News

Hellbenders made the cover of The Wildlife Professional this month in a feature article titled “Hellbent on Conservation – Biologists wade a ‘never-ending stream of challenges’ to conserve at-risk hellbenders” by Joshua Rapp Learn. This article spotlights the ongoing challenges faced by biologists in their quest to conserve the at-risk hellbenders. The piece explores the critical issues of habitat loss and the cryptic nature of these elusive amphibians, which make their study particularly challenging.

Notably, the article highlights the Hopkins lab paper on filial cannibalism in hellbenders, suggesting it may hold the key to understanding the decline of these unique creatures. Gregory Lipps, amphibian and reptile conservation coordinator at Ohio State University, even calls it a potential “smoking-gun paper” in the context of hellbender conservation.

For those with a subscription you can check out the full article online.