Axolotl: a global star that has almost vanished from home

Meet the axolotl

The axolotl is a Mexican salamander with a rare quirk: it never quite grows up. While most salamanders leave the water as adults, the axolotl keeps its larval features for life. It stays aquatic and holds on to its external gills — the three pairs of feathery stalks framing its head. Scientists call this neoteny. Only two or three of Mexico’s 17 salamander species can do it.

In the wild, axolotls aren’t pink: they are dark brown or greenish and speckled, which keeps them inconspicuous at the bottom of the canals. The pink or white axolotls sold in pet shops are captive-bred varieties.

Its other superpower fascinates researchers around the world: the axolotl can regenerate entire limbs and even complex organs, including parts of its heart and brain. It is studied in many medical research labs.

It lives naturally in just one place: the lake and canal system of Xochimilco, south of Mexico City. The canals surround the chinampas, farm islands built since Aztec times.

Did you know? The axolotl has become one of the most popular animals in the world, and it is common in aquariums and laboratories. But these captive animals cannot replace the wild population, adapted to the waters of Xochimilco.

Why it is endangered

The decline is staggering. In 1998, researchers estimated there were about 6,000 axolotls per square kilometre in Xochimilco. By the 2014 census, they found just 36 — a 99% drop. In 2019, the IUCN put the wild population at between 50 and 1,000 animals.

In 2024 and 2025, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) carried out a new census across 115 sites. In the first phase, not a single axolotl was caught in the nets. But environmental DNA — genetic traces left in the water — confirmed that it still survives. It is found only in canals far from the city, where the water is clean and native fish and crayfish still live. A second phase of the census, from September 2025 to February 2026, should allow a precise comparison with 2014. Its results had not been published when we checked in October 2026; we will update this page as soon as they are.

“Habitat degradation is pushing axolotls to the brink of extinction,” says Luis Zambrano, the researcher leading the census. Several threats add up:

• Pollution of the canals, made worse by heavy pesticide use in modern farming.
• The growth of Mexico City, which is eating into the wetlands. Some chinampas have even been turned into football pitches or party venues.
• Invasive species. Carp and tilapia, introduced into the canals, eat axolotl eggs and compete with them for food and shelter.

What is being done to save it

UNAM’s ecological restoration lab, led by Luis Zambrano, works with Xochimilco’s farmers on a clever model: chinampa-refuges. Natural filters made of wood, gravel and native plants seal off certain canals to keep out carp and tilapia. The water there becomes cleaner again.

The results are encouraging: better water quality, fewer invasive species, the return of native fish such as the Chapultepec splitfin, and bigger harvests for farmers. Scaled up, these farm islands could supply up to a quarter of the flowers and vegetables bought in Mexico City. In 2025, 21 chinampa-refuges were up and running, with more planned. Farmers benefit too: their produce carries a green “chinampera” label that rewards axolotl-friendly practices.

Researchers are also testing the release of captive-bred axolotls. According to a 2025 study, axolotls released into a restored Xochimilco canal and into an artificial wetland on the UNAM campus survived, fed and put on weight. The researchers fitted 18 axolotls with radio transmitters to track their movements. Two were later eaten by egrets after the study ended. It is a promising avenue — as long as their habitat is cleaned up first.

How you can help

Sauvons les animaux does not collect donations. These recognised organisations work for the axolotl:

• Adoptaxolotl (UNAM): virtually adopt an axolotl or a refuge — you can even choose its name. Adopt an axolotl
• Conservation International supports the census and the chinampa-refuges. Donate to Conservation International

And in everyday life:

1. Never release an aquarium animal into the wild — axolotl or fish. Released species can become invasive, just like the carp and tilapia in Xochimilco.
2. If you visit Mexico City, choose Xochimilco boat trips that support traditional chinampas, and buy their produce.
3. Remind people that wild axolotls are brown, not pink: talking about the wild species helps people understand it is endangered.