Fire salamander in the morning

What a start into the day!

I walked on my normal way to work, along the Lake of Lucerne. Yesterday I saw a big dead fish on the shore and a very green caterpillar on one of the trees. This is the reward for my habit of looking around.

This morning it was wet and gray. I was a bit sad that all the feathers of the swans, that they are loosing now while molting, were wet and so I couldn’t collect them.

But suddenly I stopped in my walk – and I’m glad I did. One more step and I’d have stepped on a fire salamander!

It was definitely in the wrong place: on the tarmac between traffic and the lake. Absolutely not the place for an amphibian besides that it was wet (at the moment).

So I lifted it up and called karch.ch (coordination for amphibians and reptiles in Switzerland). She told me, that fire salamanders need a little creek in a forrest or so. Nothing like that close bye.

So I took the beautiful salamander to the office and showed it to my colleagues. The were all surprised and fascinated.

the box outside my office window, where it had to wait

 

beautiful salamandra salamandra terrestris

After another call I decided to bring it to the Rootsee, where there is a hopefully perfect habitat.
The person I called did not forget to tell me, that fire salamanders are poisonous and I should wash my hands.

How lucky am I to see such a beautiful creature!

~ by Natalie on June 23, 2015.