If you're driving through Riding Mountain National Park over the next few weeks, you'll have to pay a bit more attention to the roads.
Tim Town, Ecologist Lead at Riding Mountain National Park, said there's a slimy amphibian you'll have to watch for this fall: the Western Tiger Salamander.
"The adults will actually spend the majority of their life kind of in a terrestrial environment, so living basically underground in burrows from different burrowing animals, especially during the winter period...this fall period, and right around now, mid-August through September, you'll see all the juveniles basically taking adult form, and migrating back to those, trying to seek those burrows in that terrestrial habitat," said Town.
During the Western Tiger Salamander's migration, they leave their aquatic breeding grounds where they spend the spring and summer, and search for places to spend the winter. That migration can sometimes be more than a kilometre, so Town recommends if you're driving through the park, pay extra close attention to anything crossing the road, no matter how small.
"If you notice that you're driving alongside a wetland, maybe just be a little more cautious, drive a little slower. Obviously your safety comes first, so just keep that in mind, but drive a little slower, and have a little more situational awareness," said Town.
According to Riding Mountain National Park, the fact the Park is a habitat for Western Tiger Salamanders is a sign that the environment is doing very well, and reflect how few toxins there are in the Park that can affect the salamanders.
On the Parks Canada website, a few species of animals within the Park are listed as endangered, threatened, or species of special concern - the Western Tiger Salamander is a species of special concern. Town said the number of protected species in the Park goes to show how important National Parks are to preserving our environment and ecosystems.
"Areas like Riding Mountain National Park, we actively try and monitor any species that come up on those lists, and really make sure that their habitat is protected. We'll create maps for all those species that are listed, including the Western Tiger Salamander, and try and figure out where exactly they are," said Town.
Earlier in the year, Northgate Trails had in-depth discussions with Riding Mountain National Park around construction in an area of the park with a near threatened species, the Golden-winged Warbler.
