our friend, the newt

newts are poisonous, and they know it. they don't need to run, don't need to fight. nothing disturbs them, and they don't bother anything bigger than a beetle. they wander the forest floor in broad daylight, on short, delicate, strangely articulated limbs. their narrow bodies are not half an inch above the ground, but their amphibious spirits are clearly very far above it all.

i was in the forest, and my eyes were keen for gold. the weather had been wet, and we were hunting for chanterelles. but a salamander's belly is a darker fire and brighter than any mushroom; it draws a hunter's eye, even if the hunter has never seen one before, even though the newt is never prey. i almost stepped on the little animal first, but then i saw the gold. i stopped with one foot in the air, and the newt tilted up its arrow-shaped head and looked me in the eye.

"hey, come look at this!" mason and i shouted at the same time. "what'd you find?" his was a a large white mushroom. mine was moving, and therefore took precedence. i put my foot down very carefully. the salamander crawled towards my toe.

mason is braver than i am; he knelt at once to pick it up, and it made no effort to resist him or escape. it was perhaps five inches long from its arrow-point chin to the tip of its narrow brown tail. it had eyes the color of deep water and a wide triangular mouth. it had surprisingly rough dark skin above, with that bright, smooth, glowing orange belly below. it's no wonder people once thought that salamanders could eat fire; between its shining skin and self-assured expression, this one clearly thought so too.

poisonous creatures make wonderful friends. i do not mean snakes or spiders, whose bite alone is poison; i do not mean frogs which shed a toxin from their skins, and harm with a touch. i mean animals like the salamander, who are so innately well-defended that their mouths can be toothless and safe. this one walked from mason's palm to mine and back again, innocent and fearless. i have no reason to hide from you, said its cool black eyes. i cannot hurt you, said its soft orange throat, unless you choose to bite me.

it twined its tail around our fingers; it walked up our sleeves and over our rings; it warmed itself against our skin. it had no idea about the third dimension; it nearly walked right off our hands and into the air, twice -- we caught it before it tumbled to the ground. we cooed over it, of course, as mammals will; then we remembered we were hunters, and that night was drawing near.

we set the newt down gently, by the white mushroom, and we walked away together, mason's hand cool in my own. we walked through the forest into twilight, as if we were safe there. we hunted for the prey that will not flee or fight, but comes to us in its own light, like an equal, glowing gold.

(mt. hood state forest, oregon, autumn 1995)

AMPHIBIAN HIGHS .... Booze and Newts Don't Mix.
A recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reported two cases of poisoning from the Oregon rough-skinned Newt. A 29-year-old man died after drinking whiskey and then swallowing a newt on a dare. After about two hours, the daring young man went into cardiopulmonary arrest. He was resuscitated, but died later in the day. The skin of the Oregon rough-skinned newt contains "Tetrodotoxin", a powerful neurotoxin that blocks the conduction of nerve signals, leading to a muscular paralysis and respiratory arrest--usually the cause of death. In 1971 a similar incident occurred in Brookings, Oregon when a 26-year-old man swallowed five newts. He had been drinking beer and consumed the amphibians on a bet. Fortunately he vomited and survived the poisonings. One study on the toxicity of the newt reported that a 10 gr newt specimen contained enough neurotoxin to kill 1500 white mice. Residents of Northern California and Oregon should not be too surprised if they find newt-infested streams and ponds posted: WARNING: Amphibians may be intoxicating and harmful to your health. Do not use with alcohol or while driving or operating machinery.
(The Toxicology Newsletter - Vol. 8, No. 3, December 1981)