In the fastflowing streams of eastern Tennessee, Emilly Nolan is working hard to reestablish a population for a strange looking animal with an even stranger array of nicknames. The Eastern hellbender—aka “snot otter,” aka “lasagna lizard”—is one of the largest salamanders on Earth, growing to nearly 2 feet in length. Sadly, humans have been tampering with their natural habitat, and hellbenders are disappearing from streams in the Cherokee National Forest. Nolan, along with a team of researchers at Tennessee State University, are working on relocating the hellbenders to new streams. In this episode of “Mission Wild,” Wes Larson slips into a wetsuit and gets hands on with these slippery salamanders.

SUBSCRIBE: https://goo.gl/vR6Acb

#MissionWild #EasternHellbender #salamander

This story is a part of our Planet Earth series. From mammals to insects and birds to reptiles, we share this great big world with all manner of creatures, large and small. Come with us to faraway places as we explore our great big planet and meet some of its wildest inhabitants.

Got a story idea for us? Shoot us an email at hey [at] GreatBigStory [dot] com

Follow us behind the scenes on Instagram: http://goo.gl/2KABeX
Make our acquaintance on Facebook: http://goo.gl/Vn0XIZ
Give us a shout on Twitter: http://goo.gl/sY1GLY
Come hang with us on Vimeo: http://goo.gl/T0OzjV
Visit our world directly: http://www.greatbigstory.com