\n<\/p>\n
Axolotls \u2014 the cute and charismatic creatures made famous by the video game \u201cMinecraft\u201d \u2014 are in a free fall.<\/p>\n
Pollution, modern farming and the introduction of invasive fish that prey on the critically endangered species have reduced their habitat to the channels of a single lake in Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n But a new study is offering a glimmer of hope: Captive-bred axolotls can survive in the wild, Justine McDaniel reported for The Washington Post<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is a huge step, because in conservation programs when you have animals in captivity and you take them back to the wild \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of mortality,\u201d Alejandra Ramos, the study\u2019s lead author and a science faculty member at the Autonomous University of Baja California in Mexico, told the Post.<\/span><\/p>\n Axolotls have long been bred in labs \u2014 and are a popular aquarium pet \u2014 but boosting their numbers in the wild has proven to be a much greater challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n The study<\/a> tagged 18 axolotls with radio transmitters that would allow them to be tracked, then released eight into Mexico City\u2019s Lake Xochimilco and 10 into a man-made wetland. At least twice a day for 40 days, researchers visited the sites to collect data.<\/span><\/p>\n Notably, the researchers found that the axolotls introduced to a man-made pond also survived \u2014 a promising finding for the potential of artificial wetlands to aid axolotl conservation, the study authors said.<\/span><\/p>\n That finding matters in the event that their habitat doesn\u2019t recover or climate change worsens, Esther Quintero, a Conservation International-Mexico biologist, told The Washington Post.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like having a Plan B,\u201d she said. \u201cOne can at least be sure that we have two different places in which we can restart the population.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Conservation International is supporting a project in Lake Xochimilco to restore the axolotl\u2019s natural habitat by returning to ancestral farming practices. By supporting farmers\u2019 transition to pesticide-free farming and helping install biofilters to clean the water, the project aims to restore these waters so axolotls can thrive into the future.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSaving the axolotl goes beyond liking this creature that is really adorable,\u201d Quintero told the Post. \u201cThere is no future for any species without its habitat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Read the full story from The Washington Post here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates<\/a>. Also, please consider supporting our critical work<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n