AUSTIN –– Jessica Deluccia and her husband were on a rural Pennsylvania road earlier this year when they saw an amazing sight — hundreds of spotted salamanders crossing the pavement in an early spring downpour.
Coincidentally, Deluccia, who is the Environmental interpretive Technician at Sinnemahoning State Park near Austin gave a presentation on this same unique amphibian titled the DicoverE! Salamanders Program Saturday. The event gave youngsters an up-close look at the lifecycle of the spotted salamander.
The amphibians, which are about 7 to 8 inches in length, migrate to seasonal ponds during the first warm evening rains in the spring. Deluccia said she will introduce children and their families to the reclusive creatures through a colorfully illustrated story, a craft and a vernal pool hike along the Lowlands Trail in the park. During the hike, children and their parents will search for real salamander eggs and other animals that share their homes with salamanders.
Deluccia recommends that all participants wear waterproof boots and dress for the outdoors. Participants should also bring their own snacks and drinks.
“We have done this is the past,” Deluccia said of the program. “Sometimes we have salamanders, and I’m hoping to have some this time around. We’ll see how well Mother Nature cooperates.
“We always go outside for a vernal pool walk,” Deluccia said, explaining vernal pools are depressions that fill temporarily with water to create habitats for small animals, and can contain salamander eggs.
“Usually we see other amphibians, whether they be wood frogs or spring peepers. And if we’re really lucky we’ll see the (spotted salamanders) we’re talking about.”
She said the salamander is an early spring emerger, therefore there should be plenty of them for the young explorers to find.
“Actually, we started seeing them last week when it was up to 51 degrees and it was pouring down rain,” Deluccia said of her salamander sighting. “It was the perfect spotted salamander time, there were hundreds of them out on the road. People didn’t know what they were and ran right over them.”
Deluccia said she tried to help the amphibians by getting out of her car and running ahead of the vehicle while chasing the salamanders off the road. Her husband drove the vehicle with its headlights on to also scare them off the road.
Deluccia said that while the salamanders aren’t on the endangered species list, they are fewer in numbers these days.
“They’re very sensitive to pollution so a lot of their habitat is viewed as real valuable,” she said. “So if any pollution gets into (vernal pools) it can kill the eggs off very easily or poison the salamander. When (salamanders) are in the water they’re aquatic and their skins can absorb toxins very easily.
“They’re a species of interest that we’d like to keep an eye on them because their populations can tell us what’s going on with the environment,” Deluccia noted. She said the salamanders are also “great for the environment because they eat the small creepy crawlies that people don’t like” and eat algae and debris found in swampy water.
Kim Lott, environmental education specialist, said other upcoming events include the Spring Cleanup Day and the Cache In Trash Out (CITO) event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 21 at the Wildlife Center. The event will include roadside cleanup and a potluck lunch that will be held in conjunction with the world-wide CITO event.
Also scheduled for April 28 at the park is the Herp Hoedown! program. The event is from noon to 4 p.m. in the Wildlife Center classroom and is open to families to learn more about reptiles and amphibians that have roamed the planet for millions of years.
For more information on park programs and events, call (814) 647-8401 or visit online at SinnemahoningSP@pa.gov.
