The fire salamander is on the Red List of Threatened Species. A protection project in Bavaria should help him. The animal species is in acute danger from two sides.
Bayreuth (dpa / lby) - The fire salamander in Bavaria is not only endangered by an introduced fungal disease - but also by the drought of the past few months. "In some waters, the larvae have not managed to complete their development because the water has dried up," said Malvina Hoppe, aquatic ecologist at the State Association for Bird Protection (LBV). In some regions it was possible to transfer larvae to other bodies of water. "How many larvae actually made it remains to be seen."
A species support project for the fire salamander is currently underway in Bavaria. Among other things, the larvae should be counted in order to get an overview of the distribution of the fire salamander.
Adult animals are more mobile and could have protected themselves better from heat and drought in their daytime hiding places, Hoppe said. "However, it can also be critical for them in structurally poor forests when the daytime hiding places are already scarce and some of them are lost due to the drought."
If people discover larvae that are in danger, they should not move them themselves, but contact the LBV or the Bund Naturschutz (BN). Implementation must be coordinated with the Lower Nature Conservation Authority. In addition, hygiene standards must be observed. Because even more than the current drought, the fungal disease Bsal is dangerous for the fire salamander population. Hoppe emphasized: "In our neighboring countries Belgium and the Netherlands, the fungus has almost completely wiped out the population of fire salamanders."
In June 2020, an infection was confirmed for the first time in a fire salamander from the Steigerwald near Ebrach (Bamberg district). The fungus Bsal (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) was probably introduced from Asia and was first detected in a wild animal in Germany in 2015: in the Eifel on the Belgian border. The deadly skin fungus causes holes and lumps and can kill salamanders in a matter of days. Newts are also in danger. The fungus is harmless to humans and other animals. Fire salamanders live mainly in the headwaters of low mountain streams and in the alpine area.
