especially cold clean waterways. Oops, you don’t have to worry so much about them as cold clean waterways are less and less prevalent.
Those guys are cool as shit. We still see them rarely in our mountain creeks.
www.bbc.com
"Hellbenders are difficult to find," says Andy Hill of the conservation organisation MountainTrue, where he is High Country regional director and Watauga riverkeeper, the key protector, watchdog and spokesperson for the Watauga River watershed. "They're perfectly camouflaged. We try to get into the mind of a hellbender – we identify quality habitat and look for clear, cold-running water. We look under every rock and crevice. You train your eye to look for movement – a blinking eye, a flash. You're elated every time you find one."
Every hellbender counts in the mission to save the largest aquatic salamander species in North America. The elusive, little-known freshwater amphibians, which can grow up to 29in (74cm) long, live in rivers in underwater caves or dens formed by boulders. They have broad, flat heads and stocky, flattened bodies that help them blend into rocky stream beds, with short strong limbs and small beady eyes on top of their heads. They're usually grey or brown in colour, with blotchy or mottled skin that helps them to remain camouflaged in rocky riverbeds.
Those guys are cool as shit. We still see them rarely in our mountain creeks.
Meet the snot otter, the US's ancient and unique salamander
Scuba diving scientists are scouring riverbeds for the elusive, endangered hellbender – also known as the snot otter, or lasagne lizard – to give them a fighting chance of survival.
www.bbc.com
"Hellbenders are difficult to find," says Andy Hill of the conservation organisation MountainTrue, where he is High Country regional director and Watauga riverkeeper, the key protector, watchdog and spokesperson for the Watauga River watershed. "They're perfectly camouflaged. We try to get into the mind of a hellbender – we identify quality habitat and look for clear, cold-running water. We look under every rock and crevice. You train your eye to look for movement – a blinking eye, a flash. You're elated every time you find one."
Every hellbender counts in the mission to save the largest aquatic salamander species in North America. The elusive, little-known freshwater amphibians, which can grow up to 29in (74cm) long, live in rivers in underwater caves or dens formed by boulders. They have broad, flat heads and stocky, flattened bodies that help them blend into rocky stream beds, with short strong limbs and small beady eyes on top of their heads. They're usually grey or brown in colour, with blotchy or mottled skin that helps them to remain camouflaged in rocky riverbeds.
