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Apr292008

Sex and the single salamander

Filed under wildlife by andrew wolfe at 9:34 am

So… why do the salamanders cross the roads?

To get laid, of course.

I’d heard it was so, and decided I should see for myself. I’d only ever seen a yellow spotted salamander once before last night, and that was in a friend’s basement. They’re common enough, but they live underground. They come out once a year to mate, during the first relatively warm (40s), rainy night of spring. I’d take my chances with traffic, too, under those circumstances.

 

 

My friend Cathy got the hot tip from Fish & Wildlife that Rocky Pond Road, as well as parts of North Pepperell and Worcester Roads in Hollis, were swinging salamander hot spots. Rocky Pond was by far the most happening, last night at least.

 

 

We nearly ran over the first one we saw. It turns out that’s a pretty common fate for New Hampshire’s amphibian population. We went out last night, and helped around a dozen of the little critters cross the roads. We saw another dozen or so splattered on the pavement.

 

 

There were peepers, and a few bigger frogs out, too. We inspected a few pools that we found, but didn’t see any active mating, and the salamanders we saw seemed to heading away from pools, so we guessed they were done. Salamanders like to lay their eggs in vernal pools to improve their odds of producing baby salamanders, rather than fish food.

 

 

The salamander mating process sounds like quite a sight: it begins with a group of males writhing around in congress, whipping themselves into a sort of homoerotic frenzy. The lady salamanders flirt, and the couple hook up. I don’t imagine the line, “Hey baby, let me show you my spermatophore?” would play very well in local bars, but otherwise the process seems rather familiar, doesn’t it?

 

 

Here’s a peeper in profile on Rocky Pond Road:

http://blogs.nashuatelegraph.com/off_track/resource/general/IMG_0126.JPG

 

And here’s a more stately frog, by the side of the road:

http://blogs.nashuatelegraph.com/off_track/resource/general/IMG_0135.JPG

 

Here’s one of the stars of the night:

http://blogs.nashuatelegraph.com/off_track/resource/general/IMG_0139.JPG

 

And another:

http://blogs.nashuatelegraph.com/off_track/resource/general/IMG_0140.JPG

 

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