kind of gross." Their unlovely appearance has led to all sorts of
misconceptions.
The most damaging is the mistaken belief that Hellbenders have "poison
spurs"
on their legs and can inflict dangerous wounds. With such folk tales making
the
rounds, it's no wonder that some anglers kill the Hellbenders they catch.
Briggler
frequently sees mutilated specimens with wounds from fish gigs or fishing
lines
trailing from their mouths. The rationale often used to justify killing
snapping
turtles and other aquatic predators - that they eat game fish - won't work
for
Hellbenders. Their diet consists almost entirely of crayfish, minnows and
other
small animals. Besides, there are so few Hellbenders, they couldn't possibly
have
a significant effect on fish numbers.
Briggler said it is impossible to mistake a Hellbender for a fish. He says
he
suspects some are killed by people who want to see what they are but are
afraid
to touch them. "I know they look weird," said Briggler, "but they are
harmless.
There is no good reason to kill them."
For most animals, losses of this kind would not be a problem. But
Hellbenders
already are scarce, and they don't seem to be producing young. If the adults
currently living in Missouri streams die without reproducing, the species
could
be
lost to the state. As if all this were not enough, now Hellbenders must
contend
with what could be the final insult - physical deformities. Briggler says an
alarming number of Hellbenders he has seen in recent years have misshapen
toes, legs or eyes. Some are missing appendages. Others have tumors or other
abnormalities. The severity of the problem varies from stream to stream. In
the
Current River, three-quarters of all Hellbenders have some kind of
deformity.
"This animal already has so much against it right now," said Briggler.
"These
abnormalities could be the end of them."
The Conservation Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service have brought
together other conservation agencies, universities and public zoos to form
the
Ozark Hellbender Working Group. Together, they are pursuing a bevy of
projects
to pinpoint the causes of Hellbender decline and reverse it. The public has
an
important role to play in one of those efforts-population monitoring. "At
this
point, every sighting is important," said Briggler. "If an angler hooks one
and
releases it, or if a gigger sees one, we would like to know about it. That
kind
of
information is extremely helpful for keeping track of where these animals
still
live. I can't tell you how grateful we are to people who take time to call
in
such
sightings." He urged anyone who sees a Hellbender to call him-in-
573/522-4115,
ext. 3201. Several facts will help him make the most of each Hellbender
report.
Most important is location. He suggests looking for landmarks, such as
barns,
bluffs or other permanent features. He also needs to know the date of the
sighting and the approximate length of the hellbender. Photographs are
helpful
if
they can be taken without keeping the animal out of the water more than a
few
seconds. Anglers who hook Hellbenders can release them two ways. Removing
the hook is best if the animal is not hooked deeply. Otherwise, the line
should
be
cut and the hook left in place. Most animals released this way survive.
Besides studying Hellbenders intensively and investigating possible
contributing
factors in their decline, the Ozark Hellbender Working Group is trying to
develop
a captive breeding program. Young hellbenders raised-in-zoos or fish
hatcheries
could be used in research or to replenish wild stocks. "I am afraid that
without
artificial propagation the Hellbender may not survive here," said Briggler.
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