Cobb residents plan summer trip to see giant salamanders in North Carolina

A Cobb County resident will attempt to swim with Eastern hellbenders in a North Carolina stream this summer. The planned trip targets the Watauga River, where local riverkeeper organizations are working to protect the amphibian population.

The resident included the experience on a personal list of new activities for the year. They noted that watching wild species ranks high on their list of priorities. Previous trips have taken them to the Galápagos Islands and the Dolomites for wildlife observation.

Eastern hellbenders, also called mudpuppies or devil dogs, are the largest salamanders in North America. They belong to an ancient species that lived with dinosaurs. These animals have inhabited Appalachian streams for more than 160 million years.

The salamanders can grow up to two and a half feet long and weigh as much as five pounds. They can live for forty years. Although they are capable swimmers, they often walk along stream beds using toes that help them cling to the bottom.

Hellbenders breathe through their dark, wrinkly skin. They absorb oxygen directly from the water. This biological need requires clean, swift-moving water. Their presence serves as an indicator of a stream’s water quality.

The animals help maintain aquatic ecosystems by controlling prey populations. However, they are vulnerable to pollution. Eroded sediment from development and agriculture can cause disease and death in the species.

More than 40 percent of known historical hellbender populations have vanished in recent decades. A large portion of the remaining populations are declining. In the 1800s, people considered hellbenders vermin and shot them with muskets. In the early twentieth century, commercial bounty hunters targeted them because they were believed to eat game fish.

Industrial pollution, dams, and logging further reduced their numbers as development spread across the Appalachian region. Today, climate change and warmer water temperatures add pressure to their survival. Federal environmental laws provided some protection in the 1970s.

Scientists and conservation groups have sought to list the Eastern hellbender under the Endangered Species Act for more than a decade. The law, passed fifty years ago, has helped save nearly 300 species of wildlife in the U.S. A listing would require government and private developers to consult on projects that might impact the salamanders.

The current administration has refused to take measures to legally protect hellbenders. It has also delayed listings for hundreds of other endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently weakened the Endangered Species Act. It is now legal to destroy the critical habitat of endangered species or kill them unless the action was intentional. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against these rollbacks.