Animal Rescuers!

I forgot to mention the temporary addition to our family - "Butch," the Eastern Tiger Salamander.  One of the boys at the facility rescued him from some other boys who wanted to squish him.  That boy took the salamander to my former boss, who remember that we rescued an Indiana Green Frog in late fall 2006.  Butch came home with me for the winter.

Marty thinks Butch is pretty cool, but can't quite bring himself to touch the little amphibian.

Ellie, on the other hand, is apparently an amphibiphile (new word I made up  meaning "lover of amphibians").  She used to love to touch Frog, but Frog was hard to hold (considering that she could hop several times her own body length in one bound).  Butch, on the other hand, moves pretty slowly out of water.

We don't normally handle our rescues because they will be returned to the wild, but I made an exception last week.  Marty was throwing his first dyed-in-the-wool two-year-old tantrum.  I tried to interrupt him by getting Butch out.  Marty paused, looked at Butch, chortled, then remembered he was having a fit and went back to squalling.  I took Butch to show Ellie before putting him back in his tank.

Ellie took one look at Butch in my hands, then reached down and, much to my surprise, plucked him out!  She took him from my hands three times, and said spontaneously, "Hold him?  Hold him?" as she did (I picked him up again whenever he escaped).  She was fascinated by the little critter!  We can't get the kid to pet her cat, but she's enamored of the salamander  Maybe it's the texture of his skin, or that he's small - I don't know.  Who knows what goes on in the mind of a preschooler.

So, here we are, talking about getting her a captive-born salamander if her fascination with Butch continues.  We can't keep Butch, of course - he's wild-born, and to keep him in captivity would be cruel.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach my kids about wildlife, though, and to make these discoveries about them as well.