Life history and behavior Behavior Once a hellbender finds a favorable location, it generally does not stray too far from it—except occasionally for breeding and hunting—and will protect it from other hellbenders both in and out of the breeding season. While the range of two hellbenders may overlap, they are noted as rarely being present in the overlapping area when the other salamander is in the area. The species is at least somewhat nocturnal, with peak activity being reported by one source as occurring around "two hours after dark" and again at dawn (although the dawn peak was recorded in the lab and could be misleading as a result). Nocturnal activity has been found to be most prevalent in early summer, perhaps coinciding with highest water depths. Adult hellbenders can live up to 25–30 years. Kaunert, M. D., Brown, R. K., Spear, S., Johantgen, P. B., & Popescu, V. D. (2023). Restoring eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) populations through translocation of headstarted individuals. Population Ecology.
Life history and behavior Behavior Once a hellbender finds a favorable location, it generally does not stray too far from it—except occasionally for breeding and hunting—and will protect it from other hellbenders both in and out of the breeding season. While the range of two hellbenders may overlap, they are noted as rarely being present in the overlapping area when the other salamander is in the area. The species is at least somewhat nocturnal, with peak activity being reported by one source as occurring around "two hours after dark" and again at dawn (although the dawn peak was recorded in the lab and could be misleading as a result). Nocturnal activity has been found to be most prevalent in early summer, perhaps coinciding with highest water depths. Adult hellbenders can live up to 25–30 years Kaunert, M. D., Brown, R. K., Spear, S., Johantgen, P. B., & Popescu, V. D. (2023). Restoring eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) populations through translocation of headstarted individuals. Population Ecology.