Back Cover

What Is It?

Our photographers have been busy exploring the intricacies of the Missouri outdoors. See if you can guess this month’s natural wonder. The answer is revealed on the inside of this back cover.

Eastern Hellbender

On the back cover and right is an Eastern hellbender by Noppadol Paothong. This is a large, harmless aquatic salamander. Both the Eastern and Ozark hellbenders are species of conservation concern that are raised in a Department hatchery and at the St. Louis Zoo. Propagation of these species is an integral part of an ongoing species recovery effort. In July the first propagated Eastern hellbenders were released into the Big Piney River. Read more about the Department’s state-of-the-art hatcheries in the November issue.