The Salamanders of New England

Salamanders are plentiful in many forests, but due to their underground (or underwater) lifestyles, for the most part are not often seen (one exception to that is the Red-spotted Newt; its bright orange juvenile Red Eft form is commonly seen on the forest floor after rainfall). Nonetheless, salamanders play a significant ecological role in the cycling of nutrients in forests, as they consume all manner of invertebrates and decomposers. They are shy, retiring, and fascinating creatures.
In this film, we'll learn something about every species of salamander found in New England. Some are aquatic, some terrestrial; some are both, depending on their current stage of life. We'll see their different habitats, and watch eggs develop and hatch into larvae, which later transform into adults.
Story at newenglandfore...

[@yourmother-f2r]

This is better than any documentary I have seen. No dramatization and trying to paint animals like people... Just incredible, extensive footage, and purely factual narrating. This is a masterpiece.

[@terrymorton7444]

Yes I gotta agree. I never like it when they name animals With cute names or some kind of narrative.

[@brady-b7l]

its always been disappointing that no one ever makes nature documentaries for the Northeast, so this channel is really awesome.

[@KingofCrusher]

This is like PBS in the 90's, holy shib I love it.

[@davidevans3175]

Salamander hunting in the Connecticut summer was part of my childhood in the 1960s.

[@johnnygalaxy9022]

The sound of the Red Eft chewing those aphids was absolutely adorable!

[@Jibbahrish1]

Premium videography. Beautiful presentation and thank you for your time. ( Earth is one big egg )

[@FrankAdamski]

Outstanding production!

[@lastEvergreen]

So beautiful the dancing embryos in an oort cloud of green algae. 14:41

[@urex1717]

As an adult, I will never understand my fondness for catching creatures when I was a boy but boy did I like to. Tended to be amphibians and snakes. Caught so many and was always kind to them and they were always kind to me. Well, the snapping turtles liked to snap but I learned to leave them alone.

[@wafflemanyum9126]

The way you get these shots baffles me! Absolutely beautiful production

[@Shatamx]

Up in Jackman Maine during a summer recently. (2018) I was just walking behind my in laws camp. Noticed some down trees and chopped up logs. So I just started turning them over. Blue Spotted Salamanders! Everywhere!! First time I've seen any in the wild. Absolutely stunning amphibians!

[@zachb8012]

That was a great documentary. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

[@cd4497]

This is so cool as a new Englander I am learning so much 🤗thank you great content!!!!!!

[@j-sin3344]

Salamander crossing in Amherst, they used to have to cross the road and a lot of them were getting run over, but someone ended up putting in a culvert and guides on both sides that corral the sallys to the tunnel. Its a yearly migration, or something like that .

[@faithofamustardseed8198]

As a child growing up with Florida, there were a few years where I was obsessed with salamanders. Almost 2 decades later, i still have not seen one in person. I am blessed to be able to take a trip to New England in a couple weeks, and I’m hoping I finally get to see some salamanders 😊 Thanks for the excellent documentary!

[@terrymorton7444]

The best way to find salamanders in New England is to pick up a wet rotted log and look underneath. It's a good chance you'll find a redbacked. Salamander newts are pretty common right after a rainstorm

[@dianaheaphy8294]

I wish I could give this a thousand thumbs up! An extraordinary production! Thank you!

[@NewEnglandForests]

Well, let’s see… if you give it one thumbs-up a day, um….

[@shainemaine1268]

This is a true smoke piece of a documentary. No dumbing -down, Great job

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Wonderful! Beautifully done.

[@ravenwolf7128]

beautiful, educational, great up close photography--the faces of salamanders are adorable. I hope it helps people want to save wetlands, forests, and make more salamander bridges so they can cross roads. I try not to drive on rainy nights around here--don't want to flatten any.

[@Elykar]

As a child I caught 2 yellow spotted salamanders in an event dedicated to doing just that. They were such a cool pet, when my father moved he donated them to a local museum. I hope these creatures can retain their niche as the environmental shifts continue.

[@farcenter]

I found a yellow spotted salamander in a mulch pile I was doing yard work with when I was around 9. He lived for over 5 years as a great pet with me. I'd catch him crickets another invertebrates to feed him, and in the winter would get crickets from Petco. He was a really great pet, very friendly and enjoyed being handled. Mulchy, miss ya little buddy

[@ghostwriter1415]

When I was a child (mid 80's) my parents would take my little brother and I on nature trails in South Carolina, and green lizards were pretty abundant, and relatively simple to catch, but there tails would rip off with there attempts to free themselves, and with that came a little guilt. Only ONCE, here in NC, have I seen a yellow lizard, but there were no spot's, only stripes.

[@crosscountrybankangler]

I hope you have more videos in the works. This channel is a true gem.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Thanks, and yes, another is being worked on now.

[@meninblack58]

I was just watching videos of Tiger Salamanders, great timing!

[@terrymorton7444]

I spend a lot of time in Connecticut forest and have seen many of these salamanders. But there are a few in this video that I have never seen before. Thank you Ray you really have outdone yourself this time. the upclose shots Staring directly into the faces of these little creatures is heart warming. I really especially appreciate the focus on The wildlife and trees of New England's forest. It's sad that so many people feel that these places are lost but they are still here for them to all enjoy.

[@sarahs5340]

You caught the cutest shots of their faces and feet. Endearing.

[@tolbaszy8067]

I have found several species of salamanders in my two acre yard, which is primarily lawn. There are red efts wandering the dense four inch lawn. Purple spotted denizens lurking in my home's foundation drain, and just the other day I managed to disturb a red backed, living in gravel under the northern eaves of our garage. I was digging and severed its tail, which was very distracting writhing away on its own, while its former owner burrowed quickly into the stones. This is a great production! Thanks!

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Fascinating !! Terrific footage / editing / narration ! Who needs David Attenborough ??!

[@clintoncooper3427]

This is very high production quality. I would expect this on a Sunday afternoon on gbh. Thanks!

[@mphillips4324]

This was really cool. Well made. Thank you!

[@tecolote-]

this was really so great. thank you so much!

[@nekonicko]

Great documentary, I just finished watching it together with my friends. We really enjoyed learning about all the different types of salamanders and their life cycles! Thanks and hope you make more videos

[@axltothemaxl5368]

Makes me miss the vernal ponds in my backyard at my old house in Kingston NH, probably had 3 over 3 acres!

[@elisetorello]

I love your KZbin channel so much! Thank you-it is food for the soul.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Thank you, a sentiment like that keeps me smiling.

[@seann4678]

Another wonderful video! This channel is quickly becoming cherished among me and my friends

[@instrb91]

Really enjoyed this video and just subscribed. Keep up the great work!

[@robbcairl3728]

Unbelievable photography Ray. You’ve captured images of events and species I’ve spent a lifetime looking for, usually unsuccessfully. Not to dismiss any part of this video, your four toed salamander segment was historic.

[@natewhelden4463]

10/10 - informative, beautiful video, you guys nailed it once again; the beauty and the reality of the forests. thanks for your work.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Thanks very much!

[@robbcairl3728]

And how could I be so negligent (see my other comment). Kudos to Al, the consummate herpetologist. Guide, expert, and colorful commenter. You guys are a naturalist’s dream team.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Thanks Robbie… Wouldn’t have happened without Al’s help, guidance, and knowledge. 👍

[@kathrynronnenberg1688]

Great respect for the patience, skill, and persistence that it must have taken to capture this amazing video, especially the underground and underwater shots. Beautiful! And the natural audio behind it, too.

[@michael_k7356]

Absolutely amazing footage and information. This is how a wildlife documentary should look like. Greetings from Germany (where we don't have nearly as much diversity in newts and salamanders).

[@KK-hl5hu]

I'm so happy I decided to watch this, I have so many cool salamander facts now! Thank you for your hard work on this, the quality is amazing!

[@diloraptor3191]

Wonderful documentary

[@quasisapien7762]

A beautifully crafted, informative film about fascinating little creatures that most people overlook. It reminded me of my childhood pursuit of looking for them in and around creeks. Than you!

[@sheep1ewe]

This was genuinely interesting!

[@steveg8322]

Fascinating.

[@bendrixbailey1430]

Another superb documentary. I’ve learned so much, and received hours of enjoyment, from your videos. Thank you.

[@yurihuta8487]

This has so much good information and amazing footage!

[@Zooheaded]

Another banger of a video! The newts and salamander are some of my favourite forest and stream critters. Some of the footage here I have never seen anywhere else! Also amazing that we can have the origin of our mud puppy population back to one professor! Thanks for making this! Always happy to see new uploads.

[@Alberad08]

That was pretty interesting! In Middle Europe (at least in Germany) we have just six species of salamanders - non is fully aquatic and none fully terrestrial.

[@swampyankee72]

Thank you so much for this. I found it fascinating. Growing up in Connecticut I saw many spotted salamanders. I saw Red Newt in New Hampshire when I was just a child, I thought they were the coolest thing. But they are the canary in the mine, and they are dying...

[@terrymorton7444]

Well in Connecticut red newts seem plentiful.

[@sampagano205]

This is really cool, im glad you guys are covering local wildlife. I hope you do a feature video on garter snakes in the future. Everyone knows they exist, but very few people realize theyre some of the most interesting snakes in the world. I only found out theyre the most social snakes in the world a few years ago, and i think theyd be more appreciated if that was common knowledge.

[@mattbrown4895]

Wonderful show! Thank you!

[@jakewilson4679]

Great channel and great narrator! 👍

[@michaelhoran407]

Excellent channel including your information on New England old growth trees and spotted salamanders.😊😮s

[@auroraglassproductions]

the video we all need!

[@EnMandi]

Amazing video

[@protectanimals9792]

I miss the magical forests of New England. I’m in Florida where massive habitat destruction is a way of life. An ignorant life.

[@jolouisd]

@@marzupalami Florida has been attracting every right-wing fanatic on the continent for the last eight years. Florida IS NOT like everywhere else.

[@Rexini_Kobalt]

​@marzupalami you should research the history of florida. the _entire state_ is a land reclamation project. the largest ever undertaken, actually. the u.s. army corps of engineers spent alot of time down here. this awful state exists solely because a bunch of rich people wanted to build their own knock-off island paradise in the middle of a swamp. thats really it. the cows kickstarted the economy, nobody wanted anything to do with this place for a long time, till the real estate could finally be developed using _more modern technology_ . prior to floridas transformation, one of the few factors preventing it from happening sooner was literally the technology and tools required would have made the task almost impossible. florida really is just a beautiful place continuously marked by destruction and violence, for ever, end of.

[@goodun2974]

​​@@Rexini_Kobalt, At this point, the entire reason for the state of Florida existing is as an economic vehicle for rich land developers to become even richer by draining and developing swampland, building homes in places that are likely to flood and be subject to severe storm damage, and which should never be built upon. The destruction of wildlife habitat and of the wild spaces that slow and filter the water, and prevent or moderate storm surges and floods, is only half of the equation. The other half is the massive amount of taxpayer money that it will require to help residents after a storm and to repair, replace, or reimburse for, dwellings that have been flooded or destroyed, and the insurance companies can't cover all the losses, and subsequently decide not to write policies in Florida anymore. It's already happening in FL, and in CA as well (due to expensive losses from wildfires). Right now the Florida real estate market is being played a little like a game of musical chairs, with everybody dancing to the drumbeat of all that money being made, except that when the music stops, the rich developers will be the first to be found sitting pretty in a chair on the highest physical and financial ground, or perhaps having moved outside of the state altogether.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Yeah but you've got Pythons and Iguanas !!

[@NaNa-j7b2q]

Its everywhere even up in New England!

[@GrungyNA]

Another outstanding video, great job! Now I have to go search for salamanders tomorrow.

[@liamcol09]

Great video! Your videos are just getting better and better.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Thanks Liam. It’s taken a few years to get a lot of this technology through my dense skull, and every day it gets tougher to keep it in there. But hopefully at least the message comes through clearly.

[@thomaszaccone3960]

This is awesome. You should do one on salamanders of the MidAtlantic states. When i was a kid - in the 1960s and 70s, there were LOTS of vernal pools in the forests of northern New Jersey. Always magical places where life appeared in spring, disappeared in summer, then came back in the fall. Unfortunately, construction here has destroyed many of them. The insect life of these pools is also interesting. Would like to find a good book on them.

[@ghostknifeisland]

Excellent work! Thank you for sharing.

[@annagodsave5402]

Fantastic photography and a mesmerising piece. In the UK, we just have three species of newts - and no salamanders, so I feel quite jealous!

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Yes. Britain probably has the most boring wildlife in the World .!! The fox is our Apex predator...!?!?

[@jhtsurvival]

love this. when I was a kid, every April we would go help amphibians out of the roads!

[@MrPartyplopper]

Hurray for salamanders! ^^

[@hamburger512]

Are the chomping noises with the newts eating the aphids added in or do they actually make those chomping noises? If so I love them even more

[@NewEnglandForests]

Hmmm…. you just might have to find one and observe it closely. Whether you actually hear it chomping or not, you’re going to enjoy the experience. 🙂

[@rogerdudra178]

Thanks, I learned a lot about these critters.

[@kellyharrison5184]

Fascinating! Thank you for creating and sharing this video!

[@OutdoorsWithNoNo]

Really love this content. Thank you so much for providing it!

[@magickdragonwizard]

Good video, I learned a lot.

[@PaintedTurtle001]

Great documentary! Very good narrator! 👍

[@FlowerofDissolution]

This is an amazing, in-depth documentary! :) I've learnt so much!

[@theresarowe1656]

Learned a lot about what we see in our local woods

[@ryomahoffman6803]

I’m going back to Massachusetts in a week from now, I would love to take some time to try and look for some of these species, love the New England is amphibian land!!

[@nashrunner]

Unbelievably well done and well shot. Great work!

[@Bananafoo]

Thank you heaps for all the amazing content you upload. I have watched all your content many times over. Informative, funny, amazing videography. A real pleasure.

[@ledraps22]

Great channel, thanks for the informative and detailed looks into our world!

[@BradyMcLean]

have you guys ever thought of doing a video on the beautiful underwater world of new England's freshwaters.

[@NewEnglandForests]

I don’t think I’d like to spend that much time underwater. But I’m sure it could be an interesting world to explore.

[@HomeSlice97]

As many issues as I have with New England (primarily how crowded and expensive it is, especially near the coast), I absolutely love having grown up here

[@terrymorton7444]

Well we have good news in Connecticut. Our forests are starting to reach old age. Also there's not too much development.

[@juliew393]

Fascinating, i loved it!

[@taytonclait]

A wonderful documentary. Really nice! A side note and half jest; who knew those spotted newts sound exactly like people when licking and munching on their prey? ;)

[@OGzamu3l]

Awesome channel ! I love it ❤

[@rogerdudra178]

Greetings from the BIG SKY. I've only seen the tiger back salamander once near Fort Peck reservoir on the gravel road into Crooked Creek.

[@brocktoon8]

Wow! I learned so much from this video! Thank you for your hard work making this!

[@bookbunny16]

Salamanders are so cute! Great video :)

[@methos1999]

I remember there was a science teacher in HS that was big into the vernal ponds.

[@peterguercio9504]

Mind officially blown! What a great video. I will definitely take a much closer look next spring at the vernal pools, puddles and such.

[@doreenchambers9579]

Thank you so much. I can stop looking for the Mud puppies in Averill Lake in VT.

[@Mephistopholies]

WOW! Top footage! Good show!

[@rawanyassin5386]

This is amazing thank you alot ❤❤❤

[@BRZZ-xw4hd]

very interesting vid.....peace out

[@michaelparham3543]

Such a cool KZbin video! Thanks!

[@rogerdudra178]

I've walked many creeks around here pursuing trout. I never saw salamanders, now I know why.

[@jonathankranz2799]

Astonishingly good!

[@johnshields6852]

I'm Boston guy, I love all wildlife, since watching Mutual of Omaha as a kid in the 60's, but these guys give me the willies.

[@NewEnglandForests]

I imagine they might feel that way about us too!

[@floortap]

Love this video

[@warhorse03826]

we have red-backed salamanders here in NH but we called them "two stripes" because the red back has a black pencil thin line down the middle. must be a local variation.

[@innovativeatavist159]

We need a channel like this for the SE so damn bad. Our diversity is astounding and there's very little being done to show that diversity. People just don't care.

[@terrymorton7444]

I agree That you need one down there. But I'm not too sure that people don't care. I've seen plenty of people chasing snakes through the Southeast. Maybe they need to be encouraged to diversify their footage.

[@neilouellette3004]

Being a young kid back in the late 60's early 70's we used to catch Eastern Red Spotted salamanders by the 100's. After a good rain at my families summer cottage deep in the woods of N.H., salamanders were everywhere. Used to bring a bunch back home and I'd sell them to neighborhood kids for 25 cents each. Not bad for a 7-10 yr old kid.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Did you work for Bernie Madoff ?

[@douglasedwards134]

In Vermont here, i would walk our dirt road & see dozens. Thanks for the memories.

[@dalefluke6472]

Thank you Ray. The other day while walking down my road in rural North Carolina just north of Raleigh I found a red ef in the roadway and enticed it to get onto my sunhat so that I could move it to a safer place. . I hate seeing so many creatures run over on our roads.

[@NewEnglandForests]

I hope the eft gave you a smile in gratitude for that act of kindness 🙂

[@velocity324]

Great video!

[@christianayers622]

I found a Jefferson salamander in Bedford when I was younger!