News & Awards

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Hellbender News & Awards

Purdue leads efforts to restore hellbender populations in Indiana through habitat restoration, farmer partnerships, and captive rearing, releasing hundreds into the Blue River to improve water quality and biodiversity.

Purdue Hellbender News & Awards

Help the Hellbender Research Program Honored with Friends of Conservation Award — 28 February 2025

The Help the Hellbender research program, based in Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources, was honored with the National Association of Conservation...

Restoring Indiana's Hellbenders — 19 November 2024

The eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) is a large, fully aquatic salamander whose nicknames include snot otter, water...

Help the Hellbender Team Honored as Friends of Conservation — 19 January 2024

Dr. Rod Williams, extension wildlife specialist Nick Burgmeier and the Help the Hellbender team were honored for their collaboration with partners,...

Researchers Discover Young Hellbender in Blue River — 31 July 2023

Biologists with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Purdue University recently documented a very young hellbender salamander, a...

Help the Hellbender Lab Honored for Conservation Efforts — 09 June 2023

Dr. Rod Williams and the Help the Hellbender research team have earned three honors in 2023 for their work in conserving and advancing research and...

Help the Hellbender Program Receives Hoosier Outdoor Writers Conservation Award — 24 October 2022

The Help the Hellbender team, led by Dr. Rod Williams, professor of wildlife science, has been honored by the Hoosier Outdoor Writers group with...

Hellbenders in the Headlines

Discover how hellbenders are making waves in the news across the country.
  • Genetically Derived Effective Population Size Estimates of Herpetofaunal Species Should be Used with Caution, The Wildlife Society. Read Article
  • Eastern Hellbender, a Sentinel of of Water Quality, Bred in Captivity for First Time, at Evansville zoo, Hearald Bulletin. Read Article - subscription required
  • Underwater Videos Improve Hellbender Conservation, The Wildlife Society. Read Article
  • All Hail the Great Hellbender Salamander!, Goodness Exchange. Read Article
  • Kentucky Streams no Longer Heaven for Hellbenders, The Wildlife Society. Read Article
  • Scientists Are Releasing the Lovingly Nicknamed 'Snot Otters' Into Ohio Waterways in a Big Success for Conservation, Smithsonian Magazine. Read Article
  •  Hellbender Salamanders are Huge—and in Trouble, Popular Science. Read Article 
  • Public Asked to Report Hellbender and Mudpuppy Sightings, Carolina Sportsman. Read Article
  • Hellbender Salamander, That Nature Conservancy. Read Article
  • Hellbenders Found in a New Pennsylvania Water, PENN Live Patriot News. Read Article - subscription required
  • Rescue Effort Begins for Disappearing Hellbenders in Virginia Streams, Virginia Tech. Read Article
  • A Statewide Conservation Effort is Saving Ohio’s ‘Snot Otters’, The Statehouse News Bureau. Read Article
  • Releasing Hellbenders into the Wild 2025, Nashville Zoo. Read Article
  • Searching for Hellbenders, North America’s Largest Salamanders, in Appalachia, The New York Times. Read Article - Login Required