Skip to main content

King Salamander


Brenda Van Ryswyk, Conservation Halton

Save lusty salamanders - avoid King Road

, The Hamilton Spectator
BURLINGTON (Mar 27, 2010)

They're lovers in a dangerous time.

It's the weekend of free love ... Jefferson salamander style.

Hundreds of the little amphibians with love on their tiny brains will brave a crossing of King Road this weekend. Those lucky enough to avoid having their libidinous lust crushed under vehicles tonight and tomorrow night will find paradise - or at least a chance to mate in a romantic roadside seasonal pond.

Burlington features one of the 27 populations of this threatened species in Canada. And every year since the dawn of time, the salamanders, who live on the forest floor, make their breeding trek.

Conservation Halton spokesperson Hassaan Basit said the Burlington population possibly ranges in the mid hundreds. The salamanders wait for the first warmth of March, followed by rain, to make their mating trek.

The salamander mating began last weekend. But this weekend - watch out. The salamander love-making cologne will be out in force.

"We expect that this weekend may be a big event, because there is a forecast for rain and really warm temperatures," he said.

After a night or two of lovemaking and egg-laying, the adults return.

"Why does the salamander cross the road? There is a very clear answer in this case. To lay their eggs and go back home," Basit said.

The eggs will hatch and the young salamanders will cross the road again this summer to join the adults on the forest floor.

Basit said Conservation Halton is hoping in future to have the portion of King Road between the 403 and Mountainbrow Road closed for one or two nights.

City officials had to abandon the road closure plan this spring because there was not enough time to organize a temporary closure.

That means there will be carnage in the pursuit of love. Basit said that is unfortunate, especially given the low numbers.

The salamanders are about five inches long. Two arms and two legs. They are brown with blue spots. They are very shy and elusive. They're just in the mood for love.

Basit said a temporary road closure next spring will make a very positive difference.

In the meantime, Basit hopes Burlingtonians will try to avoid driving on King Road in the evening this weekend.

Save gas - help save a species.

kpeters@thespec.com

905 526-3388

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

a vision for nature in Cootes

View the Eco-Park Document here Make Cootes national park, group urges TheSpec.com - Local - Make Cootes national park, group urges Create eco-park in urbanized area Eric McGuinness , The Hamilton Spectator (Jan 28, 2009) The idea of a Cootes Paradise National Park is being revived by local conservationists. But they say it is jeopardized by plans for a self-storage warehouse beside the Desjardins Canal at the east entrance to Dundas. They point to a new vision of an urban eco-park -- maybe a national park -- incorporating the Cootes marsh, drafted by Urban Strategies Inc., the firm responsible for McMaster University's campus master plan among other Hamilton projects. Joe Berridge, a partner who has helped reshape waterfronts in Toronto, New York and London, produced the concept document at the invitation of Ben Vanderbrug, retired general manager of the Hamilton Conservati

McMaster's Parking Problem: Next Level

I'm sharing a recent article published in the Dundas Star News about McMaster's plan to build a - get this - $17-million dollar parking structure. Seventeen million. Yes, $17,000,000.00 That's a lot of money to provide temporary shelter for vehicles of people who choose to drive to campus. We will be following this closely. Here's the article.  Cootes Drive six-storey McMaster University parking garage under review Variances or amendment to zoning bylaw expected to permit parking structure Craig Campbell, Dundas Star News, Friday, March 5, 2021 Zoning bylaw variances, or amendments, could be required for a planned six-storey, 567-space McMaster University parking garage west of Cootes Drive, and north of Thorndale Crescent. University spokesperson Michelle Donavon said the $17-million structure on parking lot K at Westaway Road will help ongoing efforts to re-naturalize parts of the west campus, by moving some surface parking into the structure. “These plans will increa

Where did the water go? Art action in Lot M Parking

West Campus Eco-Art Project  A walking activity and site activation on McMaster’s West Campus.  West Campus Eco-Art Project is a project that incorporates creative walking activities and an artistic site activation connected with the West Campus Redesign Initiative at McMaster University. The initiative provides opportunities for connecting with nature through an on-line informational video, walking excursions and creative activities that deepen knowledge and experience with place in all its complexities (social history, citizen science, ecology and diversity).  Focusing on the Coldwater creek valley on McMaster’s West Campus, participants will learn about the history and unique features of the area and will be invited to then engage with the site through observation, sketching and stencil-making. Stencils will be used to paint text and image on the parking lot asphalt to delineate a blue line that marks an historic water route.  The project is supported by the McMaster Museum of Art (