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Although there were no Andrias japonicus on display, there were three Andrias davidianus (Chinese Giant Salamander). (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not very well-versed in these creatures.)
While this in and of itself was not particularly interesting (ha) I managed to catch one of them in the process of shedding.
I have to say, they're quite...er, mobile when they want to be. I have a few bad shots (because the photographer was trying to take photos of me instead of the salamander), but I thought the sequence of photos would be interesting. The creature first did a loop (turnaround), scratching the skin off, then a final dive back under the wood to remove the skin. It looked like a very concerted, well-thought out method of skin removal!
Other noted things:
As it was feeding time, the keeper was able to lure the Chinese giant salamander out. As the salamander searched for food, it lifted its tail quite high into the air, using it almost as a rudder of sorts.
Anyhow, I was at the Academy with a friend and her child, so I didn't get as much time as I'd like. However, I highly recommend it as a place to visit. Their collection of urodeles is not bad and the staff seemed friendly.
While this in and of itself was not particularly interesting (ha) I managed to catch one of them in the process of shedding.
I have to say, they're quite...er, mobile when they want to be. I have a few bad shots (because the photographer was trying to take photos of me instead of the salamander), but I thought the sequence of photos would be interesting. The creature first did a loop (turnaround), scratching the skin off, then a final dive back under the wood to remove the skin. It looked like a very concerted, well-thought out method of skin removal!
Other noted things:
As it was feeding time, the keeper was able to lure the Chinese giant salamander out. As the salamander searched for food, it lifted its tail quite high into the air, using it almost as a rudder of sorts.
Anyhow, I was at the Academy with a friend and her child, so I didn't get as much time as I'd like. However, I highly recommend it as a place to visit. Their collection of urodeles is not bad and the staff seemed friendly.
