Discovering the Mystical Axolotl
Hundreds of years ago, when the Mexica established themselves in what would become the capital of the Aztec Empire, they encountered an alien-looking creature with a permanent grin and a crown of feathery gills. Fascinated, they named it axolotl – “water monster” – and revered it as a mischievous god who shape-shifted into an amphibian to elude sacrifice. Little did they know, this salamander with a Mona Lisa smile would become an icon of Mexican culture and inspire countless researchers around the world.
Today, though approximately 1 million of them can be found in labs and pet stores across the world, the axolotl is on the brink of extinction in the canals of Lake Xochimilco in southern Mexico City, its only natural habitat. It’s a dire situation, but one that biologists and ecologists are determined to change.
Saving the “Peter Pan of Salamanders”
The axolotl, pronounced ack-suh-lah-tuhl, is aptly known as the “Peter Pan of salamanders.” Unlike most amphibians that undergo metamorphosis from egg to tadpole to land-roaming adult, the axolotl simply refuses to grow up, sticking to a life in the water like a pseudo-tadpole. This biological peculiarity has made them a prime research subject in the areas of regeneration, aging, and cancer.
Axolotls have the remarkable capability of restoring lost body parts from limbs to eyes to brains, says Luis Zambrano, an ecologist at Mexico’s National Autonomous University who has led the efforts to conserve Lake Xochimilco’s axolotls for over two decades. That’s why there are so many of them in labs all over the world. They’ve helped scientists understand how organs develop in vertebrates, uncover the causes of the birth defect spina bifida, and discover thyroid hormones.
But even as the species is racing toward extinction in its own home, Zambrano hasn’t lost hope. He and his team are betting that the Pokémon-looking creatures could be saved by creating refuges for them in their native habitat. And they’re enlisting the help of the public to do it.
Adopting an Axolotl for Conservation
Last year, the ecologists at Mexico’s National Autonomous University launched an ambitious campaign to give the public the chance to virtually adopt an axolotl. For $30, $180, or $360, donors can choose the sex, age, and name of the little buddy they get to call theirs for a month, six months, or a year, respectively.
The axolotls stay in Mexico, but donors receive an adoption kit with an infographic, the axolotl’s identification card, a certificate of adoption, and a personalized thank-you letter. The campaign also includes options to buy an axolotl a meal for $10 or to fix up one of their homes for $50. And for those wanting to splurge a bit more, participants can adopt the axolotl’s refuge of chinampas – the artificial islands that dot Lake Xochimilco – for one, six, or 12 months, starting at $450.
The funds will go toward building refuges for the axolotl and restoring its habitat, which has been devastated by the effects of Mexico City’s urbanization over the past decades, Zambrano explains. A species can’t be a species without its habitat.
The Rise and Fall of the Axolotl’s Habitat
The Aztecs built their capital of palaces and pyramids atop an island in a giant lake, using a complex system of canals and dikes to prevent it from flooding. Farming was done in chinampas, rectangular plots of land in the shallow lakes surrounding Tenochtitlan that were separated by canals, which helped filter the water. The axolotl, Zambrano says, thrived in this environment and quickly became a staple of the Aztec diet.
But then the Spaniards arrived, and in the 1600s, they decided to drain the lake, leaving Mexico City resting atop its basin. Lake Xochimilco is the last remnant of the city’s watery past – and the only remaining place where axolotls can be found in the wild, Zambrano laments.
Over the next several centuries, the city’s expansion and growing population turned Lake Xochimilco into a shrinking, polluted matrix of canals, throttled with hungry fish imported from other continents – both of which depleted axolotl populations. In the 1970s, the Mexican government introduced African tilapia and Asian carp into the lake in an effort to create fisheries, but the fish began eating the axolotl eggs and young, Zambrano explains. And the waters’ diminishing quality has sickened the axolotls, which breathe through their skin.
The Race Against Time
The outlook for the axolotl in the wild is grim. When scientists in 1998 conducted their first census of the axolotl population in Lake Xochimilco, there were about 6,000 for every square kilometer, Zambrano says. The last count in 2014 showed there were only about 36 axolotls per square kilometer. We went from 6,000 to 36 in less than 20 years.
We need funds to conduct another census, but the outlook is grim. It’s more than likely that they’re nearly extinct, Zambrano laments. Losing the axolotl in the wild would be incredibly bad for both Mexican culture and the science world.
The Axolotl’s Cultural and Scientific Significance
In Mexico, images of the axolotl are ubiquitous. They grace murals and were chosen as Mexico City’s official emoji. They have figured in works by artist Diego Rivera and texts from poets and authors such as Julio Cortázar, Aldous Huxley, Primo Levi, and Octavio Paz. Their likeness is even splashed across Mexico’s 50-peso bill, Zambrano says.
Beyond their cultural significance, axolotls have become beloved exotic pets – to the point that there are claw machines in Japan that let you pick up an axolotl to take home, Zambrano adds. But even as the species is racing toward extinction in its own home, the scientific community remains captivated by their remarkable capabilities.
Axolotls have the remarkable capability of restoring lost body parts from limbs to eyes to brains, Zambrano reiterates. That’s made them a prime research subject in the areas of regeneration, aging, and cancer. They’ve also helped scientists understand how organs develop in vertebrates, uncover the causes of the birth defect spina bifida, and discover thyroid hormones.
A Glimmer of Hope
Despite the grim outlook, Zambrano and his team remain hopeful. They’re betting that the Pokémon-looking creatures could be saved by creating refuges for them in their native habitat. And the key to this strategy lies in the chinampas.
The chinampas are essential to the efforts since they naturally help clean the lake’s polluted water – not unlike a Brita filter – and improve its quality, Zambrano explains. These plots of land are also a source of food and shelter and can help the axolotls hide from the pesky herons that want to eat them.
Last year, when the adoption campaign launched, it raised almost $30,000, covering about 40 refuges. But to expand and continue to maintain them, the ecologists need about 10 times more funding. So far, they’ve more than doubled the amount of donors compared with last year, Zambrano says. We’re in a very critical moment where we’ve been saying for the last decades that time is running out for the axolotl. But we can’t just sit down and wait for the government to act. Like we say here in Mexico, “todos tenemos que sacar al buey de la barranca” – essentially, we need to take the bull by the horns.
The clock is ticking, but with the help of the public, the incredible axolotl may just have a fighting chance to reclaim its rightful place in Mexico’s vibrant ecosystem and cultural landscape. After all, as Zambrano eloquently puts it, a species can’t be a species without its habitat. And the fate of this enigmatic amphibian lies in our hands.
So, why not visit Golden Exotic Pets and learn more about how you can do your part to save the axolotl? Who knows, you might even end up with a new, aquatic friend to call your own.
