SAN MARCOS, Texas – Fifteen thousand dollars is now the reward for information on hundreds of endangered salamanders that have been missing for two months from their home at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service aquatic center in San Marcos.
The Center for Biological Diversity added $5,000 to the $10,000 already offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"They're worth $15,000 to me," said Ken Ostrand, San Marcos Aquatic Resources Center director.
If the payout brings back the 253 Texas blind salamanders and 110 San Marcos salamanders, which mysteriously vanished overnight on Thanksgiving Day, Ostrand said it's worth it.
Ostrand said he and his colleagues must use nets to catch the amphibians when they pop out of springs or venture into caves or wells.
Despite the difficult process, the service breeds these local endangered species in case they go extinct in the wild.
The presumed theft happened on Thanksgiving Day, a federal holiday when the office and hatchery are closed, and one person comes to check on the tanks for a couple of hours before leaving the property.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled out a predator devouring them, or a mass escape, as the critters can't crawl out of their tanks since they need water to breath out of their gills.
"My immediate gut reaction was that this was deliberate," Ostrand said.
There were no signs of forced entry, but the hatchery was built in the late 1970s. This being an unprecedented incident, the locks had never been changed since then and keys have come and gone.
Since the theft, the center has changed all of the locks and added security cameras.
Possible motives include a disgruntled employee or someone wanting a “really, really cool-looking” pet.
After 15 years watching over the amphibians, there's more worry than anger, Ostrand said.
"They have very narrow temperature tolerances. They're blind," Ostrand said. "Just bring them back. I miss them. I want them back."
If you have any information, you can call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's law enforcement office at 210-681-8419. Callers can remain anonymous.