Visitors at Great Smoky Mountains Park Are Quietly Hurting Animals With Their Rock Stacks

Everything can be just as destructive as it can be creative for life. What matters is how it is used. Take rock stacking, for instance. For artists and meditators, rock stacking is a way to immerse oneself in the Zen tradition. It’s a beautiful amalgamation of gravity, winds, and sounds that helps the creator reach a concentrated harmony with nature. However, the same art can be destructive for certain life forms. Salamanders, for instance. Recently, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (@greatsmokynps) announced that a vulnerable salamander lost its life after getting crushed by a rock stack made by tourists. This, the park says, is not the only one to have died this way.

Typically, rock stacks, also known by names like “cairns” and “stone johnnies,” are a form of spiritual practice where people pile up stones and rocks as a way to concentrate their minds and energies and also understand the balancing forces of nature. But sadly, in national parks, this practice can be a disaster, like in the case of this innocent Hellbender salamander. “Recently, an eastern hellbender, the largest salamander in North America, was found crushed beneath rocks that had been moved and stacked by people in the park,” the park revealed. 

Life is “tough” for the predators residing in the mountain streams of the Smokies, the park says. As the millions of eager visitors desperately swarm these streams, the creatures lurking inside somehow sneak inside the rocks to escape this perceived threat and often lose their lives by getting crushed. “Building dams, channels, or rock stacks might seem harmless, but for the wildlife hiding below, it can be deadly.  Beneath those stones are fragile ecosystems: nests, shelters, and homes,” the park warned.

Eastern hellbenders, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, also lay their eggs underneath these rocks. Early in the breeding season, the female lizard crawls down to this secure spot and lays her eggs in a single strand that resembles a string of glossy white pearls, usually 300 to 1400 in number. Once the male has fertilized the eggs, he pushes the female out of the den and stays there to guard them. When rocks are disturbed, the entire clutch can be killed in one go, dramatically affecting their population. Saddened by the recent episode, the park urged visitors to “keep them safe,” “leave no traces,” and “leave the rocks where they are.” 

Hellbenders, these giant lizards are known by many nicknames, including allegany alligator, snot-otter, water dog, lasagna sides, devil dog, mud devil, mud cat, mudpuppies, and walking catfish. Despite their grisly and grotesque appearance, they are becoming highly vulnerable to extinction. Together with the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy, the park initiated a multi-year mission to protect them. Not only are they vital for human ecosystems, but also precious for doctors seeking serious human body regeneration treatments, as the University of Kentucky describes.

More on Green Matters

Yellowstone Visitors Are Being Warned About a Serious Problem — And It Involves Wild Elks

Yosemite National Park Is Facing a Growing Issue From a Surprisingly Small Animal

A Strange Problem is Troubling Grand Teton National Park and It Has Everything To Do With Poop