Search On For Hellbenders As Numbers Decline

The search is on for North America's largest salamander. Scientists are worried about declining populations of Hellbenders who dwell in the clear running waters of the Appalachians, including North Carolina.

Researchers began noticing the number of hellbenders were dropping back in the 1980s, WABE Radio reports. Now they believe that about 40 percent of the salamanders' populations are either totally gone or about to be. Another 40 percent are declining.

So what's going on with these sleek, flatheaded animals, also known as mud dogs or snot otters?

Part of the problem is development, which can pollute or silt up the streams hellbenders live in. Climate change could also be a problem, researchers say, as it can warm up the cold streams the animals like and also lead to extreme weather.

Recently scientists have been wading into the rivers of northern Georgia looking for the salamanders, with mixed results.

Earlier this year, North Carolina officials asked anyone seeing a hellbender in the wild to report it to the state wildlife commission.

Hellbenders are listed as a species of special concern in North Carolina, making it illegal to possess, transport or sell them. The federal government is also now considering whether to protect them.