While Americans worry about catching Ebola, the newts and salamanders are worried about something else entirely!
Whether or not these amphibians know it, a deadly fungus is headed for the states, and it could devastate their populations!
University of Maryland researcher Carly Muletz explained:
“It’s a question of when, not if, this fungus reaches North America.”
How ominous! The fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, was discovered in 2013 in Asia where it killed all but 10 fire salamanders in the Netherlands. It works by eating away at the amphibian’s skin.
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And the biggest concern is how it could enter the continent! Since many Chinese species are immune to the fungus, when they’re bought as pets, it’s carried to a new place, like Europe or North America.
So, efforts are now being made to test any animal that comes into the U.S. for not only things that could harm livestock and humans, but also other animals like newts and salamanders.
Also interesting is that researchers aren’t necessarily worried about the fungus killing pets, but that it will make it out into the wild where amphibians like the Eastern red-spotted Newt have a 100 percent mortality rate!
So sad!
Hopefully they can get this under control before it has the chance to get out of hand!