It's not the best picture, but it was the only one I could find in the public domain. What is it a picture of, why it is a Hellbender - of course! Or if you prefer the scientific lingo, it is Cryptobranchus alleganiensis - the largest salamander in the United States, heck the largest amphibian in the United States. It is native to NY, PA, WV, VA, NC, SC, TN, GA, OH, KY, IN, IL, MO, AR, MI, AL (hope I got the abbreviations correct). Sadly their numbers have been reduced; and although the causes are not known for certain it is believed that loss primarily has been due to pollution, and siltation. Its last strongholds are in PA, WV, VA, TN, NC and GA. Brendan and I are hellbent on observing and photographing at least one of these creatures while on our road trip to VA. Of course that will mean a side trip to WV and the Monongahela National Forest, but it would be worth it for us to find just one of them. We have searched for these guys over several years in the Susquehanna River system near Windsor, NY and Binghamton, NY but have never see one even though the streams seemed well suited to them. All of the rivers and streams that we searched had large populations of crayfish - one of the favorite dietary items of the helbender. Still though no hellbenders, and I suppose because of an overabundance of silt in the water from runoff originating on farms and dirt roads.
If you would like to learn more about this amazing creatures, visit this site:
http://hellbenders.org/index.html
There are some really great photographs of hellbenders on that site; and instead of swiping them for use on my site (I could not get through to the owner of them via email to ask permission) I figured I would link to the site and let you explore it at your leisure. Check out the second picture on the photos page, it will give you a good idea of just how big these critters get.
Now back to refinishing the bedroom floor for me!
All the best,
Glenn B
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