Mother Black Bear and cubs

Rain, Salamanders, and  Bears (Oh My)

     Spring is “usually” somewhat unpredictable. And when one organizer told me I could help at the “bear table” (for Master naturalist related activity) I assumed she meant it when she said they were doing it outside under a canopy, “rain or shine” being the effective words here.

 

      Then all the rain came pouring down, like Noah’s Ark was coming, raining cats and dogs all the way during my drive to my destination. So I got there and they had left; so I didn’t get a chance to talk to people about the interesting things I know about bears — they have a kind of hibernation called “torpor,” where their body temperature only goes down 10-12 degrees and the metabolism decreases 25- 50 percent, and the Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries says they can be wakeful some during the long winter months.  It also helps the mother black bear, who will produce a tiny (less than a pound) baby cub during that time.

 

 

    But I didn’t get to talk about the bears, so I went over to the display under a gazebo cover where the Virginia Tech lab ladies provided information about types of salamanders, especially the Eastern newt.

 

      It basically has an extra stage of life, the “red eft” or teenage, juvenile stage (see photo at top), where it boldly walks the trails in the woods with its bright orange skin. That’s because of poison it can carry in its skin if attacked, supposedly quite toxic. If a person were to touch the skin and then touch it to their mouth that person could have “extreme intestinal discomfort” for days, according to the lab ladies. I will keep that in mind and probably NOT pick up a red eft in the future!

 

      Of course, salamanders AND frogs are an important part of the food web — bigger animals eat them and destroying the habitat they start in (wetlands and year round ponds) is well, sad for the bigger animals like birds, snakes, big fish, foxes, skunks, even bears! They are necessary to the survival of other species, so let’s not fill in every daggone wetland area out there!

 

    The new SEEDS nature center nearby (this is in Blacksburg, VA) had a big fish tank and an interesting deer display. There is something called a “piebald deer” which is a white tailed deer with speckled white parts in its normally brownish fur. It’s said to be a “genetic abnormality,” which I actually saw during a hike at Claytor Lake State Park (VA). It can appear more white than brown, but is NOT that same as an albino deer whose fur looks ALL WHITE. 

 

     So, though it was very wet (hey, you learn something new every day), I took advantage of information offered by people who stayed behind. (It actually  stopped raining 15-20 minutes AFTER I got there!)

 

 

(CTA) Learn more about salamanders through the Encyclopedia Britannica site (click on the words below):  

 

Salamander | Species, Life Cycle, & Facts | Britannica

(If you found this interesting, buy D. J. a digital coffee at:                https://ko-fi.com/naturelover2   )