If you ever find yourself camping in western North Carolina, don't forget your snorkel gear.

Yes, I said snorkel gear. Not for the ocean, obviously, but for the many rivers and streams that snake through the mountains.

Put your head under the water and you will see all kinds of trout, crawfish, river otters.

And if you're lucky, you might even spot a modern-day dinosaur.

This is a creature called a hellbender.

When I locked eyes with my very first hellbender, it was an awe-inspiring moment that I'll never forget.

To imagine these Leviathans lurking on the bottoms of

rivers hiding beneath boulders was both thrilling and a little bit terrifying. Where you're laying on top of

the water with snorkel gear and wetsuits, it's like looking for hidden treasure on the bottom of a river.

Seeing all these different crayfish and fish and snails,

just the water was alive and electric and beautiful.

And then along the way,

peeking under one of the largest boulders in the stream

and seeing these little tiny eyes

and this wrinkled body curled around a rock underneath the river.

It was just incredible.

He was a denmaster, which is a word describing male hellbenders who guard their nests.

And he wasn't going anywhere.

And I wasn't about to mess with him either, but it was great to see him in his wild state protecting the next generation of hellbenders. It was a beautiful moment.

I'm Kelly McEvers, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places.

And this episode is brought to you in partnership with Visit North Carolina, and today we are meeting the eastern hillbender.

It's a giant salamander that has been lurking in the rivers and streams of

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