Pars Today

Today we are going to Kamyaran, a picturesque town 65 kilometers away from Sanandaj, Kurdistan.

Alright, here is Kamyaran!

Have you ever seen Fire Salamander?

This salamander is native to Iran but it has been seen in some parts of Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria, too.

There is a myth on salamander in Iran. According to this ancient myth salamander was born from fire.

The ancient Iranians believed that salamander is an animal which enters fire but exits it safe and sound.

They considered salamander as the symbol of purity, courage, stable faith and righteous human.

Hence, the Farsi word for salamander (Samandar) is believed to consist of Saam (meaning fire) and Andar (meaning in the middle).

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Salamanders are beautiful animals with their extended body, long tail, flat feet and variegated colours.

I have come to the banks of Sirvan River near Paalangaan village to see the fire salamander.

This species rarely goes into water because it is a weak swimmer and it mostly lives on land.

To see the fire salamander I have to search in damp places, shadowy pits and the shrubbery beneath the trees.

Of course, the fire salamander hibernates almost from October till March.

Therefore, probably I’m going to see a sleeping salamander; so, I should take care not to wake it up!

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Let me relate an interesting story for you as I am searching.

Once a breeder of various species of salamanders faced with a young salamander which was born with two heads!

This was a weird trouble; he tried quite for a while to feed the salamander from both mouths.

Each of the heads of such animals has a separate brain but the control of body organs is done jointly.

The movement of these animals is usually strange for the brain of each head issues a different command and the movement becomes zigzag. Then the animal is immobile and cannot move. This comes as among the snakes each of the heads attacks the other one and swallows it!

The body of the fire salamander was given for further studies to the University of Martin Luther in the German city of Halle.

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Alright… let me have a look at the decayed and moist bark of this tree… hmm… yeah, that’s it!

Wide head, round mouth, protruded eyes that are glittering black with bright yellow spots in semicircle shapes!

There are a few nice red circles in the sides, too.

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I had better return the bark to its first position and not disturb the habitat of this sleeping beauty.

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The fire salamander feeds on different kinds of worms, insects, mollusks and crustaceans.

One of the interesting features of the fire salamander is its dependence on clean waters.

If you see this salamander somewhere you can be sure of the cleanness of the water.

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Unfortunately, the fire salamander has been put in the red list and near threatened (NT) category.

I’m sorry to say that some profiteering persons hunt this beautiful animal and sell it!

Who buy this animal? Who keep this nice animal of the wildlife as a pet inside aquariums or glass bowls? Can you believe it?

It is terrible!

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We say goodbye to the fire salamander and finish our trip with the hope that we will preserve our beautiful wildlife.

RM/EA