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05/06/2026
🦎Point Beach State Forest Species Spotlight 🦎
BLUE-SPOTTED SALAMANDER
Ambystoma laterale
Family: Ambystomatidae (Mole salamanders)
Status: Common
Size: 3 to 5 inches
Blue-spotted salamanders live all over Wisconsin except the far southwest corner of the state. They live in both hardwood and coniferous forests. They can survive in drier places than most Wisconsin salamanders. You can find them living in forests with sandy soils as long as there are woodland pools that can hold water into late summer.
During the winter, salamanders burrow into leaf litter or crawl down into holes. There they wait for warmer days. But sometimes they don't wait! As cold-blooded animals, their body temperatures rise and fall with the outdoor temperatures. If the outdoor temperature is below freezing, the body of the salamander should be too cold to move about. But these salamander are equipped with some type of natural antifreeze that allows them to be "supercooled." Not only are they alive at frigid temperatures; they can move around.
What they eat
Blue-spotted salamanders are nocturnal, coming above ground at night and on dark, rainy days to look for food. They are carnivores, eating invertebrates like earthworms, snails, slugs, spiders, and insects. The larvae are also carnivores. They eat aquatic invertebrates.
Did you know?
Blue spots might be little, but they are not defenseless. Their coloration helps them hide from predators. If a predator gets too close, the salamander raises its tail over its back. It can wiggle and curl its tail around. At the same time, it releases a bad-smelling, sticky substance from a gland near the base of its tail. If a predator attacks, it is most likely going to bite that wiggling tail. Since salamanders taste bad, the predator might spit the salamander out. Even if the tail should get bitten off, the salamander can regenerate it!
🌲Point Beach State Forest Species Spotlight🌲
Woodchuck (Marmota monax)
Age: Live 2-4 years
Habitat: Fields, pastures, meadows, around homes and other buildings, woodland edges, and woodlands
Home: Den, often underneath a building or steps, up to 30 feet long and down to 5 feet deep. Often with large dirt piles outside, almost always has 1-2 additional escape entrances, which don’t’ have dirt piles
Food: Herbivore; green vegetation, leaf buds, grasses; especially like dandelions
Sounds: Sharp whistle-like alarm call
Breeding: Mar-Apr mating; 30 days gestation
Young: 3-7 offspring once per year in May or June; born naked with eyes closed, opens eyes and crawls at about 4 weeks, weaned at about 6 weeks, will disperse to own area at 8-10 weeks.
Notes: The woodchuck is a type of marmot and is the larges member of the squirrel family in Wisconsin. Solitary except for mating and when a mother raises her young. Feeds during the summer, adding body fat to sustain it through hibernation. Will lay curled up in a ball with its head between its front legs. A true hibernator, its body drops from 90 degrees F to 40 degrees F, breathing slows to only once every 6 minutes and heart rate decreases from 75 to 4 beats per minute. Has a large tunnel system that is often used by other mammals such as cottontails, raccoons, and opossums. Usually, will have separate summer and winter dens.
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