Nature Note: the Eastern Hellbender
By Joe Settles

When you tell someone you are going to go hellbender hunting you get a variety of responses such as – “What the heck is a hellbender?” and “You’re stupider than you look!”

Although the latter statement is true, it is the first question I usually dignify with a response, and I have to tell them that it is one of the coolest critters on the planet.

The hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) is an aquatic salamander that lives in the larger streams and rivers in the Commonwealth. It hides out under large rocks, boulders, and debris and prefers high quality, fast flowing water. They eat crayfish, earthworms, and a variety of aquatic insects.

Just the name itself strikes fear in people, but the looks of this slimy guy usually causes the greatest concern. They can be fairly large; usually 12 – 20 inches long, but can grow to nearly 30 inches. The hellbender has a wide, flat head and body that allows it to squeeze under rocks and boulders in the streams, and each side of the body is covered with wrinkled folds of skin. The body is brown to gray and mottled with these colors.

It is an impressive creature that usually scares the heck out of any fisherman hauling one to shore. However, if you happen to run across one of these salamanders, please don’t be afraid. Just unhook the slimy guy/gal and release it back into the water. They are harmless, magnificent animals whose populations have been decreasing rapidly throughout its range. Reduced water quality is thought to be the major culprit in the reduction of numbers for this slimy animal.

So, the next time you are near a large stream, just remember what you might be able to find lurking below the surface. Have fun and enjoy Kentucky’s waters.

Joe Settles is a biologist with Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives