santosh_shanmuga
Enter the Lair...
...of an Appalachian dragon. This large, male Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) was out foraging in a mountain stream in Western North Carolina. This guy should be guarding a den this time of year, so he must have been really hungry to be out and about!
Hellbenders are among my favorite animals, so protecting them and their future is something I hold very near to my heart. This image and others will be part of a photo story--in collaboration with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and the Orianne Society--highlighting the life history of these amazing critters, the challenges they face in order to survive, and the amazing people that champion the conservation efforts targeted towards hellbenders.
Keep an eye out for the story in the near future! And remember, please leave stream-bed rocks where they lay...they are homes to not only hellbenders, but a variety of other threatened fish and invertebrate species.
North Carolina, USA
Enter the Lair...
...of an Appalachian dragon. This large, male Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) was out foraging in a mountain stream in Western North Carolina. This guy should be guarding a den this time of year, so he must have been really hungry to be out and about!
Hellbenders are among my favorite animals, so protecting them and their future is something I hold very near to my heart. This image and others will be part of a photo story--in collaboration with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and the Orianne Society--highlighting the life history of these amazing critters, the challenges they face in order to survive, and the amazing people that champion the conservation efforts targeted towards hellbenders.
Keep an eye out for the story in the near future! And remember, please leave stream-bed rocks where they lay...they are homes to not only hellbenders, but a variety of other threatened fish and invertebrate species.
North Carolina, USA