The Red Eft

The Red Eft is the juvenile terrestrial life phase of the Red Spotted Newt. It can be found in all 14 of the states that the Appalachian Trail traverses, from Georgia to Maine.

An Appalachian Trail hiker will normally see one of these about every hundred feet on the Trail if you happen to be hiking on a very rainy day in the spring or summer. In the northern states, you might see one of these in its transition phase back to its aquatic adult form, where its body changes to a dark green, but retains those orange spots. The tail then transitions to become a fin.

In its adult aquatic phase, aquatic larva are produced by the adult, which have gills. As the larva morph into the Red Eft, the gills are shed, the Red Eft becomes terrestrial, and the circle of its life repeats.

The Red Efts are very docile, and can be moved off-trail by gently picking them up by their tails and relocating them away from the heavy footsteps of A.T. hikers. They rarely even squirm when thus gently moved. I rescued literally hundreds of these on my thru-hike, and encourage others to do the same.