A recent announcement from the Louisville Zoo revealed that it would be working with the state's Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources in its efforts to repopulate a rare native Kentucky species, the Eastern hellbender salamander.
The largest salamander in North America, the Eastern hellbender was proposed for endangered status by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service in 2024 as a result of its declining population. Although this species of salamander generally lay in the range of 150-500 eggs, only a small percentage successfully hatch. In fact, fewer than 1% of eggs survive to adulthood in the wild. At a zoo, however, the survival rate can be 100%.
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According to Kyle Shepherd, a spokesperson for the Louisville Zoo, the Eastern Hellbender depends on cool, clean, well-oxygenated freshwater for its survival. The increasing damming of streams in Kentucky and Indiana have put the salamanders’ survival in jeopardy. This issue is compounded by agricultural runoff potentially making stream conditions worse.
Addressing this, the Zoo’s plan is to raise young hellbenders to then be released into the wild. Currently, it is carrying out a similar role in the national recovery program for black footed ferrets.
As of now, the Zoo’s hellbender lab houses 15 adolescent hellbenders that came from eggs collected from local streams.
