It is the season for salamanders!
Nicholas Gaye, a naturalist with Lake Metroparks, said Northeast Ohio is home to about 15 species of salamander, each with their own habitat. But one of these species, the mole salamander, has a habitat unlike the others.
"Most of their time they're spending is actually underneath the ground," Gaye said.
Mole salamanders emerge once a year during the transition from winter to spring. This yearly migration was the delight of Lake County nature enthusiasts Saturday at the Penitentiary Glen Reservation, where nationalists shared facts about these elusive amphibians, pointing them out and guiding families along the trail.
During these migrations, the salamanders trek to the surface in search of vernal pools, bodies of water that fill with rain and melted snow but dry in the summer and lack fish, the predators of salamander eggs.
Then, after four to eight weeks of development, the baby salamanders will emerge and spend a year or three in that vernal pool until they can survive on land.
If you missed it, don't worry, because Gaye said the migration typically lasts for a week or two at the beginning of the season, and he expects further opportunities for viewing depending on the temperature. Mole salamanders require moist conditions to travel, so look for rainy and warm nights.
Additionally, he expects that another species, the marble salamander, will undergo its annual migration in the fall.
If you plan to join the hunt, however, Gaye asks for caution.
"As humans, we are stewards to our environment," he said. "And it's really important that, when we get out there to enjoy these amazing opportunities, that we're being respectful and caring towards the critters that we're coming across."
Salamanders are slow-moving, so Gaye said observers should bring a flashlight to avoid stepping on them. Then, if you intend to touch them, he said to avoid anything on your hands that contains heavy metals, such as scented lotions, sunscreen, bug spray, or other products.
"Salamander skin is semi-permeable, meaning things can get through it easily and, if those heavy metals get through, they can really hurt the salamanders," Gaye said.
Wet hands are also encouraged, as is limited exposure to what, at the end of the day, is considered a wild animal.
Lake Metroparks also has a salamander migration email list, which you can sign up for on their website.
