Researchers are looking into the disappearance of hellbenders in the United States. Scientists from Purdue are hoping to prevent the loss of the salamanders.
"These are animals that live up to 30 years in the wild, so if you have populations declining, that alerts us that there could be a problem with the water quality," said Rod Williams, a Purdue University associate professor of herpetology, according to the Associated Press.
Others agreed that the quality of the river could be the reason for the disappearance of hellbenders, according to American Live Wire. Scientists are looking at whether salamanders are remaining at dams, or moving to rocky nooks and crannies that some of the young hellbenders utilize as shelter.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assessed the presence of eastern hellbenders. Salamanders are having an extraordinary problem in 16 states. The Ozark hellbender, another kind of salamander, was found in only Missouri and Arkansas.
It’s not yet known if federal money will be released to protect the space of the salamanders. Wildlife officials are reaching out to the general public about the salamanders, to prevent difficulties in the future. Researchers have asked landowners to plant trees and grasses along the water quality.