(Nov. 28, 2023) Roughly a year after a zoo-reared Ozark hellbender successfully fathered a clutch of eggs in the wild, an eastern hellbender has followed suit. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) confirmed the first eastern hellbender raised in human care at the Saint Louis Zoo has reproduced in the wild on the Gasconade River. The news shows MDC’s partnership with the Saint Louis Zoo to recover hellbender populations is creating a bright future for the endangered Ozark and eastern hellbender in Missouri. See news release from Missouri Department of Conservation.
November 28, 2023