Nevertheless, the tale of Hubbard’s expeditions in search of the Trinity Alps Giant Salamanders was intriguing enough that it caught the attention of the legendary oil tycoon, millionaire, and cryptid hunter Tom Slick, who had scoured the wilds of the world searching for cryptids such as Bigfoot and the Yeti. Although the pedigree of the team leaders was impressive, they were accompanied by 10 laymen who had little scientific training or expedition experience. At the bottom of a lake he reported seeing 5 enormous salamanders that he described as ranging in size from 2-3 metres (5 to 9 feet) long. Nevertheless it is said that Tom Slick especially enjoyed this expedition as it was close to home and so he was able to bring along his sons. Myers allegedly came across a specimen of Asian giant salamander that was captured in the Sacramento River in 1939 by a fisherman. One of the last major mainstream expeditions undertaken to find the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander was by a Japanese American writer and researcher of Native American legends named Kyle Mizogami in 1997. Mysterious Goat Killings in Silicon Valley — Chupacabras? Slick was fascinated by the stories of the Trinity Alps Giant Salamanders, especially the accounts given by Hubbard, and so in 1960 he took some of the people who had been working in the Pacific Northwest on an expedition to find Bigfoot and had them try and locate a specimen of the mysterious giant salamanders. If it appears incomplete or if you wish to see article references, visit the rest of its contents, Captive cheetah gives birth to largest litter ever recorded. Hubbard later claimed to have seen the creatures himself during his excursions and to have actually established their existence, but since no evidence has ever been put forward to support these claims it is unknown just what they found, and in fact there have been some who doubt these expeditions ever took place at all. It is not known what happened to the specimen after that. The conditions and habitat of the Trinity Alps are virtually the same as the hellbender and the Asian giant salamanders, so perhaps it is possible something larger could exist here. The hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is a Cryptobrachnid that lives in the northeastern United States and can reach sizes of up to 30 to 74 cm (12 to 29 in) in length. This species is also known by the following name(s): Pacific Giant Salamander. So are the Trinity Alps of Northern California the home of monstrous species of giant salamander, or is this all merely misidentification, tall tales, and folklore? The eastern species became Dicamptodon aterrimus - Idaho Giant Salamander. It was with this story that a long, weird history of giant salamander sightings in the Trinity Alps region would begin, with numerous eyewitness accounts coming in that all similarly described very large salamanders ranging from 5 to 10 feet in length and with dark brown to black coloration. The fascinated hunter went about trying to catch one of the strange creatures with a hook on a line and allegedly was successful, but the massive creature proved to be too strong for him and he was forced to give up and let it swim back down to the bottom to join the others. Get the MegaPack collection now for this great price. Area(s) Where Listed As Endangered: California Facts Summary: The California Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus) is a species of concern belonging in the species group "amphibians" and found in the following area(s): California. This was the very same sort of result Rodgers had previously had, and he grew skeptical of the existence of anything larger in the area. games and coloring pages! The expedition was able to locate at least a dozen of the known Pacific giant salamanders (Dicamptodontidae), but none were over a foot long; impressive, but nowhere near the 8 foot plus lengths reported for the mystery salamanders. The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicas) can reach sizes of to 1.44 m (4.7 ft) in length, whereas the Chinese variety (Andrias davidianus) can get even larger, at a maximum size of 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long. After an exhaustive search of several promising areas, the expedition failed to find any evidence of the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander, and did not even manage to spot one. Tags California cryptid Cryptozoology Giant Salamander natural world river monster Strange Creatures. This report was heard by none other than the man the lake was named after, Jesuit scholar Father Hubbard, who was also an avid explorer and naturalist. This theory was bolstered by a paper in a scientific journal written by a herpetologist named George S. Myers in 1951, who agreed that the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander could be a type of Asian giant salamander of the genus Andrias, also called Megalobatrachus, and provided his own bizarre first hand sighting to prove it. Would you like to receive a notice and link when the The lack of any evidence of the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander besides scattered sightings reports does not make a strong case for its alleged existence, but the idea of giant salamanders living in the area undiscovered is not completely far-fetched and is in fact scientifically plausible in theory. Conservation Status. Status/Date Listed as Endangered: NT-IUCN: 2004. Meyers was allow to examine the specimen up close, and wrote of the discovery: The animal was a fine Megalobatrachus, in perfect condition… It was between 25 and 30 inches in length…The source of the specimen is, of course, unknown. We know that the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders can reach huge sizes, nearly 6 feet for the Chinese variety, possibly even larger, and in fact there is a relative of these beasts living in the United States. Both are what are known as Cryptobranchids, from the family Cryptobranchidae, a group of giant salamanders known for their large sizes and the prominent folds that cover their bodies in order to create more surface area to absorb oxygen from the water. A more detailed and entertaining account of the Tom Slick Trinity Alps expedition, as well as many of his other adventures, can be found in cryptozoologist Loren Coleman’s book Tom Slick: True Life Encounters in Cryptozoology. The California tiger salamanders around Sonoma County and Santa Barbara are endangered, which means they are in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.California tiger salamanders in the Central Valley are threatened. A disjunct population exists farther to the south in Monterey County (Anderson, 1969; Nussbaum, 1976). One such creature is a purported gigantic salamander that lurks within the remote rivers and lakes of the Trinity Alps of Northern California, and has managed to remain frustratingly elusive and fairly little known by the general public. Whatever the case may be, if you ever find yourself out for a spot of hiking or camping out in the wilderness of the Trinity Alps, you may just want to keep your eye on the water just in case. Within its sweeping vistas of pristine mountain wilderness lives a flourishing variety of wildlife, including large species such as bears, deer, mountain lions, and wolverines, as well as numerous smaller species of mammals, reptiles, and birds. The Pacific Giant Salamander is protected from killing or collecting under the Wildlife Act in British Columbia. However, his team was able to find numerous specimens of Pacific giant salamander of the family (Dicamptodontidae), a known species which can attain a length of around 30 cm (12 in). Check out our Harden also claimed to have hooked one on a line, but just as had happened with Griffith in the 1920s, the monstrous salamander proved too formidable to bring up to the surface and it was turned loose. / Moriarty, John J., ed. Brent Swancer May 18, 2015. These sightings would in turn launch various expeditions into the Trinity Alps wilderness in order to try and find these enigmatic monsters. The lack of any good recent sightings also does not bode well, and it seems this could also mean that even if the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander did in fact exist, it could have already gone extinct. The species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range, but they are not in danger of extinction right now. This article is only an excerpt. More to come soon. The modern mystery of the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander started back in the 1920s, when a hunter by the name of Frank L. Griffith was out hunting deer in a remote area near the head of the New River when he came across a rather bizarre sight. Discoveries are still made of such creatures within the United States, most notable the discovery of a whole new genus of lungless salamander, called Urspelerpes brucei, in the Appalachian foothills. Search for an endangered species profile. The Trinity Alps are located within the Klamath Mountains System, between the California Coast Ranges to the west and the Cascade Range to the east. He also theorized that the mystery salamanders could be a new type of giant salamander related to the Asian giant salamander, truly huge creatures that inhabit the streams and rivers of Japan and China. Copyright © Mysterious Universe. Share. Hubbard at first was highly skeptical of the reports of giant salamanders in the Trinity Alps, but upon analyzing other similar sightings in the region he had a change of heart and started to think there might be something to the stories. Rodgers was unable to locate neither any specimens nor any evidence of them. Mysterious Universe is a property of 8th Kind Pty Ltd, Cryptozoology A To Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature. This species is also known by the following name(s): Pacific Giant Salamander. It seems that at least the idea of a new species of giant salamander existing in the remote wilds of Northern California is not a completely far out notion. The field of cryptozoology, which deals with the search for undiscovered, or hidden, animals, encompasses a rather vast menagerie of mystery creatures of all shapes and sizes found in all types of habitats in every far-flung corner of the globe, from the most secluded jungles to the deepest seas. One of the first serious attempts to find a specimen of the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander was made by a biologist named Thomas L. Rodgers. It has been "red-listed" by British Columbia, meaning that it is being considered for "threatened" or "endangered" status. Are you inspired by endangered animals? The Pacific Giant Salamander is a rare species due to several factors, the most important of which are limited range, human activities, severe weather, and predation. 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