Posted on 04/05/2009 3:56:15 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
NEW HAVEN, Vt. – The black salamander with yellow spots sat on the roadside in the dark, ready to make a go of it.
But it was not on its own. It got help from an escort — one of 45 people who volunteered on a recent night to carry salamanders, frogs and newts across the road during their annual migration to mate.
...
From rural Vermont to urban centers like Philadelphia, human escorts, called bucket brigades in some places, help amphibians make it to their mating areas without getting squashed by cars. It's part education, part conservation, and part science.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
No.
When I find juveniles that would otherwise attempt a highway crossing later in their lives, I take them far away from all roads and place them in a new, safer suitable habitat.
As generations pass, they adapt to their new “world” and establish new migration paths back to that same shallow, fishless pond.
[after mating, they retreat back into their woodland tunnels on higher ground]
How is that “the wrong order”?
Those who paid them no heed on the highway may no longer see them but we can go watch them do their mini-migration thing every spring.
In fact, about an hour ago I just went up there to see if anybody was “up yet”.
[they weren’t]
I’m just glad they didn’t bore you to tears....:))
I may not be able to change the whole world but I can change my little chunk of it.
I reckon that’ll have to do.
You have no idea what I would give to have one of those in the pond beside my house.....;-D
Watching them “mate” would bore you silly.
She deposits gobs of gelatinous egg-filled goop on plant stems and he comes by later and fertilizes them.
“Debbie Does Dallas” it ain’t....:)
LOL
Remember, these are leftist pimping out these cute little amphibians.
They may be looking for a mate themselves...(no, not among each other : > )
That reminds me, I was married for a spell some time ago.
That’s the one!
Odd little anecdote time:
Every time I’ve faced despair in my life, as sure as there’s a God, a salamander will show up in my path, often in extremely unlikely places.
Salamanders exist as important characters in almost every world religion.
In Christianity, they symbolize the soul who has has undergone the fires of trials and tribulation and emerged, unscathed.
I take them as a “sign” that God is watching over me.
Redbacks are also odd in that you may find one steadily marching across the snow in winter.
I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself, but there it was, walking right across the snow-covered pavers by my back door.
[perhaps God was sending that one out especially for me, since I had just lost a beloved dog a few weeks earlier]
Whatever the case may be, finding one yesterday raised my spirits an almost ridiculous amount....:)
If you haven’t a passable reason to love them *yet*, be aware that Muslims both fear and despise them....much as they do dogs.
That alone would make me want to guard the safety of the little critters....LOL!
I don’t think we really have gophers here so I don’t know much about them.
The neighbor who lives at the end of our lane has been unsuccessfully waging war against “gophers” for years.
Finally, I had to tell him that he was assaulting common pine voles, which are plentiful and to the best of my knowledge, harmless.
[and utterly uninterested in “gopher bait”]
I’ve never even seen a mole.
Maybe they’re not indigenous to mountainous areas.
We have loads of shrews, though.
Once as a kid vacationing in Floriduh we were driving back to the Holiday Inn along a canal. All of a sudden my Mom freaked out as Dad drove through a fog of “things a’movin”. Tires went buddabuddabudda for about 15 seconds. We thought we had a flat.
Got out of the car and look back at a swarm of frogs crossing the road, with two long tire-width strips of Slow Frog running down the middle of the road.
To an 13 yr old boy it was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life.
About a decade ago, somewhere out west, [can’t remember exactly where] they annihilated an entire, *huge* prairie dog town.
Within a year, that entire prairie simply “died”.
The buffalo, deer and elk left...practically everything that walked, crept or crawled just abandoned the place.
Apparently, the hated prairie dogs were doing *something* desperately important for that ecosystem.
We encourage Martins, Swallows and bats.
With as many ponds, springs and cricks as we have here, you’d think we’d be knee deep in skeeters.
I think I saw *one* last year and it was in my kitchen.
I also put an ornamental fish pond inn the back yard with a bright light over it at night.
The fish and the frogs feast on the lured-in skeeters and any larvae that happen to hatch.
Well, if they’re turned on by what looks like big floating gobs of snot, more power to them.
*bleah*
Did I mention there were two *much* smaller males in the terrarium who literally cringed in terror within their cave when she went on her “FEED ME!!!” rampages?
[hope your marriage wasn’t *that* bad]....:D
Your feelings on the salamander and their purpose on earth are both touching and very inspirational to me. It’s truly wonderful that this unique creature has afforded you such a contentment and peace. I simply had no idea that they held such a place in the lore of Christianity and in fact, religion in general.
I don’t think that I have ever seen one of these singular amphibians “up close and personal” in my entire (60 year) life. Prior to this had I met one, I might have had a different impression, but thanks to the generous sharing of your knowledge I know that will no longer be the case.
That is very sad. My wife is of the same worldview you once had. She grew up in a tiny Texas town where no crime ever occured, and she had never been faced with tragedy. It has taken quite a bit of effort to disabuse her of her ignorance, and transform her into a jaded cynic, but I persevere.
Funny how such a short statement can choke me up.
I understand all too well how she feels.
It is SO hard to go from a life where everyone you meet is automatically your friend to “there’s danger everywhere!”.
The longer you’ve lived in the former reality, the harder it is to adapt to the latter.
I doubt that I can ever totally shake “how I’m made” but I’m learning to exercise more discretion, caution and suspicion with each passing year.
I have a “ways of the world” wise hubby to keep me safe and I suspect your wife does, too.
God bless you both.
Well, it took almost dying to slow me down and make me look at things very differently so in an odd way, I’m grateful for the experience.
Where you live there should be salamanders *everywhere*.
Here is what comes up for your area:
Salamanders & Newts
Western Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia nettingi)
Gulf Coast Waterdog (Necturus beyeri)
Red River Waterdog (Necturus louisianensis)
Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means)
Three-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma tridactylum)
Eastern Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)
Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)
Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)
Small-mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma texanum)
Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
Southern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus auriculatus)
Spotted Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus conanti)
Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera)
Three-lined Salamander (Eurycea guttolineata)
Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea quadridigitata)
Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)
Louisiana Slimy Salamander (Plethodon kisatchie)
Mississippi Slimy Salamander (Plethodon mississippi)
Southern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon serratus)
Webster’s Salamander (Plethodon websteri)
Gulf Coast Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus
flavissimus)
Southern Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber vioscai
[you have Marbled and Tiger salamanders there! They’re 2 of the largest land species and make great pets]
With any luck, you’ll find out where they’re living and get to meet one up close and personal, yourself...:)
Yesterday, I saw a ladybug land—and get snagged—in a spider's web. Before I had a chance to think about a rescue, the spider shook the ladybug out of its web!
Ladybugs may have more "harmful" defenses than we think. ;)
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