We had a veterinary visit before Christmas, from a vet who is an absolute amphibian admirer. On a wet and blustery night, she headed down to the stream to count salamanders (Salamandra salamandra). In November there are lots of salamanders moving around...so she picked up a few to photograph them...
...and then picked up more, and more, until we had fifteen chunky salamanders in the only container with sides that were steep enough to prevent them climbing out - my salad spinner.
Hence the aliterating title, with due respect to Lucy Daniels, the wonderful children's author of Llama on the Loose, Puppy in Peril and many other aliterating animal titles.
We photographed the salamanders - not easy, when they are warm and start to move fast - and plan to do a recapture in a month or so. Their patterns are, I think, unique to each individual so we should be able to do a population estimate with a few captures and recaptures. All of the salamanders were returned to their homes after the short spell indoors.
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| Too many for the Tupperware |
...and then picked up more, and more, until we had fifteen chunky salamanders in the only container with sides that were steep enough to prevent them climbing out - my salad spinner.
 |
| We're all in a spin |
Hence the aliterating title, with due respect to Lucy Daniels, the wonderful children's author of Llama on the Loose, Puppy in Peril and many other aliterating animal titles.
We photographed the salamanders - not easy, when they are warm and start to move fast - and plan to do a recapture in a month or so. Their patterns are, I think, unique to each individual so we should be able to do a population estimate with a few captures and recaptures. All of the salamanders were returned to their homes after the short spell indoors.
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