• Aimee Stubbs / Nashville Zoo
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    This curious-looking creature helped the Nashville Zoo celebrate two firsts. According to ZooBorns, the zoo is the first facility to successful breed Eastern Hellbenders in captivity and is the first to use biotechnology in the breeding of any Hellbender species. 

  • USFWS/flickr
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    The zoo welcomed two little Hellbenders this month. The newborns were hatched from eggs produced and artificially fertilized by the facility's captive Hellbenders. 

  • Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory/flickr
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    Hellbenders are close relatives to the Japanese and Chinese giant salamander. The creatures' appearance has remained relatively unchanged since they first appeared on Earth around the time of the dinosaurs. 

  • AP Photo
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    "The successful hatching of the two Hellbenders is a result of a long-term collaborative project with a group of international researchers dedicated to saving this species,” Dale McGinnity, ectotherm curator at Nashville Zoo told ZooBorns. “This is an important first step and is in line with the zoo’s commitment to the conservation and propagation of rare species.”

  • Todd W Pierson/flickr
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    This is the program's first success since its inception five years ago. The zoo hopes that the tactics used in this successful breeding can be taken on by others and expanded upon in order to become a reliable way of protecting the Eastern Hellbender population. 

  • Brian Gratwicke/flickr
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    Next: 25 Weirdest Looking Animals

    All three species of Hellbender are experiencing declining populations. Hellbenders are at risk of extinction unless successful conservation measures take place.