New wildlife photographer's viral hellbender photos offer learning opportunity about species myths (no, they don't eat trout) and social media response

In this photo by Edward Knowles III, of Mullica Hill, NJ, an Eastern hellbender interacts with a dead trout along a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. According to longtime species researcher Dr. Peter Petokas, hellbenders do not eat trout.

​Impressed with the growing number of fascinating posts of wildlife photography on social media, Edward Knowles III, of Mullica Hill, NJ, picked up a Canon R8 camera with 600 mm lens just two weeks ago, self-educating himself on ways to improve his photography and editing abilities.

On May 19, he was offered the perfect subject to hone those skills.

“I was with a group of guys fishing and we found a dead trout along the shore that laid there about an hour without any activity when suddenly a large salamander came up and approached the trout,” he said. “He came up, checked it out, grabbed it by the head and pulled it into the water. Once he got into the stream, he separated from it and dispersed. It all happened so quickly that I only got two photos.”

Those photos have since drawn massive response on Facebook in a group called “Wildlife Photographers” – drawing more than 11,000 likes, loves and surprised emoji responses, 900 shares and nearly 900 comments. 

“I have heard about hellbenders before, but had never seen one in person. I really wasn’t all that educated about them,” he said. “I just posted the photos on Facebook not thinking about it, thinking it was cool, and suddenly there was this free-for-all with all the people responding.”

The Eastern hellbender is Pennsylvania’s state amphibian and largest salamander in both our state and country – one of the three largest species in the world. They are mostly nocturnal, eat crayfish and have seen a drastic reduction in habitat. As much as 95 percent of it has been lost in the Susquehannna River basin according to longtime hellbender researcher Dr. Peter Petokas. 

Hellbenders require clean water – any pollution can be breathed directly through its skin and kill the creature, long considered an indicator species of clean water in the state.

​They also require large rock structures on the bottom of streams to take refuge and house their nests, so sedimentation has become a major threat to the hellbender’s habitat. 

In this photo by Edward Knowles III, of Mullica Hill, NJ, an Eastern hellbender interacts with a dead trout along a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. According to longtime species researcher Dr. Peter Petokas, hellbenders do not eat trout.

Edward Knowles III, of New Jersey, recently took images of a hellbender interacting with a dead trout along a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna.

​Another major hurdle for the species – which was proposed for endangered status nationwide by the US Fish and Wildlife Service after legal pushes by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, Centers for Biological Diversity and Waterkeeper Alliance, among others – are incorrect stereotypes about their behaviors and intentions in our waterways.

Among them is that hellbenders are a threat to trout species in waterways they share.

“Hellbenders do scavenge dead fish, but generally tear off flesh rather than ingest the entire fish unless it is small enough to do so. They mainly feed on crayfish, but I have found margined madtoms and other small stream fishes in their diet,” said Petokas, who has studied hellbenders locally and up into New York state for more than two decades. “I have never found trout in any of the hellbenders we have examined.”

In this case, Knowles is adamant that the hellbender did not catch or kill the trout.

“I have about five or six witnesses. I can confirm that trout was dead a while before I saw the salamander approach it as it floated on the shoreline,” he said. “To be honest, I was shocked about the whole thing. I love nature … I’m not even that much of a fisherman. I was just hoping to get some cool pictures of birds while the others fished and then this all happened.”

The moment occurred along one of the tributaries of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. More specific details of sharing the location of any hellbender sighting is strongly discouraged.

“It offers a location where people who are curious may try to find their own hellbenders, turn rocks and potentially damage habitat,” said Petokas. “We don’t want people getting a false image of hellbenders being predators on trout or any specifics on location as a way to protect a species that is already struggling to survive on the whole.”

Beyond the education he received through this experience – both in seeing the hellbender and the response afterward online – Knowles relayed that his recent pursuit of photography in nature is already paying dividends in that it intentionally connects him to nature in a more meaningful way.

“I am definitely getting out there more than I would have without the camera,” he said. “It was great to see the waters so clean. It was just beautiful out and it was nice to see our wildlife thriving in their element.”

The whole situation offers the perfect opportunity for education and continued discussion, according to Riverkeeper John Zaktansky.

"A picture may be worth a 1,000 words, but only tells a story in one moment of time. It can be easy for some to look at Mr. Knowles' photos and assume the hellbender is trying to swallow an adult trout whole like a snake would, but once you get better context about what really happened, you realize that wasn't the case," he said. "For centuries, people have misunderstood the hellbender and the species has unfortunately taken the brunt of that misconception. That is obvious when scrolling through some of the comments on these images on Facebook. 

"Ultimately, Edward Knowles got this really cool opportunity and captured it for everyone to enjoy and appreciate who couldn't be with him that day. Instead of assuming the worst and using these images as whetstones to sharpen our hellbender-torturing pitchforks, let's celebrate the cool moment in nature that he shared with us and use it as a catalyst for education about a species that desperately needs our understanding and protection."

For more on hellbenders and efforts toward better protecting them, please visit www.middlesusquehannariverkeeper.org/hellbenders.html