Taricha torosa California Newt
Sheep Dung Estates, Yorkville, Mendocino County, CaliforniaNovember 19, 1998
California Newt (Taricha torosa)
These bumpy little fellows are poor photography models, because they don't like to sit still when exposed. They don't move fast, but they generally start plodding away exactly one instant before you snap the shutter.
Rancho del Oso, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County, CaliforniaJanuary 22, 2000
California Newt (Taricha torosa)
Days of drizzle had bestirred the adult newts, and many of them were crawling about on the forest floor. This one is a full-sized adult, unlike the two in the previous picture.
Rancho del Oso, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County, CaliforniaFebruary 25, 2001
California Newt (Taricha torosa) California Newt (Taricha torosa)
A year later, another trip to this same newt-infested area revealed a healthy population. We counted 18 newts in a couple of hours of hiking along a muddy dirt path. A few of them were plodding along like the first fellow here, but most were lurking in muddy puddles like this second one.
Garland Ranch Regional Park, Monterey County, CaliforniaFebruary 16, 2002
California Newt (Taricha torosa)
This massively gravid female was under a log with another identical one. I can't believe that she could last more than another day or two before laying her clutch of eggs; you just don't see California newts any thicker than this.
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