Hundreds of dead salamanders found in open space
A mysterious die-off at Red Rock Canyon Open Space in Colorado Springs is causing concern.
Park officials are investigating after hundreds of dead tiger salamanders washed up on shore.
“It’s gross when you see something like that. You want to know why,” said Dottie Hume, who visits the area regularly. “Why is this happening? Is there something in the water?”
“There were at least a couple hundred. It was not easy to miss. Something was going on,” said Kurt Schroeder, the city parks operations manager of Colorado Springs.
“There are a number of environmental factors. First it’s the turbidity of the water from all the rain we had. It mucks up the water. That makes it less than a positive environment for the salamanders,” Schroeder said.
Experts believe the deaths also stem from an algae bloom, which decreases the amount of oxygen in the water.
“A combination of those factors is the bottom line of what created the kill,” Schroeder said.
It seems like nature is already cleaning up after itself. Thanks to all of the ducks and birds in the area, officials are seeing far fewer salamanders washed up on shore.”
“This certainly wasn’t on our radar. We didn’t expect this to happen. It was a good learning experience for us, and what we could expect in the future,” Schroeder said.
