@Stephanie and @Lizzie , you will regret you asked. I could go on and on, but will (try to...) keep it short. These are common mudpuppies, and not at risk in the Sydenham River, but one of the indicators of the health of the waterway. Thanks to our non-touristy remoteness, we are a corridor where endangered species and species at risk, mostly reptiles, do tend to thrive.
Thus we are a target for Ministry and university studies and projects. A mudpuppy study is part of a bigger project, and all I need to do on my end is identify mudpuppy habitat.
One of the agreements I have made with the conservation authority, in order to keep the treehouse going and make tourism a partner rather than a destroyer, is to provide education to our guests.
Don't worry! They don't get a lecture -- unless they ask, of course 🙂
What they do get are the publications the authority puts out, so that when they are relaxing in the hammock they can read all about the spiny softshell turtles, foxsnakes and mudpuppies around them, and why they are cool.