Last October, when the US Fish and Wildlife Service added
the Ozark hellbender to the nation’s list of endangered species, my first
question was:
As a resident of the Ozarks, it was a little embarrassing not
to know.
But this creature (one of the world’s largest salamanders) is
not the sort of species that attracts a lot of attention. The hellbender is slimy,
hulking, drab, and downright strange-looking. Plus, it spends daylight hours hiding
under rocks in the depths of swiftly flowing streams. I’ve spent years working
and playing in Ozark waters, and I’d never heard of it, much less laid eyes on
one.
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Photo by Jill Utrup/USFWS
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Unfortunately, the harmless Ozark hellbender is now as
imperiled as it is elusive, and people are finally paying attention.
Fewer than 600 hellbenders are estimated to exist in a handful
of river systems throughout southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Projects
are already underway to protect and restore hellbender habitat in the wild, and
scientists are working in earnest to identify and combat other possible causes
of population decline.
At the same time, the Saint Louis Zoo has been bent on boosting
numbers by hosting an elaborate hellbender honeymoon. The Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation
has created a 32-foot-long replica of a natural Ozark stream. Inside this “honeymoon suite,” the zoo has successfully
established a breeding group of adult hellbenders. So far, 165
baby hellbender have hatched—the first hellbenders to ever be born in
captivity—and with them, a new hope for this species’ survival has hatched as
well.
