Salamander Pileup Surprises Homeowner on Doorstep

Apparently when salamanders party, everyone's invited. At least, that was the case for a recent shindig in Missouri where a hoard of salamanders piled up on a homeowner's doorstep for a surprise visit.

Ringed salamanders, members of the Ambystomatid family, typically spend most of their lives underground, hiding under logs and rocks or in burrows made by small mammals, seldom venturing into the open, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Apparently the same cannot be said of this friendly bunch.

In the fall and winter these amphibians emerge from the ground and migrate to a pond to breed, usually during cool temperatures and after heavy rains. And since the ringed salamander is typically secretive, they often travel by night to settle in ponds formed by the rain which, lucky for them, are usually fish free, so predators aren't an issue. As many as hundreds of salamanders can congregate in one place to breed.

"So, the ringed salamanders that this Missouri homeowner found on their doorstep had undoubtedly just emerged from their subterranean lairs and were undertaking their annual terrestrial migration to a breeding wetland," wildlife biologist Dr. David Steen told The Dodo.

Steen and other experts still aren't sure why this slippery species ended up on someone's doorstep of all places (something tells me it wasn't to borrow a cup of sugar), but it's possible they were thrown off route by nearby construction.

Nevertheless, they were happily removed from the Missouri doormat and put in their rightful place.

"Our St. Louis office got a call last week from a homeowner who had this pile of ringed salamanders trapped in an outside stairway," the Missouri Department of Conservation wrote on its Facebook page. "The salamanders were moved to a nearby fishless pond so they could continue."

Ringed salamanders are slender amphibians, on average running five to seven inches long, with white or yellow rings as its name suggests. Like other salamanders, this species preys on many small invertebrates, but is itself prey to larger predators like snakes, hawks and raccoons.