Tiger Trouble

Ever since I relocated to Northern Indiana for college, I always had one species of salamander on my mind-the Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). Although tigers can be found in Southern Indiana, populations are scattered and disjunct, making them hard to find. The species is much more widespread and numerous in the Northern half of the state.

All winter, I looked forward to spring with anticipation and the expectation that I would find many tigrinum, similarly to how easily I could find Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) in my native Southern Indiana. I spent hours researching and eventually came up with a few good vernal pools I could check in spring, some of which had confirmed tiger presence. Unfortunately, once spring rolled around, my efforts seemed to be largely fruitless. 

I had found a Smallmouth Salamander (Ambystoma texanum) 

 And even a couple Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)

....which were both really nice (especially the Spotteds, as they are not commonly seen in NW IN), but not the tiger I desired.

 The entire month of March I failed at finding tigers using my usual Ambystomatid diurnal search methods despite being at several confirmed pools. However, in my various searches I finally located a vernal I was able to visit at night. With the rain forecasted later in the week, I knew they wouldn't be in the water much longer, so I decided to make a trip to a couple vernal pools on Wednesday night, April 1st, before Thursday's rains triggered the "reverse" migration of the salamanders back into their fossorial homes.

First, I checked out a small vernal in a densely forested area, where previously I had seen peepers, chorus frogs, and Ambystomatid egg masses which I strongly suspected belonged to the Polyploid Ambystoma complex.

Sadly, it seemed the salamanders had already moved out of this pond, as I found no trace of any adults.  However, both species of small treefrog (Psuedacris) were quite abundant.

    Spring Peeper (Psuedacris crucifer)

Western Chorus Frog (Psuedacris triseriata) (photo from previous visit when there was still ice on the pond) 

After that, I continued on to the main large pond, which I suspected was perfect for tigrinum. Unlike most vernal pools I have searched, this pond was very large and had large copious amounts of vegetation.

Photo from a previous visit. The log yielded the two Spotted Salamanders pictured above. This picture only represents maybe 1/4 of the entire wetland.

When I arrived, I found nothing but completely ridiculous amounts of peepers assaulting my eardrums. I'm no stranger to visiting wetlands at night and hearing loud frog calls, but now I truly understand what people mean when they describe peeper choruses as "ear ringing".

Spring Peepers (Psuedacris crucifer) in amplexus 

I went on along the perimeter of the pond, dodging frogs as I scanned the water for any signs of salamanders.  I noticed a large Snapping Turtle in the middle of the pond, but it was too far out for pictures. Luckily I saw two more later closer to shore.

Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina)

Snapping turtles seem to have a fondness for ephemeral wetlands. I couldn't help but wonder if they were there for the same reason I was...with a more nefarious purpose. Snappers are voracious predators and adult salamanders and frogs would be found easily in large numbers during the breeding season, making a good, reliable prey source.

Anyway, I left the snappers be and continued on along the perimeter.  I eventually found egg masses of every salamander species I either knew or suspected used the pond, besides smallmouth salamanders. I also managed to hear the chuckles of Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens) and possibly Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) although the huge density and volume of the peepers make me unsure about the latter.

Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) Eggs with Fairy Shrimp

Ambystoma Polyploid  (Ambystoma sp.) Eggs

And lastly, I found eggs of my target.
Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) Eggs

As you can see, these tiger eggs were far more developed than those of the other species, representing their tendency to be the earliest breeders in the pond.

About 5 feet from the eggs, I saw a glimpse of a tail disappearing beneath a dense mat of reeds. Even though I saw it for less than a second, I knew the purple-black tail with yellow mottling had to be a tiger. I frantically dip netted the area, but it was of course long gone. Frustrated but hopeful, I continued on.

Five minutes later I was feeling disheartened, but then at last I saw the very distinctive head and body of a tiger resting on the bottom of the pool in open water. Thinking this would be an easy catch, I crept up-but much to my dismay, the salamander reacted much quicker than I expected and swam into a nearby clump of vegetation. I had my eyes glued on it, so I was able to make out the tip of the tail in the reeds. I weighed my options-try to guide it back into open water to catch it in the net? This seemed too risky. I eventually opted for plunging my bare hand straight to where the salamander was and grabbing as much vegetation and muck as I could to reduce the chance of escape. As I brought a handful of pond sludge up I was disappointed-I only felt reeds and muck in my hands, and not the squirming body of a caudate. I tossed the muck in my net to sort through to be sure, and sure enough, I had succeeded!

Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)

This animal was extremely squirmy and resistant to pose, but with a little effort I managed to get some usable shots.  

And of course, I had to get a selfie with it.

Indeed a very beautiful salamander, perhaps the most magnificent of the Ambystomatids. Excited, satisfied and tired, I packed up and headed home.