{"id":5889,"date":"2015-12-02T17:54:38","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T17:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=5889"},"modified":"2025-10-19T17:32:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T21:32:01","slug":"is-it-a-hellbender-or-a-mudpuppy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/is-it-a-hellbender-or-a-mudpuppy\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it a Hellbender or a Mudpuppy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ExternalClassBB6D2230AE484295931FF469845D03D1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NouDW0b3RnE\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-5890\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/hellbender-and-mudpuppy_video.jpg\" alt=\"Hellbender and Mudpuppy Video\" width=\"350\" height=\"197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/hellbender-and-mudpuppy_video.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/hellbender-and-mudpuppy_video-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/hellbender-and-mudpuppy_video-250x141.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a>One of the main problems facing eastern hellbender (<em>Cryptobranchus alleganiensis<\/em>) conservation is that many people mistake this endangered salamander for another common species called a mudpuppy (<em>Necturus maculosus<\/em>). Conservationists and researchers encourage\u00a0any\u00a0outdoor enthusiasts\u00a0to report eastern hellbender sightings by going to <a title=\"Help the Hellbender\" href=\"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/department\/extension\/hellbender\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">helpthehellbender.org\u200b<\/a> or by reporting to a conservation officer. Unfortunately, many hellbender sightings are actually mudpuppy sightings. This can cause confusion in conservation efforts, so the need for public education on hellbender identification is strong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ExternalClassBB6D2230AE484295931FF469845D03D1\">We have created the &#8220;<a title=\"Eastern Hellbender ID Video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NouDW0b3RnE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eastern Hellbender ID Video<\/a>&#8221; to teach people:<\/p>\n<div class=\"ExternalClassBB6D2230AE484295931FF469845D03D1\">\n<ul>\n<li>\u200bHow to identify an eastern hellbender<\/li>\n<li>How to tell the difference between a hellbender and a mudpuppy<\/li>\n<li>What to do if they see an eastern hellbender<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>Check out the\u00a0&#8220;<a title=\"Eastern Hellbender ID Video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NouDW0b3RnE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eastern Hellbender ID Video<\/a>&#8221; to learn more, and<a title=\"Help the Hellbender website\" href=\"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/department\/extension\/hellbender\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Help the Hellbender&#8217;s website<\/a>, <a title=\"Help the Hellbender Facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Help-the-Hellbender-369598889735989\/?ref=br_rs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook page<\/a>, and <a title=\"Help the Hellbender Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HelpTheHellbend\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>to stay current in hellbender conservation.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>Resources:<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><a title=\"Help the Hellbender\" href=\"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/department\/extension\/hellbender\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Help the Hellbender<\/a> &#8211; Purdue Extension<br \/>\n<a title=\"Help the Hellbneder Day at Columbian Park Zoo a Great Success\" href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/help-the-hellbender-day-at-columbian-park-zoo-a-great-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Help the Hellbender Day at Columbian Park Zoo a Great Success<\/a> &#8211; Got Nature?<br \/>\n<a title=\"Purdue partners with Indiana zoos for hellbender conservation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/releases\/2015\/Q1\/purdue-partners-with-indiana-zoos-for-hellbender-conservation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Purdue partners with Indiana zoos for hellbender conservation<\/a> &#8211; Purdue Agriculture News<br \/>\n<a title=\"The Nature of Teaching: Discovering the Watershed\" href=\"https:\/\/www.edustore.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-476-W#.VlN8fHarRD8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Nature of Teaching: Discovering the Watershed<\/a> &#8211; The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div><a title=\"Rebecca Busse\" href=\"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/fnr\/Pages\/Profile.aspx?strAlias=busser&amp;intDirDeptID=15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rebecca Busse<\/a>, Undergraduate Extension Intern<br \/>\nPurdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the main problems facing eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) conservation is that many people mistake this endangered salamander for another common species called a mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus). Conservationists and researchers encourage\u00a0any\u00a0outdoor enthusiasts\u00a0to report eastern hellbender sightings by going to helpthehellbender.org\u200b or by reporting to a conservation officer. Unfortunately, many hellbender sightings are actually mudpuppy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,44,45,54],"tags":[57,62,63,72],"class_list":["post-5889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aquaculturefish","category-gotnatureforkids","category-howto","category-wildlife","tag-aquaculturefish","tag-got-nature-for-kids","tag-how-to","tag-wildlife","audience-for-enthusiasts"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.9 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u200bOne of the main problems facing eastern hellbender conservation is that many people mistake this endangered salamander for another common species called a mudpuppy. 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