In New York, only a few drainages along the southern border are home to hellbenders. Red-spotted newts begin life as a small aquatic larva, residing in ponds and beaver flows. By late summer, they ...

Each year females lay their eggs in nests made out of plants and leaves. Smooth newts lay their eggs in ponds in the summer. The female newt will carefully wrap each egg in a leaf of pond weed.

Other creatures might then arrive, such as leeches, frogs, dragonflies and ducks. For some of this pond life, a temporary home suits their needs. Frogs and newts find temporary ponds a welcome place ...

These newts spend a significant portion of their lives in hibernation, usually from around October to March of each year. On a rainy night in March, they awaken and trek back to the pond where ...