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We found this little orange guy trying to cross the trail back from Linville Falls this afternoon, and Wynne insisted on helping him to the other side. A little Wikipedia back home revealed that this was a "Red Eft," the juvenile land-dwelling stage of the Eastern Newt. He'll cover some distance in his two or three years in this phase which helps spread the species, protected by his threatening coloration and backed up by a venom in his skin. Then, he'll slip into a pond and transform into a dark green (with red dots) adult aquatic newt to live out his remaining 10-12 years or so. Thankfully, she didn't need to know any of that to earn her Blueridge Parkway Junior Ranger badge at the Linville Falls Visitor Center where (like most places!) she was told she's been to more National Parks than the ranger! #juniorranger #findyourpark #roadschool #childhoodunplugged #blueridgeparkway #linvillefalls #newts #redeft
We found this little orange guy trying to cross the trail back from Linville Falls this afternoon, and Wynne insisted on helping him to the other side. A little Wikipedia back home revealed that this was a "Red Eft," the juvenile land-dwelling stage of the Eastern Newt. He'll cover some distance in his two or three years in this phase which helps spread the species, protected by his threatening coloration and backed up by a venom in his skin. Then, he'll slip into a pond and transform into a dark green (with red dots) adult aquatic newt to live out his remaining 10-12 years or so. Thankfully, she didn't need to know any of that to earn her Blueridge Parkway Junior Ranger badge at the Linville Falls Visitor Center where (like most places!) she was told she's been to more National Parks than the ranger! #juniorranger #findyourpark #roadschool #childhoodunplugged #blueridgeparkway #linvillefalls #newts #redeft
