A - Z : Giant Japanese Salamanders

Ah, another A - Z challenge. A couple of years ago my family went to the Toledo. Ohio. As I love looking at animals and Wildlife. I seen an exhibit for the Giant Japanese Salamanders.

It was kinda funny because I walked up to the tank the creature was in. The whole time a lady was staring into the tank not saying a word. At first all I seen was large rocks. When I noticed where it was after moving around a bit. I called my boyfriend and kids over to look at it.

These things can grow to five feet long and weigh over 55 lbs. So, you can imagine my surprise when I noticed the rock wiggle. The lady asked me where it was at. I pointed the Japanese Giant salamander out to her. She started laughing and telling me she had been staring for almost an hour trying to figure out where the creature was at. It had been in front of her the whole time. She just never noticed it.

I can remember catching salamanders as a child in a nearby creek. So to be able to see these creatures in a giant size was new to me. I have been in awe of these creatures since I first heard of them. I actually heard of them on a cable tv show called "River Monsters". It is where the host of show goes around the world trying to catch animals in the rivers and streams that scare, threaten or harm people. Usually there is some kind of old myth the host is trying to prove or disapprove. One segment happen to turn up Japanese Giant Salamanders. What beautiful creatures.

Japanese Giant Salamanders can live up to eighty years. But the number varies depending on if it was in captivity or not. The Japanese Giant Salamander is a threatened creature. Even though females lay up to 500 eggs at a time. They do not have any none predators except humans who have hunted them for food. Hunting has stopped because of protection acts.

Challenge : Write about Salamanders. Or something that starts with a "G".

Japanese_Giant_Salamander, Animal, Toledo_Zoo, Zoo, AtoZ_Challenge, Letters, A2ZChallenge, Challenge_A-Z

Photo found through a search of free re-use photos on Google.