Beset by Pollution (and Minecraft) Smuggled Axolotls Find a Home

Five axolotls were recently seized by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as they were being smuggled into the United States. Fortunately for the amphibians, they have been taken in by San Francisco Zoo & Gardens.

The axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) is a weird little salamander. They call it “the Peter Pan of salamanders” because it never outgrows its youthful, aquatic phase. Instead of finding purchase on land, the adults retain their gills and live in the water. 

Those distinctive gills – like an adorable feathered headpiece – is one of the reasons the axolotl is a prized prey in the illegal species trade. The creature’s big eyes and perpetually smiling expression only make it even more fetching. After the oddly cute axolotl appeared in the popular video game Minecraft, its popularity within the illegal exotics trade soared.

And that’s why, in part, axolotls are critically endangered. Indigenous to high-altitude lakes near Mexico City, the animal’s habitat has been polluted and severely reduced. Now the species is found in only small areas around Lake Xochimilco, where it is believed fewer than 100 adults survive in the wild.

The five trafficked axolotls are fortunate to have landed at San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “We have the right medical and animal teams in place to ensure they can thrive in their new environment,” Dominick Dorsa, the zoo’s vice president of animal care, tells KRON 4 News. The five rescuees are now on exhibit in the zoo’s Conservation Corridor.

If you want to help save the critically endangered axolotl, consider adopting one.

Photo credit: Raphael Brasileiro / Pexels