Abstract:
The giant salamander known as the eastern hellbender or Cryptobranchus alleganiensis and its conservation are detailed. A summer collaboration between the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the U.S. Forest Service, Wild South, Warren Wilson College, UNC Asheville, and Duke University are working to give the hellbender a better chance at survival. The group is working to increase suitable habitat for hellbenders to reproduce and studying the health of the small remaining population in Western North Carolina.