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(WKBN) — Over 100 endangered giant salamanders were released into protected Ohio waterways this year as part of conservation efforts.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and The Wilds released a total of 116 juvenile eastern hellbenders into Ohio waterways as part of a scientific effort to recover the species. Hellbenders play a vital role in stream ecosystems by feeding on crayfish and other aquatic invertebrates and by serving as indicators of water quality.
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Decades of habitat loss, pollution and sedimentation have driven dramatic declines in Ohio and neighboring states, putting the species at risk, but a statewide recovery effort is working to turn that around.
“This is quiet work that adds up,” said Greg Lipps, conservation biologist at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. “One stream, one release, one more sign that clean water and wildlife can thrive together in our community. We raise these animals for years and then let them slip back under the rocks that shelter them. It takes patience, careful science and many hands, and we are grateful to our partners and neighbors who care for these waters with us.”
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For more than a decade, teams at the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds have reared young hellbenders from eggs collected within the species’ native range. The animals are monitored in a lab until hatching, hand-reared until large enough to improve post‑release survival and tagged for monitoring before release…