How to Go on Salamander Safari

Vast herds of huge hoofed mammals thundering across the endless savannah is a spectacle most of us don't get to see. What we DO have in certain parts of the US is the great salamander migration.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Spotlight or powerful flashlight
• Access to a vernal pond in a wooded area.

1. Vernal pond in daylight. They lurk in subterranean tunnels beneath rotten logs and dead leaves for most of the year. On a dark and stormy night in early spring, as the temperature rises to 40, they emerge.
   The Big Night, as some naturalists call it, has arrived.
2. Naturalist capturing a specimen for a close-up view. Yellow spotted salamanders awaken from hibernation and crawl out of their not-quite year-round underground homes in an annual early spring rite. Instinct drives them to head toward vernal pools, often their own birthplaces.Unfortunately, the critters sometimes cross busy roads, becoming squished salamander souffle. To reduce the carnage, one road in Framingham, MA is closed during the event and another in Amherst, MA has a built-in an undergound tunnel to aid the animals.
   Vernal ponds are temporary; large natural puddles of rain and melted snow. Due to their ephemeral nature, fish can't live there; so they miss out on a potentially yummy salamander eggs 'n' larvae dinner.
   When the salamanders take to the water, it's party time.
3. Spotted salamander in its natural habitat. Select few people are lucky enough to be at the right place and time to witness a congressing. That's not a bunch of slimy, coldblooded politicians writhing around making laws. Rather, it's a bunch of slimy, coldbooded amphibians writhing around making babies. It is literally one of nature's spectacles as dozens of the amphibians gather in tight clusters in the water with males fertilizing and females collecting for eggs. For this year's Big Night, in a patch of woods in a northern Boston suburb, no human eyes (apparently) observed the postmidnight, earlier than seasonally expected gathering. However, there is a consolation prize - and it's a bit easier to plan.
4. Don't tow this car! For a week or so after Big Night, several salamanders linger in the shallow pools. Not used to daylight, they're primarily nocturnal. Adult spotted salamanders are 6-7" long; black with bright yellow spots on their backs. Even at night, they're easy to spot in shallow, clear pools with the aid of a good spotlight or flashlight. It's a fascinating field trip and for kids it's an adventure AND educational activity.
5. Eventually, the eggs hatch and young tadpole-like larvae populate the pond, breathing through gills like fish. Like a display on evolution set at warp speed, they metamorphasize into air breathing terrestrial dwellers and begin an underground life, feeding on snails, slugs, worms and the like. The yellow spotted is one of the 4 species of mole salamanders - named for their subterranean lifestyle - indigenous to New England. The other three are the Jefferson, the marbled and the blue spotted. Sala-meander on down to tips for some fasci-newt-ing trivia.

Tips & Warnings

• Finding out exactly where, when and how to see the migration can be tricky for a novice. Nature organizations like Audubon often offer guided field trips. The Blue Hills Museum in Canton, MA has two scheduled this year; both of which have long waiting lists.
• Woodfrogs are also primarily terrestrial amphibians that breed in vernal ponds. Fairy shrimp take advantage of the predator-free water as well. You're not as likely to see, as you are to hear, the increasingly loud chorus of spring peepers announcing that spring is here to stay. These tiny tree dwellers return to their aquatic roots to breed, too.
• A salamander is not a lizard... and vice versa. They do look similar in body shape but... lizards are lung breathing reptiles that lay eggs on land and have scaly dry skin. Salamanders are amphibians that have gills for part of their lives, lay eggs in water and have smooth, moist skin.
• Salamanders and newts all belong to the family salamandidrae. Some herpetologists - aka reptile/amphibian studiers - say the terms are interchangeable. Others maintain that newts are slightly more rough skinned and more aquatically inclined. To further confuse the matter, some are called efts -like the red eft common in New England.
• Axolotls are a bizarre looking salamander species that rather than exiting the larval stage, remain aquatic and are equipped with feathery looking gills.
• Medieval legend had it that salamanders were impervious to fire. This erroneous belief probably arose when salamanders crawled out from logs they lived in that were being put on a bonfire.
• "Eye of newt and toe of frog" were among the ingredients in three witches' cauldron in Shakespeare's "MacBeth."
• Gerrymander is a slang phrase combining salamander and Gerry, as in former Gov. Elbridge Gerry of MA, who carved up Congressional districts in his state to favor his party. The resulting oddly shaped districts twisted and turned like the odd contortions of a salamander.
• Watch your step... and where you drive. The location of the pond this correspondent observed was kept low key this year because in the past, guided programs attracted too many trampling feet.
• While the population of yellow spotted salamanders appears healthy at this particular site, a worldwide decline in several amphibian species is causing concern among scientists. Vanishing "barometer" species may indicate unforeseen environmental problems.
• Salamander safari more often than not means parking your car in dark, remote areas. I put a "Salamander observation. Back in 1 Hour" sign in my windshield to ward off any suspicions of suspicious activity.