Latest news with #KevinMerrill

New York Times

Stalking the Elusive Hellbender

Beneath the sun-dappled surface of burbling Appalachian rivers, giants lurk. They hide on the bottom, their mottled skin — a swirl of orange, brown and gray — blending with the sand and pebbles. They peer out with beady eyes from beneath boulders, waiting to ambush crayfish and other prey. But they're not monsters. They're salamanders. Specifically, Eastern hellbenders, the largest ones in North America. These giants sometimes grow more than two feet long yet manage to remain elusive even in shallow waters. Their range extends from New York south to northern Alabama, with another population in the Missouri Ozarks. Some believe that the name hellbender came from European settlers who thought the creature seemed like something from hell that was bent on returning. Others affectionately call the creatures 'mud devils' or 'Allegheny alligators.' Whatever the nickname, hellbenders have become a cultural symbol, lending their likeness to beer, cafes, baseball teams, a 100-mile ultramarathon-style race and at least one burrito shop. But seeing one in the wild takes persistence, care and luck. In early June, I traveled to the mountains of western North Carolina to give it my best shot. Out in the Current Kevin Merrill, who, with his wife, owns Oxbow River Snorkeling, swerved his pickup truck onto an unassuming pullout along the North Fork of the French Broad River, not far from Asheville, N.C., and began pulling gear out of the back: five-millimeter wet suits, snorkels and masks, special gloves and hoods, and anti-fog liquid for the lenses. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.