(Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)

Purdue University is partnering with three Indiana zoos and the state on a conservation program for hellbender salamanders. The program will involve raising salamanders in captivity and then returning them to their natural habitat after a few years to be tracked.

Rod Williams, associate professor of wildlife science and leader of the university’s hellbender project, approached Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo and Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville to join the program. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is also on board.

The hellbender, North America’s largest salamander, is in decline across the country and is most vulnerable to predators when young.

“Mortality can be as high as 99 percent in the wild,” stated Williams. “By rearing them in captivity for three to four years they will have a much better survival rate.”

Williams and his team collected 300 hellbender eggs from the Blue River in southern Indiana in 2013. That is currently the only known location in the state for the salamander.

The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo will receive 20 of the young salamanders on Feb. 17. Another 20 will be sent to Mesker Park Zoo and 10 to Columbian Park Zoo soon.

Joe Smith, director of animal health for the Fort Wayne zoo, shared that the mission is to inspire people to care about wildlife.

“Knowing that they will be returned to the wild is a big motivator for me,” said Smith, a veterinarian. “We don’t often get to contribute to conservation so directly. Most of our impact is through education.”

While the hellbenders will not be incorporated into public exhibits, they may be included on special tours. The zoos will also expand on Purdue’s extension programming and the Help the Hellbender website.

Two years ago, Williams and his team released 18 hellbenders that had been raised in captivity into the Blue River. Radio transmitters tracked the movements and habitat preferences of the salamanders for a year. Results will help guide the future release of those now being raised by Purdue and the zoos.

Source: Purdue University