This morning we happened upon a California Giant Salamander, Dicamptodon ensatus, (also known as Pacific Giant Salamander) on the Bear Valley Trail in Point Reyes. It was about 10" in length, but some park rangers, who happened by, said that it would grow to almost twice that size. These salamanders can produce a rattling sound and large adults may deliver a painful bite. Females lay eggs, which hatch in about five months.
What surprised us, was that the salamander remained perfectly motionless as we approached and examined it. Could we have come upon a plastic replica that a prankster had placed on the trail? To our relief it finally tired of our picture-taking, turned tail, so to speak, and disappeared into the high grass.
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