A river monster called Chinese giant salamander which is the largest amphibian in the world is now on the brink of extinction, all blame the food chain. The salamander became a famous delicacy of the luxury diners and so much so that people may not get to eat it anymore! This Chinese giant salamander is fully aquatic and found in the rocky mountain streams and lakes in China. They grow upto 1.8 m but are well relished for their chewy flesh which apparently tastes like chicken.

It is indeed sad that the 170 million survivor is now fighting for survival, because of certain epicureans. Salamanders are embedded in the Chinese myth and folklore, representing the iconic sign of yin and yan. These are said to be two salamanders intertwined. The prized 'food' however is seen to be disappearing from their habitats. Researchers carried out an extensive survey across 97 places where these salamanders were earlier found. To their utter disappointment, they have all vanished from the freshwater lakes.

Scientists found out that there are 5 species of these but all of them are feared to be going extinct. The humans have devastated their populations so much that they are critically endangered. A study on this species was published in the journal Current Biology. The co-author Dr Samuel Turvey, from Zoological Society of London’s Institute of Zoology, said, “The overexploitation of these incredible animals for human consumption has had a catastrophic effect on their numbers in the wild over an amazingly short time-span. Unless coordinated conservation measures are put in place as a matter of urgency, the future of the world’s largest amphibian is in serious jeopardy.”

The research lasted for 4 years and there was not even a single significant finding of the salamanders in the wild. Besides, the scientists express that the ones they found were not the wild, but genetically adapted. They found only 24 salamanders and after analysing them it occurred that those were from the commercial salamander farms, where creatures are grown for food. The wild ones are nearly extinct and the genetically swamped out ones may not be able to survive long. The findings are really shocking and point out once again to the damage humans have caused to nature, to an extent of extinction in the name of food.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2018 05:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).