Chatuge Catches First on Record for Georgia Lakes
Befitting their size, the mudpuppies trapped at Lake Chatuge in early March are kind of a big deal.
Mudpuppies caught at Chatuge (Thomas Floyd/GaDNR)
Although scientists thought the large but secretive salamanders were likely found in the Tennessee River watershed in north Georgia, this marked the first time what is presumably northern mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus) have been documented in Towns County or the Hiwassee River drainage in Georgia, said Thomas Floyd, a wildlife biologist with DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section. The catches by Floyd and senior wildlife biologist Daniel Sollenberger are also one of the first, or at least the few, records from lakes in the Southeast.
Mudpuppies spend their entire life in water and are notoriously hard to survey. They were documented in the Toccoa River basin in 2010 and Floyd found them near Blairsville in 2024.
Using funnel traps this breeding season, he and Sollenberger came up empty in lakes Blue Ridge and Nottely before landing a mix of seven males and females at Chatuge.
Northern mudpuppies average 10 inches long and are listed as a priority species in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan.
One of the first northern mudpuppies documented in Towns County or the Hiwassee River drainage in Georgia (Thomas Floyd/GaDNR)
REPORT GIANT SALAMANDERS
Georgia is home to five giant salamander species: eastern hellbenders, northern mudpuppies and dwarf, Gulf Coast (or western) and Apalachicola waterdogs. The largest of the five – hellbenders and mudpuppies – can be 10-13 inches long.
To help gauge and monitor the distribution and status of these species, all of which are in need of conservation, please report sightings to DNR. Email details, photos and GPS coordinates to GaGiantSalamander@dnr.ga.org. (Smartphone photos automatically include the coordinates.) You can also call DNR at (478) 994-1438.
Learn more at georgiawildlife.com/giant-salamanders.