On May 4 and 5, 2026, personnel from Chattanooga Zoo, U.S. Forest Service and Lee University traveled into the Cherokee National Forest to release a total of 64 eastern hellbender salamanders in multiple creeks. This is part of the Hellbender Headstart program — housed at the Chattanooga Zoo — that is working to replenish the eastern hellbender salamander, which is endangered in Tennessee.
Chattanooga Zoo
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Plus: Read Hellbenders Are Having a Moment by Fran Murphy at Blue Ridge Outdoors.