wes_von_papineäu
Our Roving Correspondent
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- Apr 21, 2006
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- Vancouver, British Columbia
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- Wes von Papineäu
CLINTON NEWS (Mississippi) 08 January 09 Rains bring out 'sallies' (Jerry Wall)
The other night Mother Nature rewarded me with an exciting new experience.
Have you heard the old saying, "It is raining cats and dogs?" How about salamanders?
The rain was coming down hard on a country road when suddenly something appeared slowly crawling across the road in my headlights.
It was actually creating a small water wake as it ambled across the road. It was small, less than 8 inches long.
I pulled my vehicle onto a side road, parked, turned the engine off and exited the vehicle. Using a mini-flashlight, I luckily was able to find the little amphibian as it crawled off the road into the leafcovered grass.
This was my first such sighting of a salamander out "on the crawl."
In the past, I have found salamanders under logs and stones in the Carolinas. Never found one on a roadway.
Continuing down the road, suddenly another "sallie" was observed crossing the road in the drenching downpour. I escorted this one to the safety of the shoulder of the road.
Driving a bit further down the road, there was another. No, two crossing the road. They, too, were assisted to a safe zone.
My interest piqued, I decided to research these amazing amphibians.
I discovered that they can live up to 20 years in the wild. Very unique to most vertebrates (animals with backbones), they can even sometimes regenerate lost limbs.
Usually, adults return to the same vernal pool that they were born in to breed. This alone is an amazing fact.
Females lay masses of eggs, usually in fish-less pools of clean water if they can find it.
Salamanders feed on small creatures such as earthworms, small insects, slugs and otherwise anything small that moves.
They are truly fascinating little creatures that have managed to survive habitat destruction, wetland drainage, pollutants and other negative factors out of their control.
It is somewhat sad that it has taken all these years for me to experience the sight of salamanders crossing a rural highway.
On the other hand, better late than never!
http://www.clintonnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090108/HOMES/901080305/1011
The other night Mother Nature rewarded me with an exciting new experience.
Have you heard the old saying, "It is raining cats and dogs?" How about salamanders?
The rain was coming down hard on a country road when suddenly something appeared slowly crawling across the road in my headlights.
It was actually creating a small water wake as it ambled across the road. It was small, less than 8 inches long.
I pulled my vehicle onto a side road, parked, turned the engine off and exited the vehicle. Using a mini-flashlight, I luckily was able to find the little amphibian as it crawled off the road into the leafcovered grass.
This was my first such sighting of a salamander out "on the crawl."
In the past, I have found salamanders under logs and stones in the Carolinas. Never found one on a roadway.
Continuing down the road, suddenly another "sallie" was observed crossing the road in the drenching downpour. I escorted this one to the safety of the shoulder of the road.
Driving a bit further down the road, there was another. No, two crossing the road. They, too, were assisted to a safe zone.
My interest piqued, I decided to research these amazing amphibians.
I discovered that they can live up to 20 years in the wild. Very unique to most vertebrates (animals with backbones), they can even sometimes regenerate lost limbs.
Usually, adults return to the same vernal pool that they were born in to breed. This alone is an amazing fact.
Females lay masses of eggs, usually in fish-less pools of clean water if they can find it.
Salamanders feed on small creatures such as earthworms, small insects, slugs and otherwise anything small that moves.
They are truly fascinating little creatures that have managed to survive habitat destruction, wetland drainage, pollutants and other negative factors out of their control.
It is somewhat sad that it has taken all these years for me to experience the sight of salamanders crossing a rural highway.
On the other hand, better late than never!
http://www.clintonnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090108/HOMES/901080305/1011