March 2021 Update!

Hello Everyone,

Well, the good news is that salamander chytrid fungus still has not (yet) been confirmed in the United States. But now, it’s more important than ever that you keep your eyes and ears to the ground to help make sure it stays this way. Over 100 new dead salamander records have been added to this project over the past year, and a few rapid response disease surveys were performed by local authorities, thanks to you!

Salamanders are beginning to wake up in big numbers again now, and it’s so important that you help me share this project and remind people to report any animals that look sick or dead to this project page (everything except for roadkill or obvious predation by other animals).

Here’s a new short video to help explain this project. If you could watch and share it, this would be a big help for me: https://youtu.be/nsHPpfgo7Og

Also, please remember that this project is not just for the United States. Records of dead salamanders from anywhere in the world are requested. So far, we have received records from the USA, Central America, Canada, Europe, and a few from Asia. We do not yet have any records from South America.

Lastly, please remember that even though this is called “salamander chytrid fungus”, it has been discovered that frogs in the pet trade might also be bringing this pathogen into the United States. So although USFWS has banned the import of certain salamanders, all frogs are still allowed to be imported and sold without any disease testing. I’m very worried about this, and this is why we need to remain on high alert for dead salamanders.

Thank you for helping me raise awareness and hopefully prevent a salamander extinction crisis in North and South America.

If you have any questions, please contact me at DeadSalamanders@gmail.com

Have a great day & keep enjoying nature!
Jonathan Kolby

Posted on March 9, 2021 02:28 PM by jonathan_kolby