Tag: wildlife encounters

Watch your Boots if you Hike with Newts

Watch your step! Rough-skinned newts are on the move this time of year in the valley’s of Western Oregon.  

Rough-skinned newt in Beazell Memorial Forest

Don’t Crush a Newt

A couple of years ago, while hiking with my daughter in Beazell Memorial County Forest, King’s Valley, OR, we discovered a trail littered with rough-skinned newts. Dozens upon dozens of all shapes and sizes, walked clumsily across and past us on the trail.  They were so abundant that we needed to watch our step to avoid crushing them.  Quickly, our ordinary hike in the woods was becoming an unforgettable wildlife adventure. We reveled in the spectacle.  

This year I decided to head back to Beazell to see if the newts were out and about again. And though I was unable to replicate my 2018 experience, the visit got me thinking about the life cycle and circumstance of a rough-skinned newt.  I see rough-skinned newts perhaps more than any other amphibian in Oregon.  Yet, that fateful day in April was something special.  As I trudged up the hill to reach the south meadows of Beazell, I resolved to learn a bit more about these charismatic, orange-bellied creatures, and what sort of mischief they got themselves into. 

Hike at a Glance

  • Trailhead: Beazell Forest Trailhead
  • Distance: 3.9 miles
  • Elevation gain: about 800 feet
  • Notes: There are many options for loops here. You can go a bit longer or shorter depending on your energy. Easy parking and restrooms on site.
View from the south meadow

Death by Newt

Don’t be fooled by rough-skinned newts’ seemingly good-natured demeanor. They may appear benign, but these newts have a seedy underbelly- a very orange seedy underbelly.  Let me explain…

The story goes that in the 1960s three hunters from Oregon were found dead sitting around a campfire with no sign of struggle or injury. The only clue to their death was a coffee pot with a rough-skinned newt curled up inside.  It is thought that the pot, newt and all, had been unwittingly used to prepare their morning coffee- killing the men. 

Toxic Orange 

Though rough-skinned newts are generally a rather drab color of brown on top, they have a bright orange underside. Bright colors are commonly found in the animal kingdom when an animal is trying to make a point- that point being- “I am incredibly toxic so you better leave me alone.” Think, poison dart frog, and you get the picture.  

Rough-skinned newts are no exception.  In fact, rough-skinned newts have a reputation as the most toxic amphibian in the Pacific Northwest; possibly the most toxic on the planet. They produce a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin (TTX) that blocks voltage-gated sodium channels, important neural pathways. Hence our dead hunters. 

Their toxic orange skin might help explain why newts aren’t particularly evasive too. Just a quick flash of their orange underside (a move called the unken reflex) is an informative gesture meant to deter any predator that might attempt to consume it. Many have tried.  Many have failed. The message is simple- “drink the coffee”- aka eat newt- and you too will face a bitter end. 

Small juvenile newt during migration

The Race

Interestingly, the production of TTX in newt populations has led to an evolutionary arms race with common garter snakes- rough-skinned newts’ only significant predators.  Garter snakes adapt to the poison, but lose some of their prowess. Research has shown a drop in crawl speed in snakes that survive newt skin poisoning. Apparently, the trade off is worth it- evolutionarily speaking.  

However, with more recent research into the source of newt TTX, a third organism has become part of the picture- bacterium.  Though it is difficult to confirm sole responsibility, recent studies have found that some species of bacteria that reside on the skin of a toxic rough-skinned newt are capable of producing TTX.  This suggests the intriguing possibility that our newt is part of a sordid co-evolutionary 3-way yet to be fully understood.

Watery Beginnings

Rough-skinned newts start their lives in water.  Eggs are laid individually and anchored to the underside of leaves or other debris. Upon hatching, rough-skinned newts will spend at least three months as larvae with bushy gills until they metamorphose into adults. Some will never metamorphose- a phenomenon known as neoteny- and simply live out their days in perpetual youth; sort of like a 30-something living in their parent’s basement- why move?

However, most rough-skinned newts will eventually move to a more terrestrial existence. Here they spend much of their time resting under the cover of logs, rocks, or other surface objects, or foraging for food. It is not unusual to see the proud swagger of a newt looking for a tasty invertebrate, especially following a nice rain.  

Plunkett Creek in Beazell Memorial Forest

Springtime Madness

Then, with the onset of spring, and a particularly warm rain- an instinct is triggered in the newts -and it is time to move!  The migration of rough-skinned newts is a heroic spring ritual, as they make their way in droves out from their winter hiding places, toward their breeding grounds. They will travel miles if necessary to make it back to the same pond or body of water to breed year after year; each time following a similar migratory route. 

It is thought that males will generally travel individually, while females have been reported to travel in large groups during migration.  It is possible that the April 2018 my daughter and I experienced was just that sort of event- a gathering of females in anticipation for the “big night.”  To stretch the analogy further, during mating season, males will also exchange their rough, bumpy skin for a more polished appearance- putting on smooth supple skin, a tall tail, and black pads on the soles of their feet. 

Newt during migration on April 28, 2018

The Dance of a Lifetime

When a female arrives at “the dance” (let’s call it), she is swarmed for attention, eventually finding herself locked in a close tango with a single male. This underwater dance can last for several hours.  Then, before the “night” ends the male will drop a package containing sperm (a spermatophore) behind for the female to pick up. If accepting of the gift, she will store it in her reproductive organs. A few days later, when the time is right, the female will then use the stored spermatophores to fertilize her eggs and deposit them one-by-one, preparing a new generation to dance. 

Watch your Hiking Boot

So next time you hit the trail on a warm, wet spring day, keep an eye out and tread lightly. You just might find yourself encircled by a herd of rough-skinned newts. Emboldened by their bright orange belly, they will brazenly follow their chosen route. Not even the crushing force of your hiking boots will hinder them on their path.