Tag Archives: April 2014

Rough-skinned Newt

Today on the Buntzen Lake Trail, I saw a little Rough-skinned Newt.  It was on Pump House Road, just steps from the bridge. When I posted this on Flickr, someone thought it was a Western Redback Salamander, but Ivan Phillipsen, of Wild Pacific Northwest, informed me that it was a Rough-skinned Newt.



It blended in with the road so well, I almost walked right past it.

Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)

Luckily, I took my good camera today so I could get a good shot.

After I finishing taking my photos, I used a stick to take him to the side of the trail. He was stiff as a board. I hope that is a defence mechanism !



This amphibian is much more commonly seen than the Western Red-backed Salamander, because the newt walks around in the open, whereas the salamander is much more secretive.

Toxin-resistant garter snakes are the only known animals today that can eat a rough-skinned newt and survive.

In evolutionary theory, the relationship between the rough-skinned newt and the common garter snake is considered an example of co-evolution. The mutations in the snake’s genes that conferred resistance to the toxin have resulted in a selective pressure that flavors newts which produce more potent levels of toxin. Increases in newt toxicity then apply a selective pressure favouring snakes with mutations conferring even greater resistance. This cycle of a predator and prey evolving to one another is sometimes termed an evolutionary arms race and has resulted in the newts producing levels of toxin far in excess of what is needed to kill any other conceivable predator.



Swan Falls

Today, I ventured up on Eagle Mountain for the first time. Specifically, I went up the Swan Falls trail. I knew the possibility of snow at high elevations was likely, so the plan was to go up as far as I can and turn around when the snow makes trekking difficult. Unfortunately, the cell phone could not get a GPS signal, so I couldn’t determine the elevation at the turn-around point, but I’d guess it to be 800 or 900 m. Below is my route for today…



Today was an amazing April day. It was sunny with a high close to 20C. However, on the ascent, it was cool (still shaded) and there was breeze, but it was all good. I would say the highlight was the view from the Falls, which are at about 300-350m elevation. Below is a view from the falls looking west, towards Buntzen Lake…

View from Swan Falls

Just before reaching the falls, there is a 45 degree incline, where there is a rope to assist you; see below…

Rope Climb

Here is a view on the falls…

Swan Falls

And here is another scenic view…

Great View

Below is a random trail picture…

Trail



Next is our traverse through the Lower Gully…

Lower Gully

And here is our traverse through the Upper Gully 30 mins after the Lower Gully…

Upper Gully

Next is a photo near where we turned around. The snow was getting quite deep…

Deep Snow

At the trailhead, on the service road, you can see the falls and the creek, which drains into McCombe Lake…

Swan Falls Creek

Below is a view of Swan Falls from across McCombe Lake and the next one is when the falls were frozen in early February 2014…



Swan Falls 2

Frozen Swan Falls

Here is the sign at the trailhead, with a warning…

Sign at Trailhead