| A
couple of years later I learned that Dick was writing a salamander book and
needed to photograph a Kentucky spring salamander. His goal was to photograph
not only every species, but every sub-species of salamander in The United
States!
This particular sub-species, duryi, was just about the only one left that he needed with the exception of Plethodon wehrlei, or Wehrle’s salamander. Both of these animals occur here in Kentucky. The Wehrle's salamander is so rare in Kentucky that any hope of photographing it is nearly futile. The Kentucky spring salamander is a common
inhabitant in the Red River Gorge, and so I contacted Dick to let him know
that I could help him. |
|
|
|
|
|
I made my way to Wolfe County, Kentucky on a Thursday afternoon after work. My plan was to camp in the gorge and road cruise the surrounding areas. When we arrived there was a dense fog everywhere, and I knew that a special night was just ahead. I explained to Trace, Cooper, Kamel, Peter, and Isaac that we needed to find a spring salamander outside of the park so that we could collect it for Dick. |
|
|
As we left the camp a steady rain began to fall. Soon, we began to notice
salamanders on the road. We saw a number of Northern Red salamanders and a
few slimy salamanders. |
|
|
|
|
|
By far, the most common salamander was the Kentucky spring, but we were still in the park!
I have to admit that I was worried that we would not see one once we left
the park, but luck came our way! We found a number of specimens well outside
the park dodging cars, so I collected one for Dick. |
|
| When I returned home I told Dick that I had a duryi for him. He was ecstatic! He gave me directions on how to properly care for the delicate creature and told me he would leave for Kentucky in three days to pick it up. Despite his dedication and willingness to act promptly, the salamander died the day he arrived! At the time I had no idea that this death would reveal the meaning of hardcore herping to my novice peapod of a brain. | |
