rarely seen tiger

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Tiger salamander. Photo by Susie Kapler

Here's a first. I do not typically write about or even think about salamanders in December.

That is until yesterday when I received an email with photos attached from my friend Susie Kapler. And what a salamander!

It was in her dog run on Monday, December 3 at 7:30 a.m. She knew it was a salamander but what kind? Susie called her friend Tristan Clark, a salamander expert, who identified the rather large amphibian as a tiger salamander AND the first one ever documented in Grainger County. 

Tigers are one of the largest salamanders in North America. This one is 8 inches long but they can grow to 14. They are mole salamanders that usually live up to two feet underground. Susie was lucky. They are rarely seen out in the open, as indeed, I have never seen one. 

Thank you, Susie!

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