Got Nature? Blog

hellbender​The next big step in the initiative to save the hellbenders of Indiana was completed on May 18, 2015, as three hellbenders were transferred from Purdue University’s Aquaculture Research Lab to the Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette. This is the last of 50 hellbenders transferred from the lab to Columbian Park Zoo, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo and Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville.

In 2013, Associate Professor of Wildlife Science Rod Williams and his team collected 300 eggs from the Blue River in Southern Indiana. These eggs grew into young hellbenders in the lab and were transferred to the three zoos to continue growing to adulthood. In the wild, hellbender mortality rate is extremely high, as high as 99%. The salamanders are at their most vulnerable state during their juvenile years, and being raised in captivity will greatly improve their chances of survival when they are released back into the wild in a couple years.

Once released, the hellbenders will be tracked via radio transmitters to monitor their movements, habitat preferences and survivorship. The last group of 18 hellbenders released into the wild had a 22.5% survival rate after one year, and Williams hopes to improve on that. A group of 80 more hellbenders will be released in 2016 with 130 in the following year. Williams’ goal of 40-50% survival rate would mark huge progress in saving the hellbenders of Indiana.

Resources
Help the Hellbender, Purdue Extension
The Nature of Teaching: Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
How Our Zoos Help Hellbenders, The Education Store
Hellbenders Rock!, The Education Store
Help the Hellbender, North America’s Giant Salamander, The Education Store
How Anglers and Paddlers Can Help the Hellbender, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Video
Subscribe to Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel

Rod Williams, Associate Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources


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