This news item from the Cornell Chronicle is about: Snot otter. Devil dog. Mud devil. The eastern hellbender – a freshwater salamander that can grow to more than two feet long – has a collection of folksy aliases and oversized charisma. The giant amphibians are native to New York and other eastern states, but today you’d be lucky to see one in the wild. Over the past decade, hellbenders have nearly disappeared from New York watersheds.