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RE: The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest amphibian in the world, but has now been found to be at least 5 and as much as 8 different species!
Good question. I actually don't know the answer, but they very well could be. However, the problem with hybrids it more of an ethical one than a biological one, and the reason why we want to keep the species pure is to keep the nature in the same state as we found it. And who knows what the long-term effects of the genetic mixes could lead to?
Nature is going to do its thing despite us; they might have hybridised on their own or even be hybrids of things we didn't even know about/recognise as distinct species that are extinct now before we got a chance to find out about them. I do see the point about putting the correct species back in the right spot though, oops :S
That's true; nature will always evolve with new hybrids showing up. The problem here is that the wrong species of the salamanders have been put out at wrong locations. Considering that they live in rivers and lakes up on the mountain, having these hybridize naturally seems unlikely.