CONTRA COSTA TIMES (Walnut Creek, California) 16 November 07 Migrating newts to stop traffic (Ned MacKay)

Now that the rainy season is here, South Park Drive at Tilden Regional Park in the Berkeley hills is closed to vehicle traffic to protect migrating newts.

Starting on Grizzly Peak Boulevard near the Steam Train, South Park Drive runs down the hill to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden on Wildcat Canyon Road. It parallels Wildcat Creek, where the newts enter the picture.

Newts are amphibians, a variety of salamander. They are small, brown in color with orange-yellow bellies. During the dry summer months, newts estivate (like hibernation, except in the summer instead of winter) under rocks and logs in the woods and fields. The rains trigger newts' mating instincts, and they head, slowly, for streams and ponds in search of procreation. Although they lack speed, they have poison in their skin that prevents them from being eaten by predators.

To reach Wildcat Creek, the newts must cross South Park Drive. Years ago, park rangers and naturalists realized that in the process, hundreds of newts were crushed every day under the wheels of passing automobiles. So they decided to close the road seasonally. Look for signs posted on Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Wildcat Canyon Road.

Although vehicles are not allowed, you can still walk up and down South Park Drive, with a chance of observing the annual amphibian amble. Tilden naturalists lead occasional newt walks, too. Please just observe the newts. Don't try to collect them and take them away. It's against the law.
Migrating newts to stop traffic

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