Fire salamanders: They are born in water, but do not live in water. In the spring, the female lays live larvae with external gills in calm, cool waters. After about 5 months, the metamorphosis begins (a water dweller becomes a land animal), the young are now 5 to 7 centimeters long. They hibernate in crevices under dead wood, they prefer places with high humidity and a temperature between 9 and 12 degrees. In the Steigerwald, the salamander lives mainly in spring areas, such as Wotansborn, in tributaries of the Weilersbach or the Böhlbach. You can find the amphibian when it rains or shortly after, when it also hunts during the day. Look at it, take photos, but please do not pick it up or disturb it in any other way. A new danger appeared in Holland and Belgium a few years ago, a skin fungus called
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans - also known as the salamander-eating fungus. The fungus causes ulcers on the skin, and bacteria can penetrate the wounds, with devastating consequences for the amphibians. Most of the animals that are infected die. In the Netherlands, the fire salamander is almost extinct. In Germany, it has reached the northern Eifel region.