Worked locally to restore the hellbender as it is now only considered vulnerable. Why should anyone care about the last of a genus that has been on earth 65 million years?
I believe they mirror humanities future if we don’t work to heal ourselves and Earth. ✌️😊🥰
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The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration (which involves cutaneous gas exchange through capillaries found in its lateral skin folds), and fills a particular niche—both as a predator and prey—in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to the impacts of disease and widespread habitat loss and degradation throughout much of its range.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellbender