Endangered Salamander in Canada Get Its Own Road

Sometimes a salamander needs a little help, and a species on the Ontario endangered list has received just that from the city of Kitchener, CBC News reports.

City officials there have decided to close off a portion of road to vehicle traffic, to enable the protected Jefferson salamander to cross without meeting an automotive demise.

The road, Stauffer Drive, is a key crossing point for the declining amphibians, which live on either side of the street and cross it each spring to find small ponds that appear after snow has melted.

City officials told CBC News it's the fourth time they have closed the road, which will remain automobile-free until May 1.

Jefferson salamanders can be found from the U.S. Northeast through southern and eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. They're anywhere from 4 to 7 inches long (11 to 18 centimeters) and are black, brown or dark gray.

Being mole salamanders, Jeffersons are accomplished burrowers, and they breed in early spring, as soon as the snow melts. In Kitchener, they won't have to look both ways before crossing the street.

From Discovery News