HELLBENDERS: May God have mercy on your soul if you ever find yourself face to face with… the HELLBENDER!

Nah, they are harmless.

Unfortunately, due to humans wreaking havoc on the salamanders’ environments, they are considered near-threatened. Not to fear though, the population in North Western Pennsylvania is coming back.

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) could always use some more volunteers to help out with the hellbender surveys and this is by far the best way to get a closer look at these magnificent creatures in the wild.

Warning: do not go looking for hellbenders on your own. Especially do not go looking for hellbenders with the intent of catching one. Not only is this incredibly dangerous (for the hellbender, not for the person) but there’s also a pretty hefty fine involved if you’re caught.

Environmentalists are working area waterways to clean up the messes and assess the living conditions for these cuties.

Alysha Trexler is a watershed scientist with the WPC, and the official “Queen of Catching Hellbenders”. “It’s like trying to catch a water balloon, covered in snot. Nothing else feels like one. They secrete a nasty substance that resembles rubber cement. You have to go slow and calm, but once you get your hands on one, you can’t let go,” said Trexler.

According to Eric Chapman, director of Aquatic Science for WPC, who has been working with hellbenders for over 20 years, “Finding hellbenders means that the waterway has had a stable water quality for some time. They’re kind of like the canary in the coal mine. Amphibians are always the first group to drop off due to environmental changes, because they’re so sensitive.”

For the full blog, go to visitpago.com/hellbenders-in-the-pa-great-outdoors-2/