July 6, 2015 / photography Wlidlife
Salamander!
My husband and I acted as freedom fighters this morning, liberating the amphibious critters of the world from the evils of our very deep window wells. Between the two of us, we freed 28 frogs, four toads and two salamanders. The frogs were tiny, most less than an inch and a half long. We had one fatality when an enterprising Mama robin snatched up a frog as it hopped away, but that’s on her conscious, not mine…
This is one of the salamanders. It’s a Western Tiger Salamander, the only salamander that lives in Wyoming. Adult salamanders spend much of their lives underground, often using the tunnels of burrowing mammals such as moles and ground squirrels. Rainy nights are a good time to find a salamander, because the rest of the time they are usually burrowed underground. Captive Western Tiger Salamanders can live as long as 16 years. I have no way of knowing how old this guy is, but I wish him health and longevity!
—Teresa
