Salamander are a number of species from the amphibian family that fall within the order Caudata. Recent reports from North America suggest that its largest Salamander, the eastern hellbender has been progressively decreasing.
The eastern hellbender is two feet long and is known to be the third largest salamander in the world. The numbers have been decreasing at such an alarming rate that the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service has started to consider placing the eastern hellbender salamander to the endangered list.
Even though scientists are uncertain as to the exact reason for the disappearance of these exotic amphibians it doesn’t require much contemplation to conclude that us humans might have something to do with it.
Many experts believe that the decrease in hellbender salamander population could have something to do with the unsafe rivers and streams which are the habitat of the animal.
The safety of the rivers and streams has been jeopardized mainly due to pollution and fungus. Construction projects including dams and the like also disrupt the water flow and interfere with the speeds of the rivers consequently making the water unappealing for the animals.
Rod Williams, an associate professor of herpetology from Purdue University who has also been tracking Indiana’s hellbenders for quite some time points out that these fascinating creatures live up to 30 years, so a substantial decrease in their population over a short time is indicative of problem with the water quality.
The Ozark hellbenders which are said to be a close relative of the eastern hellbenders have already been labeled as endangered and their numbers have decreased at an astounding rate.
Many researchers have tried to motivate people to help increase or at least sustain the current hellbender population by planting trees at the edges of the rivers which causes the water quality to improve. Perhaps that will lead to a decrease in the progressively declining hellbender population. However to avoid such incidents all together a conscious paradigm shift of the human race is required. We need to stop looking at nature as a combination of resources that we can control and start viewing it as an intricate, intelligent and unimaginably wise system in which each life form holds its own purpose.