wes_von_papineäu
Our Roving Correspondent
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- Wes von Papineäu
TIMES-LEADER (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 16 September 07 On the hunt for hellbenders (Tom Venesky)
Lycoming County: Five feet under a swirling stream, clutching stones to fight the current, I shined the waterproof light into the dark, cavernous crevice. A few small rock bass darted by and a large crayfish scurried along the gravel bottom of this underwater world. Facing me from the dark confines of the crevice was a creature with a broad, flat head similar to a catfish and a name powerful enough to evoke fear in the most seasoned outdoorsman.
For a few seconds, I stared back at the rust-colored creature, a large salamander called a “hellbender.” It was tucked safely in the crevice of a large boulder out of my reach, but there would be more chances to catch North American’s largest salamander.
I almost caught “a bit of hell” on Wednesday, but it slipped right out of my hands.
But Dr. Peter Petokas caught some… two adult hellbenders in the same stream.
Petokas, who is a research associate with the Clean Water Institute in Lycoming College, is in the second year of a two-year study on the distribution and population health of hellbenders. During the last two years he has caught and tagged approximately 400 of the large, aquatic salamanders that can reach lengths of two feet or more.
Despite their size, hellbenders are rarely seen and are even harder to catch. The secretive creatures reside under large, flat rocks and are very sedentary. The hellbender is the largest salamander species in North America, and we hoped to get our hands on a few.
“It took me five years to learn how to look for them,” Petokas said. “There are people who live on streams that never realize hellbenders are living there.”
On Wednesday, Petokas took me to a stream in Lycoming County where he is fully aware of the hellbenders’ presence. He previously caught and tagged 32 hellbenders at the site and was optimistic about our chances of catching more.
But it would take work.
After we donned our wetsuits, I followed Petokas into the swift current to a deep pool where the bottom was strewn with large, flat rocks. Clutching a long cant hook, Petokas instructed me to dive under and quickly feel under a rock as he pried it up. I didn’t know what a hellbender felt like, but I was prepared to grab anything that moved.
The technique is similar to “noodling” – a common practice in the Midwest where adventurous souls dive into murky river water and slide their hands under rocks and inside holes hoping to grab a monstrous catfish.
But instead of feeling for a 50-pound catfish, Petokas and I were hoping to find hellbenders.
“When I pry the rock, reach under quickly and grab one if it’s under there,” Petokas said as I stared at a flat boulder three feet under the surface. I knelt into the water, Petokas pried and I submerged.
The underwater current smacked my face and when the rock was lifted, mud stirred up and limited my vision. I quickly raked my hands under the rock – hoping not to get bit and hoping even more that Petokas’ grip on the pole was sure, but didn’t feel anything. Even though we wore gloves, I did feel some apprehension before I slid my arms deep into the unknown.
In the deeper water below, Petokas stopped at a boulder the size of a small car almost five feet below. A decent-sized hellbender inhabits the crevices under the boulder, Petokas said, and he handed me a waterproof flashlight and told me to take a look. That is when I took my aforementioned dive, which yielded nothing.
Then Petokas showed me how a pro catches hellbenders. In shallower water, Petokas pried a medium-sized rock with the bar and reached underneath in one fluid motion. His hand came up in a splash of water, clutching a 17-inch hellbender. He placed the salamander in a sack and marked the location with a fluorescent pink sinker to return the hellbender at the end of the day.
“You have to be quick and know that there’s nothing under there that can hurt you when you stick your hands in,” he said.
Hellbenders can bite, but, judging by the lack of scars on Petokas’ hand, rarely is it serious.
A few minutes later Petokas snagged another hellbender, this one about 13 inches. He placed this one in another sack and secured it to a rock.
We moved back out into deeper water with a swifter current and tried the team approach again. After watching Petokas catch two hellbenders in a solo effort, I was ready to slide my hands under any dark crevice to score the third salamander of the day.
Standing in four feet of water with the current pounding us, Petokas pried a large rock and I submerged. We were an hour into the excursion and the technique was getting to be routine.
Only this time my hand felt something.
I quickly swept underneath one side of the rock and slid my left hand as far back as I could on the other side. It was then I felt something a little soft, yet with some bulk to it. Not knowing if I had a hellbender, bass or snake, I quickly grasped the creature and raised it out of the stream. It was a hellbender and I had a hold of it right behind the hind legs. I didn’t have a good hold and as I tried to secure the salamander with my other hand, it slid out and disappeared back into the current.
“That’s OK, we all lose some. They are pretty slippery,” Petokas said as we headed back to shore.
Still, if there ever was a time I wanted to catch hell, this was it.
http://www.timesleader.com/sports/20070916_16outdoors_ART.html
TIMES-LEADER (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 16 September 07 Studying salamander an opportunity to clear up misconceptions of species (Tom Venesky)
Lycoming County: Looking at the clear, tranquil stream that meandered through farm country, one wouldn’t think that a creature with an ominous name like hellbender would inhabit the depths of the picturesque setting.
But the stream, and several tributaries to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, are home to the continent’s largest salamanders. Thanks to a State Wildlife Grant from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Dr. Peter Petokas has spent the last several years researching the secretive creature, trying to shed some light on a species known more for its fearful name than anything else.
Petokas has caught and tagged more than 400 Eastern hellbenders – the largest measuring 26 inches. There are only two other salamander species in the world that grow larger than the hellbender – the Japanese and Chinese Giant Salamanders, both of which can reach five feet.
Petokas said the hellbender is an ancestral descendent of the giant species. His findings indicate the hellbender population is distributed in patches throughout the Susquehanna River and Allegheny River watersheds, but in most areas where they are found the populations are healthy.
Its enlightening news considering decades ago anglers tried to eradicate them from streams under the mistaken belief that hellbenders feed on trout. Petokas said 99 percent of the hellbenders’ diet consists of crayfish.
“It’s very important that people realize these animals are harmless and an integral part of our biodiversity,” he said.
“An interesting outcome of what we’re doing is the evidence that reproduction is occurring in the places we find them. But, when you consider how limited the habitat is, we do need to think about some protections for these areas.”
Hellbenders prefer stream environments with large, flat rocks and plenty of crayfish. Juvenile hellbenders are susceptible to predation from fish, herons and larger hellbenders. Adults can perish from an area when sediment coats the rocky stream bottom.
Petokas tags most of the specimens he catches with a glass-encapsulated radio transmitter. Using a syringe, he inserts the miniscule transmitter under the skin near the base of the tail. He will revisit the capture sites to monitor the population and growth of individuals.
“There’s so many in certain spots and they are so hard to catch that it’s going to take time to get a handle on the populations,” Petokas said. “These animals are ugly and very sedentary, but they appeal to me. Studying hellbenders gives me a chance to learn about the stream environment from a new perspective.”
And clear up a few misconceptions.
“People think they’re poisonous, they bite, they eat trout and trout eggs. They’re viewed as harmful, but that’s not the case,” Petokas said. “I hope my work clears up these misunderstandings.”
“It’s very important that people realize these animals are harmless and an integral part of our biodiversity.”
Dr. Peter Petokas (Who has caught and tagged more than 400 Eastern hellbenders)
http://www.timesleader.com/sports/20070916_16outdoors_side_ART.html
Lycoming County: Five feet under a swirling stream, clutching stones to fight the current, I shined the waterproof light into the dark, cavernous crevice. A few small rock bass darted by and a large crayfish scurried along the gravel bottom of this underwater world. Facing me from the dark confines of the crevice was a creature with a broad, flat head similar to a catfish and a name powerful enough to evoke fear in the most seasoned outdoorsman.
For a few seconds, I stared back at the rust-colored creature, a large salamander called a “hellbender.” It was tucked safely in the crevice of a large boulder out of my reach, but there would be more chances to catch North American’s largest salamander.
I almost caught “a bit of hell” on Wednesday, but it slipped right out of my hands.
But Dr. Peter Petokas caught some… two adult hellbenders in the same stream.
Petokas, who is a research associate with the Clean Water Institute in Lycoming College, is in the second year of a two-year study on the distribution and population health of hellbenders. During the last two years he has caught and tagged approximately 400 of the large, aquatic salamanders that can reach lengths of two feet or more.
Despite their size, hellbenders are rarely seen and are even harder to catch. The secretive creatures reside under large, flat rocks and are very sedentary. The hellbender is the largest salamander species in North America, and we hoped to get our hands on a few.
“It took me five years to learn how to look for them,” Petokas said. “There are people who live on streams that never realize hellbenders are living there.”
On Wednesday, Petokas took me to a stream in Lycoming County where he is fully aware of the hellbenders’ presence. He previously caught and tagged 32 hellbenders at the site and was optimistic about our chances of catching more.
But it would take work.
After we donned our wetsuits, I followed Petokas into the swift current to a deep pool where the bottom was strewn with large, flat rocks. Clutching a long cant hook, Petokas instructed me to dive under and quickly feel under a rock as he pried it up. I didn’t know what a hellbender felt like, but I was prepared to grab anything that moved.
The technique is similar to “noodling” – a common practice in the Midwest where adventurous souls dive into murky river water and slide their hands under rocks and inside holes hoping to grab a monstrous catfish.
But instead of feeling for a 50-pound catfish, Petokas and I were hoping to find hellbenders.
“When I pry the rock, reach under quickly and grab one if it’s under there,” Petokas said as I stared at a flat boulder three feet under the surface. I knelt into the water, Petokas pried and I submerged.
The underwater current smacked my face and when the rock was lifted, mud stirred up and limited my vision. I quickly raked my hands under the rock – hoping not to get bit and hoping even more that Petokas’ grip on the pole was sure, but didn’t feel anything. Even though we wore gloves, I did feel some apprehension before I slid my arms deep into the unknown.
In the deeper water below, Petokas stopped at a boulder the size of a small car almost five feet below. A decent-sized hellbender inhabits the crevices under the boulder, Petokas said, and he handed me a waterproof flashlight and told me to take a look. That is when I took my aforementioned dive, which yielded nothing.
Then Petokas showed me how a pro catches hellbenders. In shallower water, Petokas pried a medium-sized rock with the bar and reached underneath in one fluid motion. His hand came up in a splash of water, clutching a 17-inch hellbender. He placed the salamander in a sack and marked the location with a fluorescent pink sinker to return the hellbender at the end of the day.
“You have to be quick and know that there’s nothing under there that can hurt you when you stick your hands in,” he said.
Hellbenders can bite, but, judging by the lack of scars on Petokas’ hand, rarely is it serious.
A few minutes later Petokas snagged another hellbender, this one about 13 inches. He placed this one in another sack and secured it to a rock.
We moved back out into deeper water with a swifter current and tried the team approach again. After watching Petokas catch two hellbenders in a solo effort, I was ready to slide my hands under any dark crevice to score the third salamander of the day.
Standing in four feet of water with the current pounding us, Petokas pried a large rock and I submerged. We were an hour into the excursion and the technique was getting to be routine.
Only this time my hand felt something.
I quickly swept underneath one side of the rock and slid my left hand as far back as I could on the other side. It was then I felt something a little soft, yet with some bulk to it. Not knowing if I had a hellbender, bass or snake, I quickly grasped the creature and raised it out of the stream. It was a hellbender and I had a hold of it right behind the hind legs. I didn’t have a good hold and as I tried to secure the salamander with my other hand, it slid out and disappeared back into the current.
“That’s OK, we all lose some. They are pretty slippery,” Petokas said as we headed back to shore.
Still, if there ever was a time I wanted to catch hell, this was it.
http://www.timesleader.com/sports/20070916_16outdoors_ART.html
TIMES-LEADER (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 16 September 07 Studying salamander an opportunity to clear up misconceptions of species (Tom Venesky)
Lycoming County: Looking at the clear, tranquil stream that meandered through farm country, one wouldn’t think that a creature with an ominous name like hellbender would inhabit the depths of the picturesque setting.
But the stream, and several tributaries to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, are home to the continent’s largest salamanders. Thanks to a State Wildlife Grant from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Dr. Peter Petokas has spent the last several years researching the secretive creature, trying to shed some light on a species known more for its fearful name than anything else.
Petokas has caught and tagged more than 400 Eastern hellbenders – the largest measuring 26 inches. There are only two other salamander species in the world that grow larger than the hellbender – the Japanese and Chinese Giant Salamanders, both of which can reach five feet.
Petokas said the hellbender is an ancestral descendent of the giant species. His findings indicate the hellbender population is distributed in patches throughout the Susquehanna River and Allegheny River watersheds, but in most areas where they are found the populations are healthy.
Its enlightening news considering decades ago anglers tried to eradicate them from streams under the mistaken belief that hellbenders feed on trout. Petokas said 99 percent of the hellbenders’ diet consists of crayfish.
“It’s very important that people realize these animals are harmless and an integral part of our biodiversity,” he said.
“An interesting outcome of what we’re doing is the evidence that reproduction is occurring in the places we find them. But, when you consider how limited the habitat is, we do need to think about some protections for these areas.”
Hellbenders prefer stream environments with large, flat rocks and plenty of crayfish. Juvenile hellbenders are susceptible to predation from fish, herons and larger hellbenders. Adults can perish from an area when sediment coats the rocky stream bottom.
Petokas tags most of the specimens he catches with a glass-encapsulated radio transmitter. Using a syringe, he inserts the miniscule transmitter under the skin near the base of the tail. He will revisit the capture sites to monitor the population and growth of individuals.
“There’s so many in certain spots and they are so hard to catch that it’s going to take time to get a handle on the populations,” Petokas said. “These animals are ugly and very sedentary, but they appeal to me. Studying hellbenders gives me a chance to learn about the stream environment from a new perspective.”
And clear up a few misconceptions.
“People think they’re poisonous, they bite, they eat trout and trout eggs. They’re viewed as harmful, but that’s not the case,” Petokas said. “I hope my work clears up these misunderstandings.”
“It’s very important that people realize these animals are harmless and an integral part of our biodiversity.”
Dr. Peter Petokas (Who has caught and tagged more than 400 Eastern hellbenders)
http://www.timesleader.com/sports/20070916_16outdoors_side_ART.html