Animal Guide

California Tiger Salamander

12 destinations · 5 states

Native Range: California, United States

The California tiger salamander is a sturdy amphibian with a pattern that makes it easy to recognize once you know what to look for. Dark olive or black skin is marked with irregular pale or yellowish spots and blotches, giving each salamander its own slightly different look. In an exhibit, these animals often prefer the quiet spaces beneath logs, plants, or other cover, so a patient visitor may notice a slow crawl or a curious head appearing from shelter. Their life cycle is particularly interesting to see represented in an aquarium or amphibian exhibit. Adults spend much of their lives on land but return to temporary ponds to breed, where their young begin life as aquatic larvae. Those larvae have feathery external gills before developing into land-dwelling adults. California tiger salamanders are closely tied to seasonal wetlands and the surrounding grasslands of California, making habitat conservation an important part of their story. When one emerges from hiding, its deliberate movements offer a close look at an amphibian adapted to living between dry land and temporary water.

California Tiger Salamander

Where to see California Tiger Salamander

12 destinations across 5 states

12 destinations

Aquarium of the Pacific

Long Beach, CA

Central Coast Zoo

Atascadero, CA

CuriOdyssey

San Mateo, CA

Detroit Zoo

Royal Oak, MI

Fresno Chaffee Zoo

Fresno, CA

Oakland Zoo

Oakland, CA

Salisbury Zoological Park

Salisbury, MD

San Francisco Zoo

San Francisco, CA

Santa Barbara Zoo

Santa Barbara, CA

Smithsonian National Zoological Park

Washington, DC

Turtle Bay Exploration Park

Redding, CA

Zootah

Logan, UT

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