Missouri's Eastern Hellbender Salamanders Could Get Federal Protection
Eastern hellbender salamanders, which have been declining all over the U.S. for decades, are doing so poorly in Missouri that they may receive federal protection.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed including Missouri’s population of eastern hellbenders on the endangered species list. Since the 1970s, the number of eastern hellbenders in the state has dropped by more than 90 percent.
The species lives in 15 states in the Midwest and the South. But it has declined largely due to river pollution and overharvesting from the illegal pet trade. Because hellbenders — like many other amphibian species — have extremely sensitive skin, anything that negatively affects their physical health is a sign of environmental problems, said Lauren Augustine, the St. Louis Zoo’s curator of herpetology.
“I think the federal protection will increase the attention given to the species,” Augustine said. A lot of people don’t know what a hellbender is or their role is in the environment.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-s-eastern-hellbender-salamanders-could-get-federal-protection
