In the deep woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a cold, clear stream flows. Below a canopy of twisted rhododendrons, seven people in black wetsuits creep upstream through the water. They look like Gollum, sleek in their neoprene, crouching in the water, feeling under rocks.
They’re looking for a kind of giant salamander known as a hellbender that lives in parts of North Georgia. Most people will probably never see one, but hellbenders are weird, rare and sort of beloved by people in the know.
Over the last few decades, scientists have come to realize that the big salamanders might be in trouble, and the federal government is now considering whether to protect them.
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