 |
iSTOCK
A spotted salamander found on a Massachusetts sidewalk is now safely burrowed and will be released when he re-emerges from hibernation. |
When a Massachusetts woman found a spotted salamander lying on a sidewalk in Brewster, exposure to cold, predators, and traffic threatened the little critter. Unsure if the salamander was sick or injured, his rescuer knew it was unusual to see the animal so exposed, and she brought the amphibian into the Cape Wildlife Center.
Hands-on Care for a Mysterious Patient
|
Cape Care |
|
Amphibians are cold-blooded animals. They cannot regulate their body temperature, so they rely on their surrounding environment to supply the heat they need in order to function and carry out normal activities, such as eating and mating.
When temperatures begin to drop in the fall, amphibians dig underground to find safety for the long dormant period ahead. As their body temperature drops, so do their heart and respiration rates, and they become sluggish and unable to move.
|
The Cape staff examined the spotted salamander. While he had no cuts or abrasions, he was cold and stiff. He needed to warm up to be given a complete physical, so he was placed in a container on a heating pad. Later that day, the results from his physical indicated he was injury free and in perfect health.
Some animals native to Cape Cod are rarely admitted to our wildlife clinic because they escape the notice of most people. Spotted salamanders live most of their lives in the woods, and during winter hibernation, they live six inches underground. So, what was this seven inch-long, jet black, yellow-spotted amphibian—the first of his kind to be a patient at the clinic—doing above ground in the middle of winter?
He could have been dug up from his underground hibernation on a building site. But, since he was not found close to any construction, we suspected that he was fooled by an unusual warm spell and re-emerged too early.
Looking to Nature
We decided to mimic nature’s ways to ease the little salamander back into his element.
We placed him in a bin with covered with dirt, moss, and leaves—natural elements he would normally burrow beneath to hibernate for winter. His bin was placed in a cool spot where the temperatures mimic those underground.
The simulation seems to have worked. The salamander hasn’t been seen in weeks. Come late March or April, we look forward to seeing him reemerge for spring, and once he shows us his spots, he'll be released near the spot where he was rescued.
Ensuring Salamander Survival
Salamanders are an ancient species that survived the environmental cataclysm that killed the dinosaurs. But salamanders face two primary threats to continued long-term survival:
- Loss of habitat: Salamanders emerge from their soil hibernation in the spring and migrate to the pools where they breed. Temporary ponds created by spring rains and snowmelt are ideal breeding areas because they lack predators, such as fish and turtles. Tens of thousands of the these mud puddles used to dot the landscape in the spring, but they are growing fewer each year because of road, residential, and commercial development.
- Highway mortality: In spring, salamanders’ nighttime migration from the woods to breeding pools is a dangerous journey. Hundreds of salamanders are killed by traffic as roads bisect their forests and wetlands.
Some Massachusetts towns take their salamander populations seriously and have taken measures to reduce the loss to highway mortality. Lenox and Framingham close the roads and reroute traffic during migration.
Amherst went one step further, and in 1987, the town installed two underpasses, special salamander tunnels that allow the ancient creatures to safely travel under the roads to access their breeding grounds.
How You Can Help
Watch out for mass migration, which typically occurs when nighttime temperatures rise above 43 degrees for two nights in a row and the area has had sustained a long rain extending into evening.
You can also work with wildlife experts to help provide salamanders in your area with an alternate route to their breeding grounds.
Offsite Link
Posted March 19, 2008
