The Tigers in my Backyard

For the past 2 years, I’ve had a problem with the man-made pond in our backyard. The pump to keep the water full and flowing worked, but unfortunately the 3 feet of rocks the water cascades down when the pump is turned on are not solid. There are cracks between the rocks, so eventually the water level goes down, down, down.

Consequently, I’ve not been using the pump. At least then the water stays in the pond. At least when the hot summer sun doesn’t evaporate it.

Then, unfortunately, the willows and other plants surrounding the pond start to wither.

So there are times that I have to use our precious well water to fill it. Water can be somewhat scant in New Mexico, and keeping a man-made pond full seemed pretty wasteful. I found myself silently cursing the home’s owner (just before us) who thought a pond was a good idea.

Last summer I was ready to eliminate it entirely and put in a deck or garden. The water was full of algae and during mosquito season it was a fabulous breeding ground for the little pests.

But that was before last September, when I discovered some baby salamanders with gills swimming around in the pond. Oh no… I couldn’t see snatching their habitat away. My entire childhood was spent watching and capturing salamanders from my native Ohio creeks. I’ve always had a soft spot for the little guys.

And this past winter we were blessed with lots of rain and snow, which filled the pond pretty full.

Two weeks ago my grand kids went “fishing” in the little pond using a net on a stick that is twice their height. They caught dozens of the little baby salamanders, picking them up and placing them in little jars full of pond water. They were all set to take them back home to their cabin.

I admired their catches, then gently informed them that the salamanders had to stay in the pond. They were happy there, and they were able to catch food to eat. Big sighs… “But Grammy! We’ll take good care of them!” Luckily their mother concurred. The salamanders stayed in Grammy’s pond.

I’ve got Tigers!

Last weekend in great excitement grandson Cassidy told me he saw a large yellow spotted black salamander in the pond, coming up for a tasty surface bug before diving back down. I asked him how big it was and he held his hands about 9” apart. Then he drew me a picture of it. Hmmm. Together we looked up native salamanders in New Mexico.

Sure enough! Tiger salamanders are native to this area. They breed in ponds. They have spots and (sort of) stripes. They are yellow and black. They can grow over 8” long. And their young look exactly like the little salamanders with gills that we have so many of.

I’ve tried to get a photograph, but the big breeding mama (or papa) has yet to make another appearance, at least when I’ve been ready with my phone. So I drew one. Hopefully I can replace the drawing with a photograph someday, but that’s all I have for now. You can look the real thing up on line here. But if you love salamanders like I do, be warned…in this article I discovered that the young are used as bait by fishermen!

To me that just ain’t right. At least in MY pond they’ll stay safe. Guess I’ll be keeping it for now!